Contextual Background
I teach on the MA Global Fashion Retailing programme at London College of Fashion, where a typical cohort includes around 67 postgraduate students. Approximately 95% of the cohort are international students, with diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, and many speak English as an additional language. As Unit Leader for Creative Retail Futures, students must deliver a final group presentation to industry partners, which can be particularly challenging for students who lack confidence in public speaking or presenting in English.
Evaluation
During early seminars, I observed that many students were hesitant to speak during whole-class discussions. While some students participated actively, others, particularly those less confident using English in academic settings, remained quiet. This created a challenge because the unit assessment requires students to present professional project proposals to external industry partners.
To address this, I introduced scaffolded speaking activities designed to gradually build confidence. For example, students were first asked to contribute a single sentence in response to a prompt, before progressing to slightly longer one-minute presentations. I also incorporated informal pitching exercises, such as asking students to present the contents of their bags as a product concept. These activities created a lower-pressure environment where students could practise speaking and gradually develop confidence.
Over time, I observed increased participation across the cohort. Students who initially remained silent began contributing more frequently during seminars. Feedback from the unit evaluation also indicated that many students felt their presentation skills improved significantly, and several commented that the seminar activities helped them feel more comfortable presenting in front of others.
This experience aligns with research suggesting that students from linguistically diverse backgrounds may experience anxiety when participating in class discussions and benefit from structured opportunities to build confidence gradually (Biggs and Tang, 2011).
Moving Forward
Reflecting on this experience has highlighted the importance of intentionally designing learning environments that support linguistically and culturally diverse cohorts.
One strategy I plan to continue using is scaffolded participation, where students gradually develop confidence through structured speaking tasks. Educational research emphasises that scaffolding enables learners to build competence progressively while receiving appropriate support (Vygotsky, 1978). In this context, short contributions and informal presentations act as preparatory steps for more complex tasks, such as the final industry presentation.
Another approach worth strengthening is the use of peer discussion before public sharing. Asking students to discuss ideas in small groups before presenting them to the wider class can reduce the pressure associated with immediate public speaking. This strategy aligns with active learning approaches that encourage collaborative meaning-making and deeper engagement with course content (Biggs and Tang, 2011). In practice, I plan to incorporate more structured think–pair–share activities to help students formulate responses before contributing to whole-class discussions.
I would also like to further develop creative communication activities linked to industry practice. The positive response to the “what’s in my bag” pitching activity suggests that playful tasks can reduce anxiety while simultaneously developing persuasive communication skills relevant to retail practice. Expanding these activities, for example, through short brand pitching exercises, may help students practise presenting ideas in ways that mirror professional industry environments.
Encouragingly, the outcomes of these strategies were visible in the final assessment presentations, where students demonstrated greater confidence and professionalism when presenting their projects to industry partners. Even students who had initially been reluctant to speak contributed meaningfully to their group presentations. This experience reinforces the importance of recognising the diverse linguistic and cultural needs within international postgraduate cohorts and designing activities that gradually build participation and confidence.
Action Plan
| Action | Timeline | Purpose |
| Introduce scaffolded speaking activities early in the semester | Next teaching cycle | Build confidence progressively |
| Use structured small-group discussions before class-wide sharing | Immediate implementation | Reduce pressure for hesitant speakers |
| Expand industry-style pitching exercises | Next unit iteration | Strengthen professional presentation skills |
| Collect targeted student feedback on seminar participation | End of block | Evaluate effectiveness and refine strategies |
References
Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 4th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Vygotsky, L. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.