scholarly journals University English: Issues and directions for curriculum development

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 01
Author(s):  
Richard Kiely
Keyword(s):  
Curriculum Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Public University ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
English Major ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The One ◽  
The University

This paper examines University English as a TESOL curriculum context. It outlines three approaches to university English: English as L1, where the focus is primarily on linguistics and literature; English as L2, where there is an advanced language learning component as well as a focus on linguistics and literature; and English for non-English majors, where the focus is on functional language use skills. The paper is in three sections: the first section takes stock of recent developments in the university sector with particular attention to English as a feature of the globalisation of higher education. The second section sets out a typology for English Major programmes, using a curriculum benchmark framework for the study of English on the one hand, and the study of languages on the other. The third section presents a case study of curriculum development in a public university in Bangladesh, showing how the three types of university English establish a baseline for understanding the curriculum and developing strategies to improve it. The ways in which the University English curriculum might be developed and researched further are discussed at the end of the paper. Keywords: English, curriculum, TESOL, L2.

You’ve got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette. Linguistic complexity and instruction in SLA

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick De Graaff
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Language Pedagogy ◽  
Instructed Second Language Acquisition ◽  
The One

In this epilogue, I take a teaching practice and teacher education perspective on complexity in Instructed Second Language Acquisition. I take the stance that it is essential to understand if and how linguistic complexity relates to learning challenges, what the implications are for language pedagogy, and how this challenges the role of the teacher. Research shows that differences in task complexity may lead to differences in linguistic complexity in language learners’ speech or writing. Different tasks (e.g. descriptive vs narrative) and different modes (oral vs written) may lead to different types and levels of complexity in language use. On the one hand, this is a challenge for language assessment, as complexity in language performance may be affected by task characteristics. On the other hand, it is an opportunity for language teaching: using a diversity of tasks, modes and text types may evoke and stretch lexically and syntactically complex language use. I maintain that it is essential for teachers to understand that it is at least as important to aim for development in complexity as it is to aim for development in accuracy. Namely, that ‘errors’ in language learning are part of the deal: complex tasks lead to complex language use, including lexical and syntactical errors, but they are a necessary prerequisite for language development.

scholarly journals A Business Model Framework to Characterize Digital Multisided Platforms

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Ardolino ◽  
Nicola Saccani ◽  
Federico Adrodegari ◽  
Marco Perona
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
The One

Businesses grounded upon multisided platforms (MSPs) are found in a growing number of industries, thanks to the recent developments in Internet and digital technologies. Digital MSPs enable multiple interactions among users of different sides through information and communication technologies. The understanding of the characteristics and constituents of MSPs is fragmented along different literature streams. Moreover, very few empirical studies have been carried out to date. In order to fill this gap, this paper presents a three-level framework that describes a digital MSP. The proposed framework is based on literature analysis and multiple case study. On the one hand, the framework can be used to describe MSP as it provides an operationalization of the concept through the identification of specific dimensions, variables and items; on the other hand, it can be used as an assessment tool by practitioners, as exemplified by the three empirical applications presented in this paper.

scholarly journals Exergy As a Measure of Sustainable Retrofitting of Buildings

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Fernández Bandera ◽  
Ana Muñoz Mardones ◽  
Hu Du ◽  
Juan Echevarría Trueba ◽  
Germán Ramos Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Exergy Analysis ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Primary Selection ◽  
Optimization Methodology ◽  
The One ◽  
Reference Environment ◽  
Architectural Characteristics ◽  
The University

This study presents a novel optimization methodology for choosing optimal building retrofitting strategies based on the concept of exergy analysis. The study demonstrates that the building exergy analysis may open new opportunities in the design of an optimal retrofit solution despite being a theoretical approach based on the high performance of a Carnot reverse cycle. This exergy-based solution is different from the one selected through traditional efficient retrofits where minimizing energy consumption is the primary selection criteria. The new solution connects the building with the reference environment, which acts as “an unlimited sink or unlimited sources of energy”, and it adapts the building to maximize the intake of energy resources from the reference environment. The building hosting the School of Architecture at the University of Navarra has been chosen as the case study building. The unique architectural appearance and bespoke architectural characteristics of the building limit the choices of retrofitting solutions; therefore, retrofitting solutions on the façade, roof, roof skylight and windows are considered in multi-objective optimization using the jEPlus package. It is remarkable that different retrofitting solutions have been obtained for energy-driven and exergy-driven optimization, respectively. Considering the local contexts and all possible reference environments for the building, three “unlimited sinks or unlimited sources of energy” are selected for the case study building to explore exergy-driven optimization: the external air, the ground in the surrounding area and the nearby river. The evidence shows that no matter which reference environment is chosen, an identical envelope retrofitting solution has been obtained.

scholarly journals “What’s in a Name?”

Ad Americam ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 31-48
Author(s):  
Diana Benea
Keyword(s):  
American Literature ◽  
American Studies ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The One ◽  
New Research ◽  
The University

The present article sets out to analyze the emergence and institutionalization of American Studies as an academic discipline in Romania, with a focus on the specific contexts and factors that influenced this process, and the ways in which its practitioners defined, constructed, and focused their endeavors. Taking the University of Bucharest as a case study and adding insights from other Romanian universities, the paper seeks to give an account of: 1) the ways in which the several decades-long tradition of teaching American literature in the Communist period (sporadically until the 1960s, but ever more substantially in the following decades) prepared the ground for the institutionalization of American Studies programs; 2) the “conditions of possibility” that enabled this institutionalization after the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989, with an emphasis on the restructuring of the Romanian higher education system, on the one hand, and the specific renegotiations of the field of American Studies, on the other; 3) American Studies curriculum development and its impact on Romanian academia as an example of curricular reform in the spirit of interdisciplinarity; 4) the situated contributions that Romanian Americanists have made to international scholarship in American Studies by bringing new research agendas to the fore.

scholarly journals One Health Evaluation: A Case Study at the University of Bologna

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurizio Aragrande ◽  
Massimo Canali ◽  
Mariana Roccaro ◽  
Elisabetta Ferraro ◽  
Alessandra Bonoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
One Health ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Human Interface ◽  
Quantitative Metrics ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
The One ◽  
The University

The level of One Health (OH), or “One Health-ness,” of health interventions has been defined as the capacity to operate according to six dimensions concerning OH operations and OH infrastructures, respectively (thinking, planning, and working; and information sharing, reciprocal learning, and systemic organization). Although health initiatives and research increasingly claim their orientation toward OH, such a capacity is rarely assessed. The objective of this study is to evaluate the One Health-ness of the academic team of the University of Bologna (UNIBO Team) working in the “ELEPHANT” project (Empowering universities' Learning and rEsearch caPacities in the one Health Approach for the maNagement of animals at the wildlife, livestock and human interface in SouTh Africa). This project involves universities, six from South Africa and two from Europe, and aims at embedding OH in research and learning to enable the control of diseases at the human, animal, and environmental interface, and to emphasize the interests of local African communities with wildlife conservation. The methodology adopts the NEOH method, developed in 2018 by the EU-COST Action, “Network for the Evaluation of One Health.” The approach is based on questionnaires delivered to participants, which focus on the six OH dimensions, and then translate answers into quantitative metrics through the OH Index (OHI) and the OH Ratio (OHR). The following two evaluation levels are foreseen: the whole project and the single partner institutions. The evaluations are carried on in parallel, with preliminary, mid-term, and final assessments, to monitor the efficacy of the project actions. The preliminary evaluation of the UNIBO Team resulted in the OHI of 0.23 and the OHR of 1.69 which indicate a low degree of OH-ness and an imbalance between OH operation and OH infrastructure. The UNIBO case study will be the baseline for the evaluation of the other partner institutions involved in the ELEPHANT project. This type of evaluation can support the implementation of OH practices inside a project and underpin the strategies that allow to achieving more effective results. Any improvement in the OH-ness of each single academic team can be also considered as a result of the ELEPHANT project, thus showing its multiplier effect in the context.

scholarly journals A Telecollaborative International Exchange for Foreign Language Learning and Reflective Teaching

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Carloni ◽  
Federica Franzè
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Reflective Teaching ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
Columbia University ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The University

This chapter shares the reflections on a joint international research educational project, involving Columbia University students studying Italian, and Italian pre-service teachers enrolled in an MA in Teaching Italian as a Foreign Language at the University of Urbino, Italy. The northern hemisphere autumn term 2014 iteration of the project is taken as a case study to discuss the effectiveness of teleconferencing for foreign language learning and teaching. The results showed that the videoconference sessions positively affected the learning process of students, and simultaneously fostered reflective teaching in pre-service teachers.

scholarly journals Virtual Learning Environments as a Remedy for Universities Against the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 3/2021 (93) ◽  
pp. 122-137
Author(s):  
Tomasz Eisenbardt ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Organizational Changes ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
The One ◽  
The University ◽  
Short Time

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to assess the level of interest in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) during and before the pandemic, as well as to identify and compare solutions implemented at selected Polish universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research methodology: The preliminary study was based on bibliometric analysis. The frequency of the VLE notion in the scientific literature was verified. Then a case study was applied. Six universities in Poland were analyzed, which had to make radical organizational changes in a short time, allowing them to conduct classes with students almost exclusively remotely. Findings: The conducted analysis led to the identification of significant similarities in the procedures undertaken and organizational changes of the universities described. Some variation has been observed in terms of the software used that builds the university’s VLE. Research limitations: Only cases of universities in Poland have been described. The choice of the university was intentional. Value: The value of the paper is to draw attention to: on the one hand, the versatility of the VLE, and on the other, certain common features that university VLEs should have in order to ensure the work of the university (and other institutions dealing with education) in a crisis situation.

scholarly journals The university, the city and the clown: A theological essay on solidarity, mutuality and prophecy

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan De Beer
Keyword(s):  
Public University ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Public ◽  
The One ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City ◽  
Liberation Theologian

This essay is informed by five different but interrelated conversations all focusing on the relationship between the city and the university. Suggesting the clown as metaphor, I explore the particular role of the activist scholar, and in particular the liberation theologian that is based at the public university, in his or her engagement with the city. Considering the shackles of the city of capital and its twin, the neoliberal university, on the one hand, and the city of vulnerability on the other, I then propose three clown-like postures of solidarity, mutuality and prophecy to resist the shackles of culture and to imagine and embody daring alternatives.

Fixed expressions and culture

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Fiedler
Keyword(s):  
Common Core ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
West African ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Global Level ◽  
The Common ◽  
Fixed Expressions ◽  
The One

This case study examines variation in idiomatic fixed expressions (FEs) in British and West African varieties of English. Using a corpus of newspapers containing FEs with the source domain monkey, I contrast those expressions shared by both varieties — the Common Core — with those found only in the African sources. In so doing, I seek to illuminate to what extent uniquely African cultural influences have affected idiomatic language use in these ‘New Englishes’ beyond the mere adoption of British expressions. The corpus contains 24 FEs, of which 8 belong to the Common Core and 16 classify as potentially new African ones. The analysis of the FEs reveals that West African speakers make use of a much broader spectrum of main meaning foci (Kövecses 2010) when instantiating the human behavior is monkey behavior metaphor than do their British counterparts. This wider system of associated commonplaces (Black 1954) can be linked to the African natural environment on the one hand and to broader cultural influences on the other, including power and corruption issues as well as African models of community and kinship (Wolf & Polzenhagen 2009). On a more global level, this paper lends evidence to the importance of cultural conceptualizations (Sharifian 2011) as a further dimension of variation in the study of World Englishes.

scholarly journals Creating Successful Student Learning Outcomes: The Case of Trinity University’s Quality Enhancement Plan Entitled “Starting Strong”

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8197
Author(s):  
John R. Hermann
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Quality Enhancement ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Successful Student ◽  
Quality Enhancement Plan ◽  
The One ◽  
The University

Using Starting Strong as a case study, this article examines how four successful Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) emerged and one was eliminated during the Quality Enhancement Plan’s (QEP’s) development process. In comparison to the one that was purged, the four successful SLO’s had five commonalities: 1. Virtually unanimous support from the administration; 2. Wide acceptance of the SLO from the faculty and staff members working on the QEP; 3. A shared conception between the administration and faculty/staff of what is an appropriate SLO; 4. The SLO’s could be clearly conceptualized and measured; And, 5., the SLO’s are financially feasible for the university to implement. The study hopes that this article may provide guidance for other universities undertaking and developing SLO’s and QEP’s.

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