Language Center

Our Mission

The Language Center seeks:

• To equip eligible students with the language skills necessary for success in their academic studies using materials that promote global multicultural awareness;
• To provide tailor-made language training programs for the AUI community and other clients.

With the fostering of student learning as its primary focus, the LC provides courses and extracurricular activities designed to develop the four language skills while integrating grammar and vocabulary in a learner-centered environment.

The LC faculty is experienced, culturally diverse, and committed to professional development.  The use of modern technology and authentic materials contributes to an effective teaching/learning environment where students acquire not only the mechanics of the language but also the ability to use it in authentic contexts.

Our Vision

The vision of the Language Center is for it to be a role model for language institutions in the Middle East and Africa.  The LC wants to be known among students, parents, and educators for providing a stimulating academic environment and a challenging student-centered curriculum that motivates, challenges and educates all students.

Our Values

• Excellence
• Equity
• Transparency
• Equal opportunity
• Collaboration

Accreditation

As part of its continual quest for improvement and quality assurance, Al Akhawayn University has been working on accreditation, both programmatic and institutional, for several years.

In December 2009, the Language Center was accredited by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation, CEA.

In 2014, the Intensive English Program, which is the core program of the Center, received reaccreditation for a ten-year period from August 2014 to August 2024.

English for Staff Program

The English for Staff (EFS) program for Faculty and Staff at Al Akhawayn University seeks to introduce adult learners to a structured program of English as a foreign language so they can further develop their practical English language skills for the workplace setting.

The EFS program is based on an integrated-skills approach that aims to support mature adult learners in acquiring and using English clearly, accurately, and communicatively with colleagues at work and with the general English-speaking public.

This program aims to answer the needs of faculty and staff and consists of courses of 45 hours each ranging from low beginner to advanced level.

General Academic Expectations

Language Center English courses, while pre-academic and non-credit, are essential to improving a student’s English level and lay the foundation for a successful academic career. The following are general expectations and guidelines for Language Center students.

Attendance

Being in class is a requirement for all Language Center students due to the assumption that language development happens best through daily, communicative practice. Thus, the attendance policy of the Language Center allows a total of seven absences per courses that meet on a daily basis (AWG), and five absences for courses that meet three times a week (ARD and ALS), per semester, beginning on the first day of classes. There is no distinction between “excused” and “unexcused” absences. Upon the eighth or sixth absence, the student will be administratively dropped from the course and assigned the grade of “WF.”

Homework

Students can expect to spend a minimum of one hour each day preparing for each course. In the Al Akhawayn system, instructors expect language students to submit homework regularly, to be prepared every day, and to volunteer and participate actively in class. Students placed in the Super Intensive English Program will have to double the effort to meet the Language Center requirement in one semester. Thus, they are expected to work on their own a minimum of 15 hours per week.

Assessment and Evaluation

Instructors may give announced and unannounced tests on material for the day to see whether or not students have prepared for class. It is also commonplace for instructors to deliver a variety of quizzes and other assessments throughout the semester to promote and assist student learning.  Finally, each course has a midterm and final examination.

Academic Honesty

Honesty in all work is taken very seriously at Al Akhawayn University.

Cheating on Exams

All attempts at cheating on tests of any kind will result in disciplinary action being taken against the individual(s) concerned. Students caught cheating will be called before the university’s Disciplinary Committee which will decide on the action to be taken. Students may have their examination scores canceled or, in serious cases, be suspended or expelled from the university.  Cheating in examinations adversely affects the credibility of the university’s degrees and the reputation of the institution nationally and internationally.

Plagiarism:  Cheating on Written Work

A student’s written work must be his/her own.  Thus, the Language Center takes great care to ensure that students do not take work from the Internet, published sources, or other students and present that work as their own.  The Language Center uses Turnitin.com (www.turnitin.com), an Internet-based website that searches student work for plagiarism.  In addition, teachers who suspect that the written work is not the student's may call that work into question.  Finally, if a student is caught and proven to have plagiarized, they will face sanctions ranging from a reduced grade on the individual assignment to a WF for the course or even expulsion from the university.