scholarly journals The role of ESP courses in general English proficiency

Linguistica ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-172
Author(s):  
Vesna Cigan ◽  
Ljubica Kordić

The purpose of the present paper is the study of the interaction between learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP), in particular, English for the Financial Sector, and general English proficiency. The research examines the effects of an ESP course being taught for a year on the students' general English proficiency.Two sets of tests were prepared for that purpose and administered to 30 first-year students of finance and law. The students took the placement test twice, at the beginning and at the end of the school year. To monitor test performance over a research period, a parallel form measuring the same competences was administered at the beginning of the second semester. In the test development process a special consideration has been paid to the level of difficulty and its relation to the students' prior educational context. Drawing on the National State Matura exams the test is set at Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) Level B2. As regards its content the test is comprised of reading comprehension tasks (multiple matching, multiple-choice cloze, gapped text) and grammar tasks aiming to examine lexical and grammatical competence.There were two major assumptions in this study: 1) Learning ESP can improve students' general English proficiency, and 2) There is a more substantial improvement in lexical competence as compared to the improvement in grammatical competence.There is strong evidence in support of the first hypothesis, whereas for the second one the results were ambiguous. After major findings are presented and discussed, implications for ESP teaching are given in closing.

Author(s):  
Deborah E. Bordelon ◽  
Colleen M Sexton ◽  
Ann M Vendrely

Building a general education program from scratch for a population of first generation and underserved students provided both a challenge and opportunity. Faculty who had limited previous experience teaching and assessing first year students engaged in study of the best practices and research. Faculty designed a four-year general education curriculum that began with a robust First Year Seminar (FYS) course, the focus of this study. This required three-credit hour interdisciplinary humanities course (FYS) was designed to embrace the understanding of what it means to be human, including understanding oneself in relation to the natural world and to others. Full time faculty from all disciplines were selected through a competitive process to teach the FYS course with embedded High Impact Practices (HIPs). Four years of teaching FYS has provided qualitative and quantitative data on the effectiveness of the design, the role of faculty, and application of HIPs. Through the course assessment process and data analysis, faculty have expanded their repertoire of pedagogical strategies to engage the first year student, and as a result, positively influenced teaching in their other courses. This report offers insights on strategies for course design, the role of faculty, and the power of selected HIPs that may be replicated at other institutions.


Vestnik ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 339-342
Author(s):  
А.М. Жукембаева ◽  
А. Есенханкызы ◽  
З.Т. Жумалиева ◽  
Д.Ж. Данабекова ◽  
К.А. Исаханова ◽  
...  

Жалпы медициналық факультетінің 1 -курс 50 студентінің психологиялық жағдайы мен гемодинамикалық көрсеткіштерінің динамикасы зерттелді. Барлық қатысушылар жеке деректерді зерттеу және құпиялық бағдарламасына қатысуға ақпараттандырылған келісімге қол қойды. Талдау критерийлері САН тестінің нәтижелері ( көңіл - күй,белсенділік, сезімталдық). Импульсің жиілігі мен қан қысымы болды. Оқу жылының басында денсаулық, белсенділік және көңіл - күй шкаласы бойынша бағалар едәуір көп екендігі, ал жүрек соғу жиілігі мен қан қысымының көрсеткіштері емтихан қарсаңындағыдан аз екендігі анықталды. Алынған нәтижелер емтихан стрессінің әсерінен эмоциональды шиеленістің қарқындылығының артуы аясында психологиялық жағдайдың ғана емес, сонымен қатар соматикалық жағдайдың, атап айтқанда гемодинамикалық көрсеткіштердің теріс өзгерісі байқалғанын көрсетті. Бұл болашақта жүрек-қан тамыр ауруларының дамуына ықпал ететін фактор болуы мүмкін. The dynamics of the psychological state and hemodynamic indicators of 50 first-year students of the general medical faculty was studied. All participants signed informed consent to participate in the research and confidentiality of personal data. The criteria for the analysis were the results of the WAM test (well-being, activity, mood), pulse rate and blood pressure at the beginning of the school year and, directly, on the eve of the exam. It was found that at the beginning of the school year, the scores on the scales of health, activity and mood were significantly higher, and the indicators of pulse rate and blood pressure were significantly lower than on the eve of the exam. The results indicated that, amid increase in the intensity of emotional tension under the influence of examination stress, there was a negative change not only in the psychological state, but also in the somatic state, in particular, hemodynamic parameters, which may be a predisposing factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases in the future.


Author(s):  
A.V. Shishkin ◽  
◽  
L.A. Bekhovykh

The article shows the role of the student scientific society in attracting students to research work at the university. On the example of the student scientific society "Geosphere" of the Department of Geodesy, Physics and Engineering Structures of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering of the Altai State Agrarian University, a mechanism for involving first-year students in research work is presented. The structure, organization, directions and forms of work of the circle, the main projects being implemented, are also given, an assessment of the results of its activities and the most significant achievements are given. The positive role of the student scientific society in increasing the effectiveness of research work of students at the university is noted.


Author(s):  
С.А. Лысуенко

В статье обсуждаются вопросы, связанные с особенностями профессионального выбора выпускников общеобразовательных организаций. Представлены результаты исследования, позволяющие определить роль осознанной саморегуляции активности молодых людей, оказавшихся в ситуации профессионального выбора (на примере студентов педагогического вуза). В исследовании приняли участие 302 студента первого курса, обучающихся по направлению подготовки 44.03.01 «Педагогическое образование». В качестве инструментария были использованы методика «Мотивация учения студентов педагогического вуза» С. А. Пакулиной и М. В. Овчинникова и опросник «Стиль саморегуляции поведения» В. И. Моросановой. Данные, полученные в процессе исследования, были структурированы, обработаны и проинтерпретированы с применением математических методов. Было установлено, что студенты первого курса, совершившие при поступлении в вуз профессиональный выбор с учетом своих интересов и склонностей, обладают сформировавшейся потребностью продумывать способы своих действий и поведения для достижения намеченных целей, а план их действий отличается детализированностью и развернутостью. Также им свойственны самостоятельность при проектировании способов достижения индивидуальных целей, гибкость в случае возникновения непредвиденных обстоятельств, развитая адекватная оценка себя и полученных результатов. По итогам исследования был сделан вывод о том, что наличие сформированной системы осознанной саморегуляции произвольной активности у индивида, находящегося на этапе выбора профессии, позволяет совершить более правильный профессиональный выбор, что, в свою очередь, является одним из условий актуализации профессионально-личностного потенциала. The article discusses issues related to the peculiarities of the professional choice of graduates of public education organizations. There are results of the study presented, which allow us to determine the role of conscious self-regulation of the activity of young people who find themselves in a situation of having to make a professional choice (on the example of students of a pedagogical university). The research involved 302 first-year students studying in the field of training 44.03.01 «Pedagogical Education». As research tools, the «Motivation of teaching pedagogical university students» methodology by S.А. Pakulina and M.V. Ovchinnikov and the questionnaire «Style of self-regulation of behaviour» by V.I. Morosanova were used. The data obtained during the research were organized, processed and interpreted using mathematical methods. It was found that first-year students who, upon entering the university, made a professional choice more consciously, taking into account their interests and inclinations have a well-developed need to think through their actions and behaviour to achieve their goals and their action plan is detailed. They are also characterized by independence in designing an action plan to achieve individual goals, flexibility in the situation of unforeseen circumstances, an advanced adequate assessment of themselves and the results they achieved. As the main conclusion, the following is formulated: the possession of a developed system of conscious self-regulation of arbitrary activity in an individual who is at the stage of choosing a profession allows him to make an adequate professional choice, which, in turn, is one of the conditions for the actualization of professional and personal potential.


Author(s):  
Tripti Singh ◽  
Manish Kumar Verma ◽  
Rupali Singh

The purpose of this study is to see whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. The study respondents were B.Tech first year students from the Agra region. Sampling is stratified, making sure that gender, race, socioeconomic status, and abilities are appropriately represented. The respondents are given Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EII–MM), developed by S. K. Mangal and Shubhra Mangal. It consists of 100 items under four scales .The analysis suggests that there is a significant relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement. IQ alone is no more the measure for success; emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and luck also play a big role in a person's success. This study contributes in acknowledging the fact that even engineering students’ academic achievements are attached with Emotional intelligence. Thus, teaching emotional and social skills only at the school level is not sufficient; this can be taught in engineering studies, as well for accomplishing high academic achievements.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 289
Author(s):  
Mariia L. Pysanko ◽  
Iryna V. Zaytseva ◽  
Olena A. Lysenko ◽  
Iryna A. Liahina ◽  
Maryna A. Zvereva

The efficiency of training of students of Philology Departments depends on the level of their communicative skills, that is, their abilities to participate in spontaneous discussion. This arises the issue of training these skills in the English majors. The research intends to determine and analyse the psychological background of Training English discussion skills in students of Philology Departments, to substantiate the difficulties that may arise at the initial stage. The authors analysed theoretical findings and practitioners’ experience on discussion skills training. The survey determined motives of Ukrainian university students for participation in discussions and the obstacles that may arise. The article identifies the attitude of students of Philology Departments towards the problems and issues to be discussed, and the most urgent, interesting and challenging topics for the discussion. The discussion is characterised by the role of communication, motivation, cotextuality, spontaneity, emotional colouring, and the topic of discussion. Age peculiarities of the first-year students have an impact on the learning process and may complicate it. As a social group, students are characterised by confidence in their future profession, a stable attitude towards the chosen profession, while the level of the students’ perceptions of their profession directly correlates with the level of their attitude towards the studies. The results of the survey prove the students’ high motivation, their readiness to communicate and participate in discussions organised by the teachers in class. The topics and problems suggested included personally, professionally, socially and socio-culturally related issues that can be discussed. The most part of the students chose ‘youth problems’ (57%) as the most urgent. The survey gives the opportunity to determine four groups of difficulties/obstacles that most of the students come across when participating in English discussion: psycholinguistic (caused by the nature of the dialogical speech); linguistic (caused by the language); psychological (caused by students); methodological (caused by teaching methods). The findings can be taken into account while conducting the further research on the problem of developing curricula, syllabus, teaching materials and manuals for teaching English as the major in the universities.


2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18
Author(s):  
JOHN CLEMENTS ◽  
KATHI FISLER

AbstractMany computer science departments are debating the role of programming languages in the curriculum. These discussions often question the relevance and appeal of programming-languages content for today's students. In our experience, domain-specific, “little languages” projects provide a compelling illustration of the importance of programming-language concepts. This paper describes projects that prototype mainstream applications such as PowerPoint, TurboTax, and animation scripting. We have used these exercises as modules in non-programming languages courses, including courses for first year students. Such modules both encourage students to study linguistic topics in more depth and provide linguistic perspective to students who might not otherwise be exposed to the area.


Retos ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 171-175
Author(s):  
Willy Gálvez Aguilar ◽  
Cinthya Campos Salazar ◽  
Yamileth Chacón Araya

El propósito del estudio fue determinar la tasa de incidencia de lesiones y el de riesgo de lesión en el estudiantado de primer año de la Carrera Ciencias del Movimiento Humano de la Universidad de Costa Rica durante el año lectivo 2014. Es un estudio prospectivo en el que participaron 47 estudiantes, quienes voluntariamente completaron el consentimiento informado y un cuestionario de autoreporte para conocer la presencia de lesiones y hábitos de actividad física. A los participantes se les indicó que cada lunes del semestre debían reportar la presencia de alguna lesión ocurrida durante la semana anterior y que debían sacar una cita médica para un diagnóstico preciso. Se encontró que el 31.8% de los estudiantes (80% mujeres y 20% hombres) ingresaron lesionados a la carrera (p < 0.001). Durante el año de seguimiento, 59.5% de la población estudiantil presentó una lesión nueva. Hubo 37 lesiones nuevas, 24 (64.9%) en mujeres y 13 (35.1%) en hombres, siendo las de rodilla y muslo las más frecuentes. Estas lesiones ocurren principalmente en el contexto extracurricular. El riesgo de lesión para la población fue de 0.79 y la tasa de incidencia 2.00 lesiones/1000 h de exposición. Se concluye que la población estudiantil masculina y femenina de primer año de la carrera de Ciencias del Movimiento Humano de la Universidad de Costa Rica es vulnerable a la presencia de lesiones en el tren inferior, mostrando una mayor cantidad de lesiones en el segundo semestre del año. Se necesitan estudios longitudinales para conocer la evolución y atención de las lesiones a lo largo de la carrera.Abstract. The purpose of the study was to determine the incidence rate of injuries and the risk of injury on first-year students of the Human Movement Sciences Program from the University of Costa Rica during the school year 2014. In this prospective study, 47 students voluntarily completed an informed consent and a self-report questionnaire to determine injuries and physical activity habits. Participants were instructed that every Monday of the semester should report any injury that occurred during the previous week, and to make a doctor’s appointment for an accurate diagnostic. Results indicated that 31.8% of the first-year students (80% women, 30% men) entered the program already injured (p < 0.001). During the follow-up year, 59.5% of the student population reported a new injury. There were 37 new lesions, 24 (64.9%) in women and 13 (35.1%) in men, being the knee and thigh the most frequent injuries. These lesions occurred mainly in the extracurricular context. The injury risk for the population was 0.79 and the incidence rate of 2.00 injuries/1000-h of exposure. In conclusion, the first-year male and female student population of the Human Movement Sciences Program at the University Costa Rica is vulnerable to injuries in the lower body, with a greater number of injuries in the second semester of the year. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the evolution and care of injuries throughout the program.


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