Assessment of “Special English Lessons” for engineering students

Special english lessons (SEL) is a special English language instruction program for engineering undergraduate students designed to improve their English skills and enhance their abilities in global communication. It is provided by the Global Ware Project (GWP) of the Center for Innovation in Engineering Education (CIEE) at the School of Engineering in the University of Tokyo. The SEL program is delivered by selected private English language schools from outside the university and governed by the GWP. The number of students who take part in the program has been increasing each year: enrollment was 430 in 2008, an outstanding result. SEL is not merely the simple outsourcing of lectures to English language schools, but a collaboration between GWP and these private schools. GWP controls the entire program, actively supervises the classes, continuously assesses the classes, and proactively suggests ways to improve the program to meet the evolving needs of the School of Engineering.