Academic literacy support: Teaching along the continuum

Abstract

The widening participation agenda and the growing numbers of international students has led to a growing need for centralised academic language and learning (ALL) support for students in Australian universities. One of the challenges that these units face is providing equitable and sustainable models of academic literacy assistance across the university. Support situated within the disciplines is widely espoused in the literature but can lead to inequities, with some students receiving extensive support and others receiving very little. One relatively small ALL unit has addressed this challenge by working within the generic-to-embedded support continuum. On the generic end are academic skills workshops and generic online access materials, while activities at the embedded-literacy end include collaborations with departmental staff to offer targeted activities to improve students’ academic literacy skills. In between, discipline-specific online materials and individual consultations bridge the gap by addressing the concerns of specific disciplines and specific assignments. This strategy aims to provide support that is both effective and equitable, allowing students to access a range of support throughout their academic journey.