Learning English for Technical Purposes

Author(s):  
Anne Dragemark

This chapter presents some research findings in the area of self assessment,obtained from the European Leonardo Project: Learning English forTechnical Purposes (LENTEC), carried out 2001–2003. In this project,upper-secondary vocational students solved problem-based learning casesin a virtual environment. The project aimed at stimulating upper-secondaryvocational school students from six different European countries to improvetheir English-language skills. It also aimed at helping foreign-languageteachers to develop their skills in online tutoring. A validation study wasundertaken and the results underscored that students need time andpractice to assess their own results. According to students and teachers, amajority of the students became more aware of their own language-learning development. The teachers in the project developed a new teacherrole where some of the responsibility for assessment moved from them to thestudents themselves. This not only motivated the students but also gave themadded time for actual language learning.

Author(s):  
Faiz Ushbah Mubarok ◽  
Atiqah Nurul Asri

Due to the pandemic condition, we rely more on the technology usage. Technology presents us plentiful advantages and features in the teaching and learning. Specifically in smart phones, android nowadays offer numerous applications of language learning in Play Store. This article shows the benefits of Android applications namely Duolingo, Busuu, Rosetta Store, and Memrise in learning English language. These apps enhance the user’s four language skills mastery using games, riddles and other various ways. By learning language independently, students may also their cognitive, meta-cognitive and affective skills. It aids learners to gain their goals in a fun and enjoyable ways. Further, it is also beneficial in terms of improving students’ motivation and confidence, easy and simple, practical and entertaining, and sustainability. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-199
Author(s):  
Wafaa Ibrahim Alnajjar ◽  
◽  
Reem Yahya Mahmoud Shehadh

This paper examined the attitudes of secondary school students towards the use of saying and words of wisdom in learning English as a foreign language in secondary schools in Gaza. Saying and words of wisdom play a significant role in language learning as a part of gaining cultural knowledge. In addition, this study attempted to find out whether they could motivate students to learn English then improve language acquiring through time. 40 secondary female EFL learners were assigned in questionnaires and interviews. Through observation, the researcher convinced that saying and words of wisdom is an important segment in the English Language, and it is a useful piece that has been used to spread wisdom and truths about life. The study reveals the effectiveness and higher rate of retaining of learning vocabulary through the strategy of sayings and words of wisdom compared to the traditional method.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-266
Author(s):  
Cuong Huy Pham

Despite the growing body of research on the complex and contextually contingent nature of language learning motivation, investigations into the motivation of English language learners in rural areas have remained limited. This study explores the motivational constructions of two high school students learning English in rural Southeast Vietnam from a situated perspective. The students, one female and one male, were in their first year at high school and had relatively low levels of English. Data gathering took approximately one and a half years and was based primarily on interviews drawing on a social practice approach and observations. Findings reveal that students developed diverse motivational trajectories resulting from a synergy of social and idiosyncratic elements pertinent to their own learning conditions, interpersonal relationships, and their agentive appraisals of language affordances and learning opportunities available within and across settings. The longitudinal and situated perspective of this study provides insights into the ways in which students’ appraisals of affordances were shaped and reshaped by on-going interactions with significant others as well as by the sociocultural values permeating their agentive practices.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Alan Jaelani ◽  
Olivia Widad Zabidi

This study aims to determine students' problems in learning English, especially in terms of speaking and listening. Basically, the teaching and learning process will run smoothly if students feel comfortable with the learning activities; therefore, this research provides some appropriate suggestions for teachers in overcoming difficulties faced by students. The respondents of this study were junior high school students. This study used a questionnaire as an instrument to determine the extent of students' skills in English. This study also conducted data analysis by analyzing the importance of English in students' views, the difficulties encountered in learning English, and also the teacher's teaching strategies desired by students. The results of this study indicate that most students have some difficulties in speaking due to lack of confidence and skills such as pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Likewise, the difficulty in listening is caused by students’ lack of vocabulary that leads to the difficulty in understanding conversations in English. To overcome this problem, teachers need to have strategies such as identification, diagnosis, prognosis, and assistance or therapy. This research can facilitate the teachers in knowing complaints about English language difficulties experienced by the students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Mohd Hafizuddin Mohamed Jamrus ◽  
Abu Bakar Razali

A very important element of formative assessment is giving and receiving feedback. However, most teachers face difficulty in giving students feedback due to various reasons, such as the large number of students in class that makes it time consuming for them to do so. Fortunately, students themselves can be excellent sources of feedback through self-assessment, through which the students would reflect on the quality of their work, judge the degree to which their work reflects explicitly stated goals or criteria, and revise their work if necessary. Under the right conditions, student self-assessment can provide accurate, useful information to promote learning. Self-assessment can also be effective in English language learning, such as: motivating students to learn and reflect on their own English learning; promote critical thinking and reflective practices in learning English; scaffold knowledge of English learning from different English language skills; develop a sense of autonomy in their own learning English; and foster commitment in learning English among many others. This conceptual paper thus seeks to explore the potentials of using self-assessment in English language learning. In this paper, the concept and underlying principles of self-assessment will be introduced. Next, the review of past studies on self-assessment in the context of teaching and learning English as a second or English as a foreign language (ESL/EFL) will be explained. Later, the advantages and disadvantages of using self-assessment in the classroom will be discussed. In the final section, recommendations will be given for the implementation of self-assessment in learning English as a second language (ESL) classrooms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Abdulgani Alzaidi ◽  
Maha Saeed Halabi

English language learning (ELL) websites are now regarded as one of the most important tools in learning language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how a number of 36 female high school students aged between 16 and 18 years old in Saudi Arabia would evaluate ELL websites. The study adapted evaluation criteria from Yang and Chan (2008), who developed valid criteria for evaluating the ELL websites. The present study explored students’ evaluation criteria in ELL websites by distributing an electronic questionnaire consisted of 15 items. The evaluation criteria were information on the author, listening, speaking, reading, and writing on ELL websites. The results are analyzed by using SPSS Version 21. The descriptive results indicate that students have high evaluation criteria in terms of reading and listening skills. On the other hand, Information on the author, writing, and speaking skills had the lowest evaluation criteria, receptively. Finally, this study was concluded with a discussion addressed the importance of enhancing students’ evaluation criteria in order to promote their digital literacy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adil Ishag ◽  
Claus Altmayer ◽  
Evelin Witruk

Abstract It is generally assumed that self-assessment plays a profound role in autonomous language learning and, accordingly, leads to learner independency. It encourages learners to prospect their own language learning processes and provides them with feedback of their learning progress. Self-assessment also raises the awareness of learners’ individual needs among both students and teachers alike and will therefore contribute to the development of the whole learning process. The purpose of the current study is to explore and compare – through self-assessment – the level of perceived difficulty of the overall foreign language learning and language skills among Sudanese students enrolled at the English and German language departments respectively, at the University of Khartoum in Sudan. A representative sample composed of 221 students from the two departments have been asked to self-evaluate and rate the overall language difficulty and areas of difficulty in language skills, as well as their own language proficiency. The results indicate that German language is relatively rated as a difficult language in comparison to the English language and that German grammar was also rated as more difficult. However, students rated the pronunciation and spelling of German language as easier than in English language. Concerning the language skills, reading and speaking skills were reported as more difficult in German, whereas writing and listening tend to be easier than in English. Finally, students’ academic achievements have been self-reported.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-136
Author(s):  
Ozgu Ozturk

As is known, STEM consists of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Its method aims to improve these skills. The 21st century needs creative, collaborative, communicative critical thinkers. STEM which was born for this purpose meets these needs. It gives the learners what they need for being fulfilled with the skills as individuals. However, the learners should learn English to have one of these skills, to be a self-esteemed communicator. Because English is the lingua franca of Science and Technology. Our students need to improve their English language skills, as well. This study aims to integrate STEM activities with English language learning. Both STEM activities and English language learning activities were used in the practice. It has a limitation that it was conducted with only one class and one level, the 11th grades. A pre-test and a post-test were applied to students as a questionnaire where they measured their perception of learning English difficulties and knowledge of the STEM field. In the pre-test they were seen that they are very far from being interested in learning English at high school and having no information about STEM. In the post-test it was seen that they need to learn English and STEM is a very enjoyable way of learning new things. It has been seen that the study was successful to bring two disciplines together and despite the students’ prejudice, they were glad to participate in it at the end. It has been seen that STEM is an interdisciplinary area and can be combined with English to improve its impact.


2021 ◽  
Vol VI (III) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Saima Iqbal ◽  
Safia Niazi ◽  
Muhammad Hafeez

The way people obtain information, learn, and connect with others across the world has changed dramatically as a result of technological advancements. Technology has eliminated distance constraints, allowing higher education to efficiently teach anybody. In order to improve teaching and learning, technology integration is becoming more common in classrooms. A better pattern for recognizing new teaching models has evolved as a result of the fast expansion of technology integration. As a result, it is critical in both learning and teaching language skills. There are numerous advantages to using technology to offer an environment for teaching and learning English skills. The objectives of the current review article were to discover answers to the issues of how technology integration promotes language learning and what the most current developments in language learning are. According to research, introducing technology into classrooms substantially improved teaching and learning English language skills.


English for Academic Purposes course focusing on the academic language needs of students is a subfield of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). It is a type of specialized course to integrate specific subject matter, language content, and material based on learners’ needs. The study aims to evaluate the British Council’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) coursebook in terms of content, sequencing, learners’ autonomy, motivation, feedback and focus on language skills. Furthermore, the study tries to provide a general perception of the usefulness and effectiveness of the coursebook for undergraduate students. The EAP Students’ Manual coursebook is used as a primary source for the data collection. The researcher has chosen Nation & Macalister (2010) model of language teaching principles to analyze and discuss the data. The study found the coursebook a useful, effective and an appropriate source of English language learning in terms of the investigated aspects of the book. The findings report that the coursebook provides practice and practical usage in all domains of the academically required English language skills. It helps the students to build language competency and to be more independent learners. In addition, it provides an opportunity to the learners to think in the target language, use the language more practically and learn it in a natural type of environment. The study concludes and suggests that the content needs to be supplemented with English language audios and videos presenting the students relevant documentaries and helping material in order to make the coursebook and the learning process more useful, effective, interesting and motivating. Furthermore, the study recommends that while choosing /designing a coursebook for a certain course, it needs to be evaluated following the various criteria and language-teaching-principles suggested by different language researchers.


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