MARCH 2007

A Campus Case Study
Using the Macmillan English Campus in Germany

1. Tailored to the learner

One of the principal challenges faced by teachers at the university was in teaching language learners at a wide variety of different levels.

Following the introduction of the Macmillan English Campus to the university, students are now able to work independently and additional courses can be assigned to those that need extra language practice. This means that precious whole-class teaching time is not lost.

According to Mario Österreicher, who is the English Campus coordinator at the university, 'the students appreciate the direct feedback and additional materials within the English Campus very much.' He also points out that, for the teacher, the English Campus 'gives the opportunity to supervise the students' progress whenever it shows that the student is lagging behind.'

2. Unique online TOEFL® content

One of the key features of the English Campus for the university was the ground-breaking online TOEFL® material provided within its resource database, comprising 195 exercises in total.

Macmillan English Campus is the only publisher licensed by the provider of the TOEFL® exam, Educational Testing Service (ETS), to provide access to this material. Previously, there were no online resources available in Germany for TOEFL® preparation, despite the increasing popularity of the Internet-based test over the previous paper- and computer-based tests.

Access to these TOEFL® practice materials will afford the university a crucial competitive advantage in achieving high completion scores when TOEFL® exams are introduced in April.

We caught up with Kristina Maul, one of the teachers who has been using the English Campus in the university, to find out how she has been getting on.
_________________________________________

What first attracted you to using the English Campus?

We have very limited classroom time and the idea of being able to give students additional exercises that are easy to put together (for the teacher) and easy to use for the students seemed like a very good addition to our programme.

What benefits do you feel blended learning is bringing to your students?

The online component gives students the opportunity to work when they have time. Also they can use the resource search functionality to find additional material to improve certain skills or to work on a certain chapter of grammar with which they have problems.

How are your students using the English Campus to learn English?

We work with a course book and have created additional material to go with each module in the book, for example, we have found additional grammar exercises and listening comprehensions.

Are there any features of the English Campus you feel are particularly popular amongst the students?

Needless to say they loved the games. They also liked the opportunity to practice certain grammar chapters. Many of them liked the opportunity to read newspaper articles.

To find out more about the Macmillan English Campus, please click here.