Prof. Tony Lynch - The Importance of Listening to International Students

Professor Tony Lynch, Personal Chair of Student Learning (English for Academic Purposes), presented his inaugural lecture entitled “The Importance of Listening to International Students“. The title is intentionally ambiguous. It refers firstly to the importance for international students of having adequate comprehension of spoken English; and it also alludes to the importance for the University of taking account of international students' perceptions of studying at Edinburgh. In the lecture, Prof Lynch addresses both these issues. In the first part he draws on his research into the experience of second language listeners, in order to outline the processes underlying comprehension, the problems likely to arise, and possible solutions to those difficulties. In the second part he discuss postgraduates' responses to an ELTC (English Language Teaching Centre) survey on linguistic and cultural aspects of studying at Edinburgh. He argues that relatively minor adjustments by and