Impact Study Consultant: English for Universities project Ukraine

About the project

The English for Universities project aimed to help Ukrainian institutions develop sustainable English language teaching capacity, introduce standards in universities and improve language teaching and learning to create more opportunities for effective engagement in international collaboration initiatives.

The project started five years ago as a baseline study/audit into the provision and role of English in higher education in Ukraine involving 15 National/State universities and has since grown to involve 32 universities from across Ukraine. The findings from the baseline study were published last year and can be found here.

The baseline research and publication has formed an important aspect of recent policy dialogue with the Ministry of Education and Science Ukraine. In addition to the baseline research, the project has embarked on an ambitious programme of teacher development schools, directly engaging with 2813 teachers from 32 universities, with the content and learning being disseminated to a further 7,000 teachers.

This is the last year of the project and it is important to evaluate its impact both in terms of quality of teaching and learning in partnering institutions, but also in respect to education system and policy changes. 

About the role 

The consultant will conduct a comprehensive study to evaluate the impact of the intervention in relation to: a change and improvement in the methodology of teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP); better quality of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) teaching and learning in terms of methodology and language proficiency; educational system change to enable more effective internationalisation.

Stage 1: conduct desk research analysing the baseline data and the scope and impact of the project interventions from the various project reports and other documentation. Prepare data collection plan/tools for the field visit.

Stage 2: in cooperation with British Council Kyiv team, conduct site visits to conduct interviews with university authorities, English teachers, EMI teachers and focus group meetings with students, to observe teaching and in addition analyse syllabi and curricular materials to assess changes in English provision over the life of the project. The British Council Ukraine will assist in organizing and managing the field visits (including transfers and accommodation, and providing support with liaising with the universities, timetabling meetings and translation).

Stage 3: analysis of all data collected to inform an end line report and a presentation, both of which will be submitted to the British Council Kyiv.

Proposed timeline for 30 days of consultancy:

September - six days desk research and preparation

October/November – sixteen days field visit to Ukraine visiting universities (including two travel days)

December - eight days of analysis and report writing

Qualifications and experience required

• Minimum Master degree in either English Language Teaching (ELT) or education
• Fully qualified as a teacher of English with an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) focus
• A thorough understanding of ESP theory and practice, with experience of ESP and teaching subjects through the medium of English
• Knowledge of relevant international standards and frameworks (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) Bologna requirements)
• Preferably experience of Ukraine and/or the region
• Thorough understanding of quality assurance and teacher professional development 
• Ability to carry out consultancies, demonstrating sensitive communication to clients, ability to work as part of a remote team
• Minimum of five years' teaching experience, ideally in ESP
• Experience and evidence of conducting needs analyses and of collecting qualitative and quantitative data in teaching and learning English 
• Evidence of involvement in large-scale higher education projects involving EAP, ESP and EMI 
• Evidence of educational research
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills

Apply

If you are interested, please send a cover letter and your CV tailored to the above requirements to zhanna.sevastianova@britishcouncil.org.ua with the subject 'EfU Consultant’.                                                                                                                                                           

Please note, we can only respond to successful applicants and only within 15 working days of the application deadline.