An intensive presentations course in English for aeronautical engineering students using cyclic video recordings

Author(s):  
Dietmar Tatzl

AbstractThis article presents the design and evaluation of an intensive presentations course for aeronautical engineering students based on cyclic video recordings. The target group of this course in English for specific purposes (ESP) were undergraduate final-year students who needed to improve their presentation and foreign language skills to prepare for graduation and the workplace or further studies. This evaluative practitioner case study employed a mixed-methods design relying on a tailored paper questionnaire survey, teacher-assessed final presentations and teacher observation in class. Respondents were asked to rate course-related statements on language learning and presentation skills development on a 5-point Likert scale. With two student year groups in consecutive years, attendance at and engagement in the course were high, and student evaluations (

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-21
Author(s):  
Milton Raul Licona Luna ◽  
Elizabeth Alvarado Martínez

Institutions from basic to higher education in Mexico that offer courses of English as a Foreign Language rely heavily on the administering of assessment, usually a formal type of assessment. However, the literature shows how important it is the involvement of other types of assessment in the classroom for effective language learning to take place. For instance, assessment for learning, which consist of a continuous assessment where learners receive feedback so greater learning occurs, what is more, it enables teachers to modify their teaching ways as they reflect on the learners’ progress. To show how assessment is carried out in our context, this research project focuses on a case study within the CAADI from FOD in the UANL.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-193
Author(s):  
Lucía Pintado Gutiérrez

AbstractThis article explores the agency of the student in translation in language teaching and learning (or TILT). The purpose of the case study discussed here is to gain an overview of students’ perceptions of translation into the foreign language (FL) (also known as “inverse translation”) following a module on language and translation, and to analyse whether there is any correlation between students’ attitude to translation, its impact on their language learning through effort invested, and the improvement of language skills. The results of the case study reveal translation to be a potentially exciting skill that can be central to FL learning and the analysis gives indications of how and why language teachers may optimise the implementation of translation in the classroom. The outcome of the study suggests that further research is needed on the impact of translation in the language classroom focussing on both teachers’ expectations and students’ achievements.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rouhollah Rahmatian ◽  
Fatemeh Zarekar

<p class="apa">This article defines the objective of discovering the first preferred styles of Iranian learners of French as a Foreign Language (FFL) as regards inductive or deductive learning; and secondly, the difference between gender-based learning tendencies. Considering these points as target variables, the questionnaire developed by Felder and Silverman in 1988 was applied to form the learning styles and consequently to associate them with inductive and deductive approaches. The results led the team to set the idea which is based on the choice of induction or deduction in language learning and the gender variable that follows different directions. Consequently, in terms of the inductive approach, we find ourselves facing a rather male solicitation. A proportion of the use of this approach is also associated with women whose motivation is seen rather noticeably. Moreover, the significance is relative rather than significant in all the relationships studied in this research: males and inductive (1)/deductive learning (2); females and inductive (3)/deductive learning (4); inductive (5)/deductive (6) among Iranians.</p>


Author(s):  
Gurleen Ahluwalia ◽  
Deepti Gupta

The present case study investigates the effectiveness of technology use in the writing skills of the students at the tertiary level. The subjects of this research were 80 students of an engineering college of Punjab, India. The project was implemented on the basis of the experimental method with a pretest-posttest control group design. At the outset of the project, all the subjects were given a standardized writing test. Following which, the students of the experimental group were made to perform their writing activities using technology in the language lab throughout the semester. Thereafter their performance was assessed and the results were further compared with the students of the control group as well as with their own performance in the pre-test. The results revealed that the achievement in the writing skills of the students under treatment improved significantly. Lastly, the researcher elicited information about students' perceptions on the use of technological tools.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-60
Author(s):  
Carolin Fuchs

This case study explores cultural and contextual affordances in language massive open online courses (LMOOCs), especially the extent to which an LMOOC effectively promotes optimal language learning. Participants included 15 language student teachers of English as a second or foreign language in a spring technology elective course at a private university on the East Coast. Student teachers enrolled in language MOOCs and tracked and evaluated their learning process and progress through weekly logs and surveys. Data was collected from weekly reflection logs and pre- and post-surveys. Results indicate that the cultural affordances were more salient in the advanced Spanish MOOC and the Hindi MOOC, while in the beginning-level LMOOCs, contextual factors were lacking overall.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heebon Park

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to address the situation that although the theoretical benefits of using drama projects in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) have been described in a number of studies, researchers have identified a lack of literature on their practical use, particularly in terms of different institutional settings, teaching styles, learning styles and proficiency levels. This paper therefore describes three case studies in universities in Korea, showing that the use of drama projects can be successfully used in different teaching situations and is an effective means of promoting meaningful language learning in students often demotivated by traditional methods and the test-driven classroom. Design/methodology/approach – In these adult-learner EFL settings, a process approach to drama projects aimed to promote meaningful language acquisition and holistic learning in students of different proficiencies and majors. Drama projects were used as: syllabus supplementation by an individual teacher in a Korean-mediated English program (Case Study 1); core content on an English-mediated pre-service teacher training course (Case Study 2); and syllabus content on a Freshman English program taught by 25 native-speaking instructors (Case Study 3). Data were collected from pre/post-course questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and students’ evaluations. These were then triangulated to identify trends in participant perceptions. Findings – Results indicated positive attitude change and promotion of cognition, positive affect and social skills in all three case studies, confirming earlier research findings and showing that the drama project is a viable and effective educational tool for the foreign language teacher, from individual syllabus supplementation to incorporation into a language program curriculum. Rather than resisting the innovation presented by drama projects, the adult learners involved welcomed the opportunities for creativity, autonomy, group work and performance. Originality/value – The practical confirmation of the theoretical benefits of EFL drama projects across individual and institutional settings indicates the potential value of including them in university language programs and teacher-training EFL curricula, enabling and encouraging language teachers to promote holistic, meaningful language learning.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-64
Author(s):  
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T. Sidorenko ◽  
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T. Gorbatova

The article investigates the issues of the content of the foreign language training at technical universities. The authors analyze the goals and objectives as well as the requirements and the content of the postgraduate language training to identify some discrepancy, which prevents the university community from achieving the most effi cient outcomes in the training future researchers and engineers in terms of foreign language profi ciency. Based on the examples provided, the authors highlight the necessity to revise the curriculum in order to change its focus and the major components as well as to review the requirements for students at every stage of language learning. The authors do not propose the ready scenario and structure of the course, considering it as the exceptional privilege of each university. However, the model that they propose in the paper and the conclusions they make, might be taken by others as the ground for the course content design.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Quoc Thao ◽  
Nguyen Chau Hoang Long

Self-regulation of learning plays a vital role in improving second/foreign language learning as it can encourage the development of autonomous learners. It is seen that, nevertheless, ESL/EFL learners in different contexts are not fully aware of the importance of self-regulated language learning (SRLL) strategies in their English language learning. The present study, therefore, aims at investigating the use of SRLL strategies by English-majored students at a university in Bac Lieu province, Vietnam. This study involved 100 English-majored freshmen in answering a closed-ended questionnaire. The results showed that students sometimes used SRLL strategies, and they used SRLL strategies for keeping and monitoring records and seeking social assistance more often than for other purposes. The findings imply that students lacked knowledge of how to use SRLL strategies and get engaged in using SRLL strategies. This study recommends that students’ awareness of SRLL strategies should be seriously taken into account in order to facilitate their learner autonomy.


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