Charlene Earl

I am a part-time Postgraduate Research Student studying a PhD in Higher Education at the Centre for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE).
I graduated in 2008 with a Masters in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from the University of Wales, Swansea, and my area of specialism was vocabulary acquisition and retention.

I have travelled extensively to a number of countries and taught English as a Foreign Language in Argentina, New Zealand and at an orphanage in Bolivia. These experiences have led me to explore the notion of intercultural awareness through a research project funded by UKCISA/HEA. The outcome of this project resulted in the provision of Talking Cultures, encompassing intercultural awareness training in a variety of educational and professional settings. This area of interest has further developed to providing bespoke workshops focusing on enhancing intercultural and interpersonal language and communication skills to international medical healthcare practitioners in the NHS.  

For the PhD in Higher Education, my research focuses on exploring to what extent intercultural competencies and strategies are influential factors in fostering success in cross-cultural engagement in Higher Education in the UK, for international students studying a postgraduate business-related programme. I would like to further explore the extent to which intercultural competencies and strategies need to be employed intentionally, or would they be more successfully applied when used unintentionally, reducing potential cultural anxieties and apprehensions.

Professional Practice:

I am a full-time member of staff at the University of Kent. My role is an International Programmes Manager in the International Programmes Department, in the division of Global and Lifelong Learning. The department provides a range of deliveries to support overseas students, with International Programmes providing access to both undergraduate and postgraduate study. My specific areas of responsibility are managing the Pre-sessional and In-sessional provisions, as well as delivering intercultural workshops to students and staff in the University.

I have experience of teaching both home and overseas students from a diverse range of cultures from Europe, Middle East, South America, Japan and Asia. Currently I teach on the two-year SSPSSR Masters programme and Talking Cultures credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing modules for students and members of staff at the University of Kent.

I have attended a number of conferences delivering presentations and workshops focusing on a range of topics from fostering cross-cultural engagement in Higher Education, exploring transferable skills acquired through specific intercultural cross-curricular activities and assignments, and considerations applied to planning and creating activities to support internationalisation in Higher Education.