University of Latvia

Joint Report on

Faculty of Modern Languages

Bachelor Study Programme "English Philology”

Master Study Programme in Humanities, in English Philology

Programme des études académiques en baccalauréat de philologie en sciences humaines

(B.A. Programme in French Philology)

Programme des études académiques en magistère de philologie en sciences humaines

(M.A. Programme in French Philology)

Bachelor Study Programme "German Philology”

Master Study Programme (MSP) “German Philology”

Site visit on 1st and 2nd of December 2005

Summary

The Assessment Team recommends that all the above programmes be accredited for a further four (4) years. The team is aware that the normal intervals for accreditation are zero, two, or six years but felt that two years was too short a time for adjusting some of the weaknesses to be identifird and addressed later in this Report. Likewise, the team was not prepared to award six years as this seemed not to grant sufficient importance to these weaknesses. The team is also aware that their assessment and eventual remedy are all the more important as the Faculty of Modern Languages (FML) of the University of Latvia can serve as a model for other institutions in the region and is viewed as such.

I The assessment of Study Programmes.

The German philology programme has restructured and is now in line with the Bologna Process. The other programmes should now review their curricula and

consider ways in which progress towards the Bologna Process might be achieved. The assessment team came to the conclusion that all the programmes would

benefit from a curricula review.

There is no overall rationale to the programmes as they stand. Nor is there any sense of why the

curriculum content is as it is, other than tradition perhaps. There is a need to return to the

curricula and relate each element to the aims and objectives of the programmes. The courses

should be more clearly articulated in the programme, with a logical sequence of instruction. The

aims and objectives of the programmes should be set with the national needs of Latvia and the

professional needs of the students in mind.

The following are examples of items that might be selected and stated in the introduction to the curriculum :

- training future academic researchers in the fields of literature, culture studies as well as linguistics and other language related subjects;

- training professional teachers of modern languages for schools and universities;

- providing language skills at a level that will allow students to find employment in the professional and business worlds;

- preparing students for translation and interpreting careers;

- keeping standards at a quality level that will make the FML competitive in the present higher education environment of the European Union, within the Bologna process (Latvia was among the first among the new European Union entrants to sign the Bologna protocol)

At present the aims and objectives of the programmes as expressed in the documentation are

vague and abstract. There is little attempt to relate these aims and objectives to the national and

international contexts. For example, are there any specific reasons why the programmes (except the Batchelor Study Programme in German Philology)

should be completed in four years, as opposed to three years (as recommended in the European MLD system)

The objectives need to be clarified and the relationship between it and the “EU Language Portfolio” should be made explicit. There is no sense of levels of attainment or areas of expertise in the aims and objectives. The team, for example, felt that literature and culture studies (English and American Studies, French literature French Civilisation, Landeskunde was unacceptably under-represented in all the programmes. However, without a clear idea as to what the programmes were setting out to achieve, it was difficult to comment objectively on this.

As a whole, course titles should be clarified in order to be more understandable to students, and inflationary terminology ( “integrated text analysis”, “textology”, “contrastive studies”, “hermeneutics”) should be avoided. Overall grade for this section : 2 [Robinson]; 1 [Barthe]; 1 [Stassen]; 2 [Ikere]

II The content and organization of the studies.

The programmes comply with the professional and educational standards and legislation of the

Republic of Latvia and the European Union. The Team was pleased to note that there had been

some attempt to address the recommendations made in the previous audit in 2003 although some

of the weaknesses identified then still remain. The curriculum of the programmes is sound but

there is no overall rationale for the contents of the curriculum. A better balance should be sought

between the different courses: history of the language, linguistics, communication skills,

literature, civilization and society, other subjects, second (or third) language. Some translation

courses should be offered in order to improve the quality of Latvian among students (a

translation from the foreign language into Latvian is an excellent way to learn

Latvian in depth and is a reinforcement of the source language as well.)

The vocational context should also be made more prominent in all the curricula. While it is currently true the programmes lead to employment in the fields related to the

trainingoffered to students it is difficult to explain why so few students seem to register for the programmes outside English? (13 students in the first year of French

philology in 2005). It is worth noticing though

that in the first year of the B.A. Programme in German Philology enrollment has gone up after the

change to a three-year, revised curriculum. Even though graduate students do find suitable employment all the programmes would benefit from greater vocational

direction.

Part of the programmes should be clearly designed to prepare students for professional use of their skills. As they stand now, the programmes

seem to be restricted to preparing students primarily for university research. A course in pedagogy and teaching techniques for future teachers

should be included in the final year of the programme or provision should be made for the acquisition of these skills in a formal learning

environment.

It is also recommended that the programmes representing the different languages should liaise more fully to ensure co-operation and comparability across the programmes.

Overall grade for this section : 2 (Robinson); 1 (Barthe); 1 (Stassen); 2 (Ikere)

III Assessment of teaching and learning

The Team was very impressed with the quality of the staff in terms of their research expertise, their commitment to teaching. The Faculty has a strategy in place to increase the number of staff who have doctorates, and this should reach acceptable levels in three to four years’ time.

There is a good balance between the various teaching sessions such as lectures, seminars, workshops and individual work in the library and other resource areas.

The balance between practical and theoretical activities and interactive teaching forms and aids used during the study process encourage the students’ creativity and their ability to think independently.

The relationship between staff and students seemed to be very positive and students confirmed that staff were readily available and supportive. Students expressed high levels of motivation in their studies.

The assessment methods are appropriate to the content and level of the programmes. The Team was able to observe lessons where the students performed very well.

Overall grade for this section : 3 [Robinson]; 3 [Barthe]; 2 [Stassen]; 4 [Ikere]

IV Management and support of studies

The Team was satisfied that the Institution as a whole is run on clearly defined democratic principles and that this encouraged a fruitful spirit of co-operation between the faculties. The Team was impressed with the co-operation with some Latvian higher education establishments and research institutions; nevertheless co-operation at the international level could be further developed. Both students and staff expressed the wish to have more opportunities for developing this area of the faculty’s activities. Students claimed that they were not always fully informed about exchange opportunities with other foreign higher educational establishments. However it is to the credit of the Faculty that in order to encourage studying abroad, credits are granted to students who take courses in foreign universities as long as they are properly registered and spend at least a term in a foreign university. On the other hand, lack of money, the exigencies of a multiplicity of simultaneous jobs, family considerations and a lack of partner institutions abroad do have a very restraining effect on student and faculty mobility. Although there are good facilities such as the Library, the computer rooms and language laboratories, students felt that these should be made more made accessible to them.

Overall grade for this section : 3 [Robinson]; 3 [Barthe]; 2 [Stassen]; 3 [Ikere]

V Research

Although some staff and students are extensively involved in high level research there still seems to be potential to extend this to all members of staff, in particular in respect to opportunities for international co-operation. Too much emphasis however seems to be placed on linguistic and philological research to the detriment of research in literature and civilisation.

Overall grade for this section 3 [Robinson]; 3 [Barthe]; 2 [Stassen]; 3 [Ikere]

VI Quality assessment mechanisms.

The programmes are well monitored and managed by the Faculty but teaching staff need to be

fully aware of the need for continual updating of the curriculum to maintain national and

international currency.

Generally speaking it appears that graduates do find employment locally and nationally, appropriate to their qualifications, albeit with very little salary incentive. Because of the need to catch up – and a relative booming economy- Latvia can offer employment to its university graduates even of the philologies, but the salaries are such that the best go either to the EU institutions or for further studies to the US or other EU states. The programmes should be geared toward preventing-as much as that is possible-a significant brain drain as well as preparing for a shrinking labour market when the boom years are over, i.e. broadening the vocational base to cover publishing, media etc., and not only teaching and translation. Whatever the case the Faculty

should continue to monitor the changing needs of the Latvian National State as it becomes fully integrated into the European Union.

Overall grade for this section 2 [Robinson]; 2 [Barthe]; 1 (Stassen); 3 [Ikere]

Evaluation Team

Brian M H Robinson,

Head of School of Communication Culture and Creative Arts, St Mary’s College, University of Surrey/UK;

Pierre Barthe, Attaché de coopération pour le français (educational attaché at the French Embassy in Latvia)/ Directeur adjoint du Centre Culturel Français (Deputy Director of the French Cultural Centre in Riga);

Zaiga Ikere, President, Daugavpils University, and Prof. Dr. habil. in Philology;

Manfred Stassen (Germany),

Adjunct Prof. of Letters,

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,

The Johns Hopkins U./USA and

DAAD Emeritus Prof. of Humanities (2003/2004)

Latvijas Kulturas Akademija, Riga/LV

30/12/2005