UCFL is pleased to announce our new Executive Member for English Language Teaching, Dr Karen Ottewell.
A Germanist by background, professionally Karen has dedicated herself to the field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP): with seven years’ experience at German universities (Bonn and Erlang-Nuremberg) teaching English language and culture, before taking up her role as Director of Academic Development & Training for International Students at the University of Cambridge in 2008, where her section provides training and support to assist international students in further developing and honing the skills required to succeed in an English-speaking academic context.
Karen’s primary research interests are the cultural influences on argumentation and how an awareness of these should inform novice PG writing support as well as English language assessment criteria for entry into higher education. As the UCFL ELT Representative she would like to raise awareness of the issues that the EAP sector is facing and also benefit from the insights in language teaching and research across other sections of UCFL.
For further information, see Karen’s departmental website, the University of Cambridge Language Centre – Teaching Programmes: ADTIS