Teaching English in higher education A comparative study between the system at Ca’ Foscari, Venice and Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität, Munich

Abstract

When it comes to students studying English in higher education, Universities in Europe aim to have a uniform level of outcome for the students to achieve at the end of their course. Yet, we find different approaches and systems behind institutions that might affect student’s proficiency. Over the past five years of higher education, I have spent nearly two years at the University of Munich (LMU) Germany through the project Erasmus+. Having attended ample language classes, I am able to comment on the differences between the teaching methods of my home University, Ca Foscari and the LMU. This thesis will outline how the two systems deliver their lectures, how they are structured, but more importantly, how students of both universities engage with the teaching methods. Based on online surveys distributed to students from both universities, an analysis of the data will show how much students are engaged with their institution and if they wish their University to apply different systems and methods based on the other University’s system and methods. Not only will this lead us to an overall view of both structures, it will also provide an insight into what students find more efficient and where improvement can be made.