Teacher exchange Sheffield University

24 January, 2018

By: Sofia Strömbergsson, Division of Speech and Language Pathology

I’ve just got back from my Erasmus+ teacher exchange program at the University of Sheffield, and the Department of Human Communication Sciences (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/hcs/index). During my loaded two days in Sheffield, I’ve had inspiring meetings with UK colleagues, participated in discussions with post-graduate practicing Speech-Language Therapists (SLTs) within a course module for continued professional development, and served as a temporary staff member at a foreign university. As a bonus – I got to experience the atmosphere of a northern English city in the beautiful area of The Peak District!

My most lasting experience was probably the case discussions with the post-graduate SLTs, which concluded the course module on Speech Difficulties where I had participated with two lectures. The students’ presentations, and the way the connected their case experiences with the theoretical contents of my two lectures – on psycholinguistic models of speech processing, and on intelligibility – made a really strong impression on me. Through these discussions, I felt that I had really contributed to their professional development!

I owe many thanks to my hosts – Dr Meesha Warmington and Dr Silke Fricke – for their hospitality and for being very helpful in arranging my stay. I’m really looking forward to getting the chance of returning these favors later this spring, when they come to visit our department!

Lastly, I’d like to share my experiences of arranging the schedule for my visit. As I recall, we first planned my visit later during the spring – mostly as an accommodation to my spring schedule. However, my hosts suggested these earlier dates, as the ongoing activities would better match my expertise. At first, I was a bit hesitant towards this suggestion, fearing that it would cramp up my January calendar. However, in retrospect, I am really happy that we decided to go for that! I really enjoyed being able to share my experiences and knowledge within my fields of expertise, rather than to being shoehorned into activities with a poorer fit to my expertise, just because it would better match my schedule.