From 8 to 12 March 2026, Mary Martala-Lockett, Deputy Head of the Academic Skills Centre at the University of Hertfordshire, together with faculty representative Natalia Zajaczkowska, visited Hertfordshire College. They worked with teachers from the English Language Centre to conduct a review and provide instructional guidance on the delivery and quality assurance of the Foundation Year English courses for the 2025 intake. This exchange aims to further optimise course delivery plans, improve teaching management and assessment mechanisms, and continuously enhance students’ academic English proficiency and learning experience.
During the visit, both sides first conducted a comprehensive review of the teaching delivery of the Integrated English course in the first semester. By analysing class feedback and teaching materials, they summarised effective practices and identified areas for improvement in course delivery. Based on this review, both sides focused on analysing the results of the university English diagnostic test conducted at the beginning of the second semester. They carried out a comparative analysis with the diagnostic test data from the first semester and discussed subsequent teaching arrangements and streamed teaching strategies.
Subsequently, both sides conducted an in-depth review and exchanged views on the teaching philosophies, instructional methodologies and assessment approaches for the four modules of Enhanced English. The discussions focused on clarifying the core objectives of the courses in developing students’ academic reading and writing skills while supporting their engineering studies. UH lecturers also observed classes across all teaching groups, providing detailed feedback on teachers’ classroom organisation, teacher-student interaction and learning task design, together with constructive suggestions for the continuous enhancement of teaching quality.
In addition, both sides discussed the standardised delivery of teaching and research activities, and outlined the key priorities for English teaching in the next phase. This review further strengthened communication and collaboration between Hertfordshire College and the University of Hertfordshire in Foundation Year English teaching, while providing valuable insights for subsequent curriculum development and pedagogical improvement.
(Text and Photo by April Huang; Reviewed by Wayne Yao and Wendy Wang, Hertfordshire College)
