The Digital Testing of Undergraduate Students’ Awareness of Business English Vocabulary

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Zorina
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Business English ◽  
Digital Testing

scholarly journals Voices from EFL Thai learners towards English writing

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1495-1507
Author(s):  
Chutamas Sundrarajun
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
Business English ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Written Assignments

English language writing is seen as one of the most difficult skills for undergraduate students. When composing a piece of writing, students usually face various problems ranging from grammatical aspects to expressing ideas and opinions. To answer the research questions, this study employed a mixed method of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to identify the students’ perceptions towards Business Article Writing Course, as well as to pinpoint their challenges when working on the written assignments. The intensive data were collected from 20 fourth year students majoring in Business English via the use of questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The findings give teachers, course designers, and educational organizations an insight into students’ problems in learning English language writing. It also highlights the need to integrate different genres of writing to enhance students’ writing skills so that they can use such techniques to overcome any struggles when composing a piece of writing.   Keywords:  Academic Writing, EFL, Writing Strategies, Peer Feedback

scholarly journals Improving EFL Undergraduate Learners’ Speaking Skills Through Project-Based Learning Using Presentation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Lawarn Sirisrimangkorn
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Business English ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Skill Improvement ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods ◽  
Speaking Skills

Project-based learning has been variously integrated into EFL instruction to promote learners’ language learning and skills. The objectives of this research study were to examine the effects of project-based learning using presentation on EFL undergraduate learners’ speaking skills. Furthermore, this study sought to explore learners’ opinions on the use of project-based learning using presentation. The participants of this study were 31 second-year undergraduate students who majored in Business English. The research instruments in this study included speaking tests, project-based learning instructions, questionnaires, and interviews. The obtained data were analyzed by quantitative and qualitative methods for the result interpretation. The findings of this study revealed that students’ speaking skills had significantly improved after the project-based learning implementation. Moreover, the students expressed positive opinions towards project-based learning using presentation as it was perceived to have helped improve their speaking skills. The findings from the interviews revealed that the project-based learning using presentation was positive for learners’ speaking skills according to their presentation tasks, scaffolding activities, and practice of integrative skills. A cooperative learning environment is perceived as useful for learners’ speaking skill improvement. However, time constraint posed a major challenge in the study. Further studies are recommended to encompass a community-based context for speaking skill improvement. Instructional implications derived from the findings include implementing project-based learning using presentation in order to provide learners with an authentic English speaking context and to promote the integrated skills.

scholarly journals ASSESSMENT OF CASE STUDY METHOD IMPLEMENTATION IN THE BUSINESS ENGLISH TEACHING

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 790-797
Author(s):  
Angela Strelchonok
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Business Communication ◽  
Business English ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Experiment Data ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Before And After

The paper presents research carried out with the purpose to evaluate the results of case study method implementation in the Business English language classroom with undergraduate students of RISEBA University of Business, Arts, and Technology. The research question is whether students who are taught Business English through case studies develop better linguistic competence as well as greater proficiency in both language and business communication skills than students who are taught without the use of case study method.An experiment was conducted on two equal groups during one academic semester. Each group was administered tests devised by the lecturer before and after the experiment. Data were analysed using statistical ANOVA methodology and evidence to support the hypothesis was obtained.The results of statistical analysis confirmed the hypothesis about the advantage of implementation of the case study method in the Business English language classroom.

scholarly journals Reverse Subtitling in the ESP Class to Improve Written Skills in English

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-49
Author(s):  
José Javier Ávila-Cabrera
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Business English ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Written Production ◽  
Oral Skills ◽  
Academic Year

The improvement of foreign language (L2) skills is of paramount importance in the university context, and a considerable number of students lack linguistic proficiency in their oral and written communication skills. This lack of proficiency needs to be properly addressed and methodologies employed in order to help students improve such skills. There are many cases in which international students, whose cultural background is either European or Asian, need to improve their oral and written production in English as an L2. This paper presents a study conducted at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid throughout the 2017–2018 academic year, in which a number of undergraduate students enrolled in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) used reverse subtitling, from Spanish or Chinese into English, as a learning tool. The main focus of this case study was to enable students to improve their written skills in English through the combined use of Business English and reverse subtitling in accordance with the course content and expectations. A mixed method was used in order to gather and evaluate quantitative and qualitative data. This study therefore aims to bring to the fore the potential of using reverse subtitling in the ESP class. Lay summary Improvement in written and oral skills is a universal task for all university students studying a foreign language. Their goal is to work toward improving their skills in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) by completing the tasks proposed by their lecturers in the subject in which they are enrolled. One of these skills is writing, which is a production skill that requires the lecturer’s supervision. The aim of this paper is to present a study centred on the improvement of written skills in the class of ESP with a majority of students from Spain and a minority from China. The study took place in the 2017–2018 academic year at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. Participants submitted compositions in English relating to business and commerce. In addition, they used subtitling as a pedagogical tool to improve their written production in ESP. This practice consisted of transferring the original oral text of a video into subtitles, from Spanish to English (in the case of Spanish speakers) and from Chinese into English (for Chinese speakers). By doing so, we compared quantitative data obtained from the tasks submitted by students, and qualitative data in the form of participant questionnaires in order to observe improvement in their skills. We aim to highlight the pedagogical potential of subtitling for the improvement of written skills in ESP.  

Acquiring business knowledge through Business English reading materials: pre-experience students’ perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-451
Author(s):  
Jolanta Łącka-Badura
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Business English ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Based Instruction

Abstract The paper investigates how the type of business content found in the reading materials offered by a popular Business English course book as well as the degree of the content’s relevance and usefulness, are perceived by pre-service students learning Business English as part of their university curriculum. Twelve groups of first year undergraduate students at the University of Economics in Katowice, with no prior experience of learning either Business English or the principles of business, were asked to compare pairs of texts related to three business topics: international marketing, management styles, and stock market investment. One of the texts in each pair was selected from the Student Book of the third edition of a widely used Business English course book (upper-intermediate or intermediate level), and the other, on the same topic, extracted from online repositories of business-related articles. The results of the student survey indicate that first year students, while appreciating the course book ‘real-life examples’ of successful companies, express strong preference for the Internet-based texts which provide them with the opportunity to acquire ‘basic knowledge’ related to specific business issues. The findings also appear to confirm the rationale behind integrating the two approaches: LSP (languages for specific purposes) and CBI (content-based instruction) in the tertiary education context, as well as the importance of properly selected professional content in fostering learners’ motivation and engagement.

Read, Understand, Learn, & Excel: Development and Testing of an Automated Reading Strategy Detection Algorithm for Postsecondary Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 1257-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Kucheria ◽  
McKay Moore Sohlberg ◽  
Jason Prideaux ◽  
Stephen Fickas
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Expository Text ◽  
Reading Strategy ◽  
Detection Algorithm ◽  
Expository Texts ◽  
Human Observer ◽  
Behavioral Strategies ◽  
Periodic Review ◽  
Wide Range

PurposeAn important predictor of postsecondary academic success is an individual's reading comprehension skills. Postsecondary readers apply a wide range of behavioral strategies to process text for learning purposes. Currently, no tools exist to detect a reader's use of strategies. The primary aim of this study was to develop Read, Understand, Learn, & Excel, an automated tool designed to detect reading strategy use and explore its accuracy in detecting strategies when students read digital, expository text.MethodAn iterative design was used to develop the computer algorithm for detecting 9 reading strategies. Twelve undergraduate students read 2 expository texts that were equated for length and complexity. A human observer documented the strategies employed by each reader, whereas the computer used digital sequences to detect the same strategies. Data were then coded and analyzed to determine agreement between the 2 sources of strategy detection (i.e., the computer and the observer).ResultsAgreement between the computer- and human-coded strategies was 75% or higher for 6 out of the 9 strategies. Only 3 out of the 9 strategies–previewing content, evaluating amount of remaining text, and periodic review and/or iterative summarizing–had less than 60% agreement.ConclusionRead, Understand, Learn, & Excel provides proof of concept that a reader's approach to engaging with academic text can be objectively and automatically captured. Clinical implications and suggestions to improve the sensitivity of the code are discussed.Supplemental Materialhttps://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8204786

Does a Graduate Course in Fluency Disorders Make a Difference?

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn R. Klein ◽  
Barbara J. Amster
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Graduate Programs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Graduate Course ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Fluency Disorders ◽  
Introductory Course ◽  
Communicative Disorders

Abstract A study by Yaruss and Quesal (2002), based on responses from 134 of 239 ASHA accredited graduate programs, indicated that approximately 25% of graduate programs in the United States allow students to earn their degree without having coursework in fluency disorders and 66% of programs allow students to graduate without clinical experience treating people who stutter (PWS). It is not surprising that many clinicians report discomfort in treating PWS. This cross-sectional study compares differences in beliefs about the cause of stuttering between freshman undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory course in communicative disorders and graduate students enrolled and in the final weeks of a graduate course in fluency disorders.

The Impact of TimeSlips on Undergraduate Students in Service Learning With Older Adults

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sabine Heuer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Attitudes Toward Older Adults ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Attitude Shift ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Journal Entries

Purpose Future speech-language pathologists are often unprepared in their academic training to serve the communicative and cognitive needs of older adults with dementia. While negative attitudes toward older adults are prevalent among undergraduate students, service learning has been shown to positively affect students' attitudes toward older adults. TimeSlips is an evidence-based approach that has been shown to improve health care students' attitudes toward older adults. The purpose of this study is to explore the change in attitudes in speech-language pathology students toward older adults using TimeSlips in service learning. Method Fifty-one students participated in TimeSlips service learning with older adults and completed the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) before and after service learning. In addition, students completed a reflection journal. The DAS data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics, and journal entries were analyzed using a qualitative analysis approach. Results The service learners exhibited a significant increase in positive attitude as indexed on the DAS. The reflective journal entries supported the positive change in attitudes. Conclusions A noticeable attitude shift was indexed in reflective journals and on the DAS. TimeSlips is an evidence-based, patient-centered approach well suited to address challenges in the preparation of Communication Sciences and Disorders students to work with the growing population of older adults.

Engaging Undergraduate Students in Child Language Research

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-16
Author(s):  
Jade H. Coston ◽  
Corine Myers-Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Student Growth ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
Research Dissemination ◽  
Language Sampling ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Language Sample Analysis ◽  
Turn Taking ◽  
Assessment Techniques

To better prepare the professionals and scholars of tomorrow in the field of communication sciences and disorders (CSD), a research project in which undergraduate students collected and analyzed language samples of child-parent dyads is presented. Student researchers gained broad and discipline-specific inquiry skills related to the ethical conduct of research, the literature review process, data collection using language assessment techniques, language sample analysis, and research dissemination. Undergraduate students majoring in CSD developed clinical research knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for future graduate level study and professional employment. In addition to the benefits of student growth and development, language samples collected through this project are helping to answer research questions regarding communicative turn-taking opportunities within the everyday routines of young children, the effects of turn-taking interactions on language development, and the construct validity of language sampling analysis techniques.

Bilingual and Monolingual Students' Perceptions of the CSD Major: A Qualitative Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flora Keshishian ◽  
Rebecca Wiseheart
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
School Setting ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bilingual Students ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Diverse Environment ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
Areas Of Interest

There is a growing demand for bilingual services in speech-language pathology and audiology. To meet this growing demand, and given their critical role in the recruitment of more bilingual professionals, higher education institutions need to know more about bilingual students' impression of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) as a major. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate bilingual and monolingual undergraduate students' perceptions of the CSD major. One hundred and twenty-two students from a large university located in a highly multicultural metropolitan area responded to four open-ended questions aimed at discovering students' major areas of interest (and disinterest) as well as their motivations for pursuing a degree in CSD. Consistent with similar reports conducted outside the United States, students from this culturally diverse environment indicated choosing the major for altruistic reasons. A large percentage of participants were motivated by a desire to work with children, but not in a school setting. Although 42% of the participants were bilingual, few indicated an interest in taking an additional course in bilingual studies. Implications of these findings as well as practical suggestions for the recruitment of bilingual students are discussed.

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