Natalie Drake

Email:
n.drake@reading.ac.uk
Phone:
(0)118 378 7259
Job title:
Associate Professor

Responsibilities:

As Programme Director for the International Foundation Programmes, I am responsible for the academic leadership and operational management of all aspects of the IFP provision in the Global Academy, and IFY provision at Part 0 across eight Schools on the UK campus.

I have oversight of the IFP provision on the University of Reading Malaysia branch campus to ensure the maintenance and co-ordination of academic standards across two campuses. I also oversee the offshore IFP Partnerships.

Areas of interest

My Teaching and Learning scholarship interests include international student experience, student transition into HE and student engagement on International Foundation Pathways.

Background

I have worked on International Foundation Programmes in the UK since 2011 in teaching and leadership roles, and coordinating and developing Academic English and ESAP courses on IFP programmes. Alongside this I also worked as an IELTS Examiner for 10 years assessing the Writing and Speaking components which formed a solid foundation for adhering to high quality monitoring standardisation procedures in assessment and moderation practices.

Before joining Reading in 2016, I worked at the University of London on a pre-sessional English course and prior to this I worked overseas teaching General English and Business English in France, Spain and Morocco.

Academic qualifications

2018 - Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), University of Reading

2014 - MA in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (King’s College London)

2010 - Cambridge Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA)

2005 - Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA)

1998 - BA (Hons) in French Studies and Linguistics with Spanish, 2:1

Selected publications

‘An innovative approach to online groupwork in the Academic Skills modules (IF0ACA and IF0RAS)’ (co-published with Rachel Rushton and Gemma Peacock) UoR T&L Exchange Case Study, 28 October 2021

Peace, M. and Drake, D. (2020). International Integration Through a Significant Extra-curricular Shared Experience at the Beginning of a Course. A. Manning & Colaiacomo, S. (Eds), Innovations in Internationalisation at Home. (pp.132 – 145).

Drake, N. and Mat Nayan, N, F. (2019). ‘Are changes necessary? Enhancing Student Engagement on an International Foundation Programme’. InForm 17-19.

Selected Conference Papers and Presentations

‘Using OneDrive to address the challenges of online groupwork’ (co-presented with Rachel Rushton and Gemma Peacock) ISLI Language and Teaching Research Forum, May 2021

‘Evolution of International Foundation Programmes – recognising a new environment and adapting to change’ InForm Conference, University of Reading, June 2019

‘International Integration Through a Significant Extra-curricular Shared Experience at the Beginning of a Course’ (co-presented with Dr Mark Peace) Invited speaker at Innovations in Internationalisation at Home Conference, University of Kent, UK, 05 April 2019

‘A snapshot of Student Engagement on the IFP’ (co-presented with Dr. Noor Mat Nayan) ISLI Language and Teaching Research Forum, 28 May 2019