scholarly journals A topical methodology research subject in the European area of higher education: ELF, EFL or ESP?

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-44
Author(s):  
Yury Vsevolodovich Maslov
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Research Subject ◽  
European Area ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Educational Challenges ◽  
The Social ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Do So

The European “ecosystem” of higher education seems to have been affected by the global pandemic in a number of ways. Some of these impacts may well be viewed as negative; some others, as giving a new impetus to the development of the entire educational system. It is evident, for instance, that the dire necessity to “go virtual” has created new avenues for the intensification of contacts between educators who previously were less motivated to do so (Magomedov et al. 2020, Melnyk et al., 2020). That clearly manifests the fact that the ongoing process of transformations taking place in national higher education systems across Europe has not slowed down at all, which has made some of the current cultural and educational challenges even more pressing. One such challenge is the necessity to effectively use ELF (English as a lingua franca). Researchers working in post-communist countries have made valuable contributions to linguistic studies, especially in the area of EFL studies, as these countries clearly belong to the so-called Expanding Circle. However, the social and cultural realities of today call for more focus not on EFL studies but on research in the field of ELF and ESP (English for Specific Purposes). It is explained by the fact that the ability to use ESP is now a highly desirable skill for the majority of professionals working in the post-communist part of Europe.

scholarly journals The need for ESP in Burundi: What do tertiary English teachers say sbout it?

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Arcade Nduwimana
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Do So

This study examines the views that tertiary English teachers hold on the need for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Burundi higher education. To do so, it investigates the extent to which they are familiar with the theory and practice of ESP. For this study, 32 English teachers were contacted to participate in it. They were all requested to complete an online questionnaire, but only 17 proved willing to do so. The findings revealed that the majority of teachers are familiar with the practice of ESP. Although many of them reported to have high familiarity with the field of ESP, a few of them conduct a Needs Analysis (NA) before teaching ESP courses. Results also indicated that tertiary English teachers highly acknowledge the importance of teaching ESP in Burundi higher Education and, therefore, would encourage the ministry of education to fund an ESP project.

scholarly journals On extending the truncated parameters of transformation in higher education in South Africa into a language of democratic engagement and justice

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuraan Davids
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Race And Racism ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Democratic Engagement ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Real Challenge ◽  
Do So

Universities, in their multiplex roles of social, political, epistemological and capital reform, are by their constitution expected to both symbolise and enact transformation. While institutions of higher education in South Africa have been terrains of protest and reform – whether during apartheid or post-apartheid – the intense multiplex roles which these institutions assume have metaphorically come home to roost in the past 2 years. Not unlike the social-media-infused rumblings, coined as the ‘Arab Spring’, the recent cascades of #mustfall campaigns have brought to the fore the serious dearth of transformation in higher education and have raised more critical questions about conceptions of transformation, and how these translate into, or reflect, the social and political reform that continues to dangle out of the reach of the majority of South Africans. What, then, does transformation mean and imply? How does an institution reach a transformed state? How does one know when such a state is reached? These are a few of the concerns this article seeks to address. But it hopes to do so by moving beyond the thus far truncated parameters of transformation – which have largely been seeped in the oppositional politics of historical advantage and disadvantage, and which, in turn, have ensured that conceptions of transformation have remained trapped in discourses of race and racism. Instead, this article argues that the real challenge facing higher education is not so much about transformation, as it is about enacting democracy through equipping students to live and think differently in a pluralist society.

scholarly journals Connectivism Learning Theory to Enhance Higher Education in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (1-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Mohammed Al-Mutairi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Significant Challenge ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Social ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions

ABSTRACT The global pandemic of the COVID-19 has posed a significant challenge to educational organizations, necessitating obligatory changes in practically education. In a short period of time, educational organizations have been compelled to adapt to distance learning approaches and platforms. The primary goal of this research is to examine to present Connectivism Theory as an effective motivated theory to help the higher education learners to learn more successfully. Connectivism Learning Theory offers the best learning environment by establishing an explicit connection between social interaction and knowledge sharing. A review of literature has been done. The findings of the literature review highlight the fundamental theoretical assumptions that underpin their evolution. It also illustrates that connectivism learning theory improve higher education student’s engagement in the learning process. The researchers conclude that connectivism learning theory has the potential to disclose new insights into the use of the social network in education leading to successful outcomes.

scholarly journals An overview of Portugal's educational challenges and responses to the global pandemic of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 98-101
Author(s):  
Filipa Alves da Costa ◽  
Maria Deolinda Auxtero ◽  
Ana Paula Martins ◽  
Maria Margarida Caramona
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Educational Challenges ◽  
Response Measures ◽  
And Training

The current pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 came un-expectantly and required unprecedented ability to adapt and quickly put in place the most appropriate response measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 disease, while minimising disruption to society’s essential activities. Some sectors were more capable of adapting and reacting than others. Higher education was one of the sectors where the academic capacity (FIP Development Goal 1) demonstrated was phenomenal, partially attributable to the ability to create partnerships between academia and practice. This editorial provides a description of the major changes put in place in Portugal to ensure the education and training of future graduates in Pharmaceutical Sciences was maintained with the same quality. It also discusses some of the potentially less beneficial long-term impacts of these adaptions to the teaching and assessment methods for the competencies of the workforce of tomorrow.

scholarly journals Challenges Faced by UK University Students Due to the Coronavirus Crisis in the Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Suhas Kulkarni ◽  
Parmjit Chima
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Personal Problems ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Social ◽  
Methodological Procedures ◽  
Conventional Classroom ◽  
The Uk

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the worst catastrophes that we have faced globally in recent years. It has not only taken its toll on the economic sector but also on the education sector. The social distancing norms that are in place as a direct response to the pandemic have turned conventional classroom teaching into a problematic minefield; as such, students all over the world have been forced into unprecedented situations that have served only to worsen the situation. The current pandemic has given rise to one of the worst crises the 21st Century has ever seen, resulting in a surge of unemployment. Many companies have taken the route of firing employees or making redundancies, as they cannot afford the monthly reimbursement for staff. While this issue primarily concerns full-time workers, it also carries significant consequences for students – a considerable number of students are required to earn their daily living costs, and, without a job, they cannot pay their educational fees, accommodation costs, or living expenses. This comprehensive study briefly discusses the multitude of problems faced by students in the UK regarding higher education, as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic. It contains six individual sections: a detailed introduction; the methodological procedures employed; educational disruptions, covering issues from hindrances in field research to examinations and student evaluations; personal problems experienced by students, such as accommodation and loss of income; concerns arising from the global pandemic; and finally, a conclusion and summary of the study’s findings.

scholarly journals Digital pedagogies and biotechnical realities: Education and life after the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Alexios Brailas
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Web Technologies ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Emotional Distancing ◽  
Do So ◽  
Digital Pedagogies

What would have taken years to change in the world we knew, took just a few months during a global pandemic. Millions of teachers, therapists, and other practitioners around the world whose work requires direct contact with people, dived into every synchronous and asynchronous platform they could find. They had to in order to continue their work with students or clients, to maintain connections, to empower people during the crisis, to ensure that nobody felt alone, to protect and strengthen life, and to resist a vicious invisible threat. All these practitioners struggled to ensure physical distancing did not result in social or emotional distancing, and managed to do so through web technologies and digital media. The social pattern of life, the very pattern that allowed coronavirus to threaten humanity, is the same pattern helped maintain life during lockdown by taking advantage of digital media.

scholarly journals Educación Supranacional y Educación Superior: claves de transformación global para sociedades complejas

2020 ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Javier Manuel Valle López ◽  
Francesc Pedró
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
Complex Societies ◽  
Global Perspectives ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
Modest Contribution ◽  
The Social ◽  
Do So

Those of us who coordinated this monograph, and singed this presentation, sought to address some issues we considered relevant regarding the alignment between Supranational Education and Higher Education. We wanted to match some hypothesis we initially had and that we tried to synthesize in the title of this article. We have been able to find evidences related to an increasingly stronger direct impact between the education policy of international organizations – analyzed from the Supranational Education – and the higher education institutions. That impact is increasingly broader from a threefold perspective: from the geographic perspective – with large regions of the planet, in a globalization context, affected by supranational trends -; from an intensity perspective – as the effect is increasingly inevitable by the higher education institutions-; and from a tematic perspective – as it increasingly covers a greater number of topics.We also confirmed that these impacts have had a broad effect on social change. The assumption of new mercantilist paradigms of the new approaches to quality, the social mission of higher education, or gender issues directly affect citizens’ lives. And they do so from global perspectives. Thus, we verify what we suggested in the title of this modest contribution to the monograph, that the Supranational Education and the Higher Education can be keys to global transformation for the complex societies in which we currently live: as frameworks to understand the changes and as levers to promote them.

Commitment to pro- versus counter-attitudinal behavior and the dynamics of social representations

2002 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Tafani ◽  
Lionel Souchet
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Representations ◽  
Cognitive Restructuring ◽  
Social Representation ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Model ◽  
Social Actions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Two Dimensional Model ◽  
Students Attitudes

This research uses the counter-attitudinal essay paradigm ( Janis & King, 1954 ) to test the effects of social actions on social representations. Thus, students wrote either a pro- or a counter-attitudinal essay on Higher Education. Three forms of counter-attitudinal essays were manipulated countering respectively a) students’ attitudes towards higher education; b) peripheral beliefs or c) central beliefs associated with this representation object. After writing the essay, students expressed their attitudes towards higher education and evaluated different beliefs associated with it. The structural status of these beliefs was also assessed by a “calling into question” test ( Flament, 1994a ). Results show that behavior challenging either an attitude or peripheral beliefs induces a rationalization process, giving rise to minor modifications of the representational field. These modifications are only on the social evaluative dimension of the social representation. On the other hand, when the behavior challenges central beliefs, the same rationalization process induces a cognitive restructuring of the representational field, i.e., a structural change in the representation. These results and their implications for the experimental study of representational dynamics are discussed with regard to the two-dimensional model of social representations ( Moliner, 1994 ) and rationalization theory ( Beauvois & Joule, 1996 ).

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