Exploring cultural diversity through a shared reading scheme
Tatyana Yekimova, Royal Northern College of Music
The aims of the project
The project aimed to:
1) develop cross cultural competences through a shared reading project;
2) explore the literature of different countries;
3) create a greater awareness and understanding of the cultural values of other people;
4) improve language skills.
The project paired conservatoire students from the Far East who have little understanding of Western culture
with home students from the same institution. The paired students chose a book from the Oxford and
Penguin Graded Readers series and met on a regular basis to discuss what they had read.
Institutional context and rationale for the project
The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a unique learning and teaching environment in which musical
creativity and professional training flourish in complete synergy. Of the 700 students who study at the college,
115 come from outside the EU. Although these students work alongside each other in orchestras, ensembles
and academic learning contexts, it is often the case that students from the Far East experience difficulty when
making the transition to a Western culture. Despite having studied the Western repertoire in their own
country, they have little understanding of its cultural context, past and present. Moreover, language fluency
problems often hinder an accurate interpretation of the culture in which they are now living. Equally
problematic is the fact that home students have little awareness of the difficulties their international colleagues
are experiencing, as cross-cultural social engagements rarely take place. Research carried out at the College
has shown that international students would welcome the opportunity to meet home students but do not
have the confidence to forge friendship links. Similarly, many home students have expressed a wish to ‘get to
know’ international students but do not seem to be able to find an opportunity or the occasion to do so.
Management of the Project
The Shared Reading Project was managed by the Language Support Tutor and monitored on a weekly basis.
The books were catalogued and shelved in the RNCM library by librarian staff and were accessible to all
participants.
There was an initial meeting when the project was introduced and the aims and objectives described. The
students chose who they wanted to work with and then as a group we went to the college library where they
chose the books they wanted to read.
The meeting concluded with the students arranging subsequent meetings with their partners. All the students
were given an activity worksheet which gave suggestions as to how they could start their discussion, for
example, title, author, main characters, details of plot and so on. The language tutor monitored the project by
talking to individual groups and by an exchange of emails. Language development was monitored through
1
discussions with international students when they brought what they had learnt to the language classroom.
There was a final group meeting at the end of the project when the project was evaluated.
The materials
The library of books we purchased from the funds range from level three to level six of the Oxford
Bookworms Library and the Penguin Graded Readers Library. In each instance, the readers are simplified
texts of classic and modern fiction and non-fiction titles. Each book contains activities which develop and
consolidate the students’ understanding of the text.
The timescale
Books purchased
Titles chosen by working group consisting of home and
international students
Books catalogued and placed on Library shelves

March 2012
April
Information about scheme circulated to wider
audience
 Meetings held with participating students
 Shared Reading pairings established
Shared Reading Project begins
April
Evaluation meeting with students
18 June
30 April
Evaluation meeting and progress report to Dean of Academic 20 June
Studies (RNCM)
Data collection and analysis
Report given to Acting Principal of RNCM
Sustainability meeting with Principal of RNCM
July
Early August
The participants
Twelve students took part in the project; six international and six home students. Five of the international
students were Chinese and one was Romanian. Interestingly, five of the six home students who volunteered
to take part in the pilot project said they have specific learning difficulties connected with dyslexia.
The key outcomes of the project
The evaluation meeting
The evaluation meeting gave participants the opportunity to comment on the project and to suggest ways in
which the project might be improved. From the discussion it was clear that the project had been extremely
well-received and that the outcome had been positive. Favourable comments were made by all the
international and home students who took part.
The key outcomes
From discussions at the evaluation meeting the key outcomes can be summarised as follows:
1.
Barriers to establishing friendships with people from other cultures were overcome
International students were able to communicate with home students in a meaningful way; the books gave
them a purpose to meet and an agenda for their discussion. International students said that they would have
been ‘too shy’ to approach home students otherwise. It was clear that the books had provided a platform for
discussion about other topics. Home students reported that this was the first time they had had the
opportunity to meet with international students in a context other than music. Both groups reported that
they had enjoyed the experience and it is apparent that friendship groups between international and home
students have now been established.
2.
Language skills were developed within a meaningful context
The international students who participated in the project said that the level of the books they had chosen
were appropriate to their language level and needs. They felt that the books had helped them to build and
develop their grammar and vocabulary and that the extension activities at the back of each book had helped
them to understand the story in greater depth. From the discussions it was clear that these students had been
able to see how grammatical structures operate within a meaningful context. They also said that the meetings
enabled them to discuss language points and unfamiliar vocabulary with native speakers of English. Some home
students reported that the level had been a little easy but this had not been detrimental to their enjoyment of
the book. Some of the home students who had specific learning difficulties felt that the lower level helped
them to read and understand the text more thoroughly. One home student said that the level was
‘challenging’ without being too stressful. Another reported: ‘Despite being from England, I have never read any
books in the library, even though they are classics so now at least I will know the main plots of these stories’.
3.
The experience of working with different cultures others seen as a rewarding process
Both international and home students reported that they had enjoyed working with people from different
cultures. Home students reported that they had enjoyed the experience of working with international
students, in many cases for the first time, and had found the process very rewarding. Other home students
said that it had given them greater insights into the difficulties which international students face when living
and studying in a foreign country. One home student commented ‘Culturally, I now understand more about
the student’s background and have learned some words of their language.’ Another felt that this ‘was a very
good idea for internationalism.’ International students reported having enjoyed describing their backgrounds
and countries of origin to home students for the first time. One student said that she had felt ‘valued’ while
doing this. All the international students stated that the project had given them the confidence to ask
questions about the cultural backgrounds of the home students in the college. All the students who took part
in the initial project have asked to be involved in the setting up and monitoring of future schemes.
Challenges overcome
All the students met once during the course of the project. From the discussions in the evaluation meeting it
was clear that the students would have liked to have met more frequently but study commitments and final
recitals held in the college between May - June prevented them from doing so. It was clear that the timing of
the project (30 April – 18 June) was not in step with the college timetable. One group said they emailed each
other after their meeting to discuss the book they were reading. All the students made arrangements to meet
outside college time so that they could complete the project. To this extent, challenges were overcome but it
would have been better if the timing of the project had been different.
Sustainability
It is our intention that the Shared Reading Project becomes a Shared Reading Scheme which is embedded
within the work of the College as an integral part of our internationalisation strategy. The Principal of the
College fully supports the initiative. We intend to build on the experience of our pilot project and involve first
year international and home BMus students in the project in September 2012. We also want to involve home
students who have recognised specific learning difficulties; the evaluation feedback showed that these students
had gained a great deal from working with international students in a shared reading context. It is anticipated
that Phase 1 and 2 will involve 30 students (15 international and 15 home students). Starting with smaller
numbers in the first instance will enable us to monitor the groups more carefully and make any necessary
changes before the scheme is rolled out to a larger number of students in 2013-2014. Our long-term aim is to
gradually increase the numbers of students who participate in the scheme each year. The scheme in 20122013 will be organised in the following way:
Phase 1
Early October 2012
Mid-October
November
December
International Officer and Language Support Tutor meet with
international and home students who are interested in taking part in
the scheme.
Students who participated in the first scheme will be present at the
meeting.
Meetings held with participating students.
Shared reading pairings established.
Project begins. Students meet on a regular basis.
Mid-term meeting with full group and feedback
Students continue to meet on a regular basis.
Evaluation meeting and feedback.
Phase 2 will begin in January with the same number of students. The scheme will be organised in the same way
but will take into account feedback and evaluation from the December meeting. There will be no organised
scheme after Easter because of reasons outlined in.
Reflections on learning
Publishing details of the pilot project earlier would have given students time to plan their work more
effectively and allocate time for their reading. Providing activity worksheets for each title would have helped
language development and assisted discussions.
Recommendations
In our opinion, embedding an international learning and teaching experience is crucial in an educational
context such as the RNCM. Our students will go on to work with people of different cultures and
nationalities in orchestras and ensembles around the world so it is vital that they develop an understanding of
these cultures during their student career. A unique learning and teaching experience will have been lost if this
fails to happen. This project has demonstrated that home students and international students are keen to
build friendships with different nationalities but have hitherto lacked the social context in which to do so. The
outcome of this pilot study has shown that a shared ‘agenda’ for meeting and working together is more
beneficial than simply assuming that social links will be naturally established. It has also demonstrated that
these links can be sustained when the groups working together can see the merits of the activity. We
recommend therefore, that other institutions identify how they can bring cultures together in ways which will
be meaningful to all concerned in their particular contexts.
International Officer: Tatyana Yekimova ([email protected])
English Language Support Tutor: Dr Jean Ammar ([email protected])