How to write a proposal? | C1 Advanced (CAE)

Proposal subject:

Language students – let us improve what we do for you!
Unfortunately, we can’t spend much money, but we’d like to improve what we provide for our language students. Submit proposals to us explaining what is useful about the current facilities we provide, describe any problems you have with them and make recommendations for how we can improve them, giving reasons to support your ideas.

Student’s CAE Proposal Answer:

How to improve the quality of language classes: a proposal

The principal objectives of this proposal are to describe the current state of language teaching at the Pennsylvania State University, identify areas for improvement, and offer recommendations on exactly what improvements can be achieved.

Current situation

At the present moment, Penn State offers courses of several languages on three different levels. One can study modern languages such as French, German, Italian Russian as a beginner, intermediate or upper-intermediate student.

Issues

Following a final year survey among students taking language courses, the following areas for improvement can be highlighted:

1. the number of languages in offer: undoubtedly narrow and restricted to European languages;
2. the structure of the courses is flat: no advanced level
3. little innovation in the language methods utilized: simple, old-fashioned grammar-translation method still reigns supreme.

Recommendations

It is vital to address the issues raised in the student survey. Therefore, the following actions ought to be performed with a view to improving the quality of the courses and their reception:

A. The offer should be increased to include other widely-spoken languages, especially non-European ones, such as Chinese, Arabic and Hindi. These languages are real challenges for the speakers of European languages.

B. It is advisable to expand the course options by offering lessons for advanced students. Only comprehensive offer can motivate students to immerse themselves in language learning.

C. Last but not least, some variety needs to be introduced into the array of teaching methods available to students, e.g. online multimedia lessons. The best method of language learning is using many various methods.

All of these measures, if promptly implemented, are surely going to increase student satisfaction in the area of language courses.

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Proposal subject:

You go to a university that has a high amount of international students and you have realised that the website is not up to scratch. Write a proposal for the University Dean about how it could be improved.

Student’s CAE Proposal Answer:

This proposal is aimed at outlining the way in which the university website could be improved so that it is more user friendly for international students. It will suggest what improvements can be made and also set out how this would benefit the students themselves.

Problems with using the site

A recent study into how easy it is to get around the site has revealed that 70% of students whose second language is English find it difficult to find specific information about their courses. Because of the language barrier, they find it hard to make their search terms clear and this has become a cause for concern. Translating the site is not an option and this can be a big problem, especially at the beginning of the academic year.

Ways the site could address these issues

It has been well documented that the university website has neither a site map nor an introduction video to help novice students to find their way around it. It would make a huge difference if there were some simple instructions to indicate where to find information. It is a delicate balance as we, of course, want international students to learn English, but also want them to navigate the site with ease.

Recommendations

I would like to make the following recommendations:

• Invite students who are starting out at the university to a quick and informative seminar to demonstrate how to use the site.
• Provide language help and some useful resources for language learning and assistance.
• Provide a survival pack for students to take with them and know how to combat technological issues.

If these recommendations are in place, young people are bound to feel more prepared for their experience and take full advantage of this unique experience.

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There are plans to demolish an old and unused building in the town where you are a student. You feel that the building should be saved. You decide to write a proposal for the town council explaining why you think the building should be preserved, suggesting what could be done to modernise it and saying how the building could benefit the local people.

Your college currently doesn’t provide enough support for students planning to spend time studying in another country. You see this notice in the library.

The college is planning to introduce a special course for students planning to spend time studying in-country. The college principal invites students to send a proposal outlining any problems students may face when studying abroad and suggesting ways in which the course could address these problems. A decision can then be made about what to include on the course.

Students at your college have to give a spoken presentation as part of their final assessment and need some help. The school director has invited you to send a proposal outlining any problems students have with presentations and suggesting how these problems could be overcome.

The company you work for is considering the idea of a flexible working day, where staff are able to vary their starting and finishing time. The manager of your department has asked you to write a proposal explaining why introducing a flexible working day could benefit both the company and its employees. You should also suggest how a flexible working day could operate in your own department.