Information for Academic and Professional Staff
About Us
AALLU are academic staff located (institutionally) in the Arts Faculty Office, reporting to the Associate Dean of Education.
Our goal is to enhance all Arts students' abilities in learning, writing and using English in an Academic environment. We work collaboratively with Arts staff to provide programs and resources for Staff across the Faculty's many disciplines.
Some areas we focus on include:
- Understanding academic topics
- Understanding Academic Culture
- Essay writing processes
- Academic Writing style
- Learning English in context (for NESB and International students)
- Helping students to understand and avoid plagiarism
- Effective research and referencing
We encourage you to bring our programs to the attention of students who you think may benefit from them.
Students can pick up copies of the AALLU flyer from your school's general office or from the Unit, room S5.14/ S5.15, Menzies Building.
Staff can also download, print and distribute the following materials for use in lectures, tutorials, blackboard or emails to students:
- information paragraph and link for unit guides: doc
- AALLU powerpoint slide: pps
- AALLU A5 flyer: doc / pdf
Student referral service
You may refer students for individual assistance (one to one teaching) with the Unit if you think they need particular help with their work. This service is not restricted to students who have trouble with English, or with sentence structure; we can cover a range of matters as set out above.
Please ring or email an AALLU staff member to advise of the referral.
For Higher Degree Research Students
We offer a range of specialised programs for HDR students including a seminar series on academic writing for research. We also give priority to HDR students in individual consultations (one to one teaching).
In cases of particular need, for example a Masters or PhD student with English as a second language, or with relatively less experience in Academic writing, we can offer a more targeted program of individual teaching.
Our staff have all completed PhDs in the humanities, and are accredited as supervisors. In cases where HDR students need particularly intensive instruction on aspects of writing, or research we would welcome the opportunity to be named as an associate supervisor, or to participate in a supervision team.
Tutorials or seminars integrated into your courses
AALLU are available to develop tutorials, seminars or workshops which you can build into your teaching program.
the list above gives an indication of the areas in which we can offer specialised teaching, but in general, we seek to focus on the link between modes of writing or language in your discipline and the material being covered in your unit. Such sessions have been conducted successfully in a number of units, ranging from first year to postgraduate coursework.
Analysis of learning and writing problems
We have particular expertise in analysing the nature of students' learning and language problems, using their written work as data. If you think there is a significant group of students in a subject whose work needs improving, such an analysis can often reveal the source of difficulties and suggest ways in which the students' approach to learning might be modified to overcome them.