Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

A blended approach in teaching an EAP course: Malaysian instructors’ perceptions of the new course materials

This paper reports on a study which examines instructors’ perceptions of the new commercial course materials that comprises a course book and online practice reinforcement activities. The materials were used to teach undergraduate English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course for Social Sciences at a Malaysian public university. This represents the main facet of the blended approach introduced when the course was redesigned. The sample comprises ten instructors who taught the course for one semester. Three qualitative instruments were utilized to elicit data namely, instructor-researcher reflective notes, focus group discussion and one-to-one interviews. The results of the study were generally positive, however, two main concerns were raised. The first was regarding the difficulty level of the reading comprehension activities in the course book which majority of the instructors felt were too simple and not challenging enough for their students. The second was on internet connectivity to the online practice website which the instructors felt was too slow and was unable to support the students efficiently. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings and provides suggestions for the next cycle of the researc

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF IMPLEMENTING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING WITH BLENDED LEARNING IN EFL ACADEMIC READING

The study aimed at exploring students’ perception of implementing problem-based learning with blended learning in EFL academic reading. Quantitative and qualitative data were gained by applying a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The study occurred at the English Education Program at Muhammadiyah University of Mataram. The respondents involved in this research were thirty-four English foreign language (EFL) students who are joining an academic reading course. The result showed that students have positive perceptions of the use of problem-based learning with blended learning in teaching EFL academic reading. At the same time, the respondents found barriers preventing them from utilizing problem-based learning in teaching EFL academic reading such as requiring sufficient time to complete a topic or find out the solution to a problem, needing additional fees to buy internet quota, and needing prior knowledge in applying problem-based learning. Finally, the finding gained from two types of instruments recommended that PBL with blended learning can be applied in EFL academic reading

Teaching Strategies Used to Promote EFL Autonomous Learning in Distance Education Undergraduate Students: An Initial Approach in the Framework of the Colombian Research Context

Este trabajo de naturaleza cualitativa se ocupa de las estrategias docentes utilizadas para promover el aprendizaje autónomo del inglés como lengua extranjera en la educación a distancia. Esto cobra sentido en el contexto colombiano donde la mayor parte de los estudiantes de educación superior son aprendices heterónomos y no alcanzan el nivel esperado como usuarios independientes de esta lengua extranjera. Este trabajo consiste en una investigación documental de las revistas colombianas sobre la investigación de la enseñanza de las lenguas extranjeras, con el propósito de recopilar estrategias de enseñanza que brinden los fundamentos para promover el aprendizaje autónomo del EFL en este contexto. Para lograr el propósito, se analizó una muestra de nueve (9) de 70 artículos de investigación contenidos en las revistas y fueron seleccionados siguiendo varios criterios de búsqueda. Durante este proceso se compilaron los datos torno a los tres principales constructos: educación a distancia en Colombia, las características del aprendizaje autónomo del inglés como lengua extranjera y las estrategias docentes aplicadas. Los hallazgos en torno al primer constructo muestran que el modelo educativo a distancia sobre el cual hay evidencia empírica se caracteriza por el componente a distancia sumado al presencial; del segundo constructo, el aprendizaje autónomo del inglés cuenta con una amplia cantidad de características psicológicas, cognitivas, metacognitivas y sociales; y del tercer constructo, la investigación-acción y casos estudios muestran que la promoción del aprendizaje autónomo requiere tener en cuenta la naturaleza y condiciones de la educación a distancia, el concepto de aprendizaje autónomo de EFL, los papeles de los instructores, la función de tutoría, el temario, materiales de auto-acceso, contenidos, herramientas, apoyo institucional, entre otros.This qualitative work deals with the teaching strategies used to promote English as a foreign language (EFL) autonomous learning in distance education. This makes sense within the Colombian context where most of the higher education students are heteronomous learners and do not reach the expected level as independent users of this foreign language. This work consists of a documentary investigation which takes data from Colombian research journals about teaching and learning foreign languages, to compile teaching strategies that provide the foundations to promote the EFL autonomous learning in undergraduate distance education students. To achieve this purpose, exploration, and analysis using a sample of nine (9) from 70 research articles according to various searching criteria were developed. During this process, data was compiled around three main constructs: distance education in Colombia, the characteristics of autonomous learning of English as a foreign language, and the teaching strategies applied. The findings around the first construct show that the Colombian distance education model used is characterized by the distance component added to the face-to-face component; about the second construct, autonomous English learning has a large number of psychological, cognitive, metacognitive, and social features; and the third construct, action-research and case studies show that promoting autonomous learning demands taking into account the nature and conditions of distance education, the concept of EFL autonomous learning, the roles of instructors, the tutoring function, the planning, and the syllabus, self-access materials, contents, tools, institutional support, among others

A STRENGTH-WEAKNESS-OPPORTUNITY (SWO) ANALYSIS OF THREE IMPLEMENTATION MODELS FOR INTEGRATING ‘THE KNOWLEDGE AGE’ INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICTs) INTO SCHOOLS1

Abstract: Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) have developed tremendously in the last thirty decades. The invention of Personal Computer (PC), the Internet-connecting softwares as well as Android-based smartphones, revolutionized instructional technology employed by school teachers of 1980s. These latest educational technologies, like radio, OHP, TV, and video in the previous eras, have soon been adopted by contemporary learning institutions. Based on how schools integrate the educational technologies emerging in the era called by Trilling & Fadel ‘the Knowledge Age’ (2009:3) into classrooms, there have been three implementation models: 1) offline learning class; 2) blended learning class; and 3) virtual learning class. A question that has oftentimes been asked is this: “does integrating these latest technologies into classrooms improve instruction quality and learning quality?”. This paper answers the question by analyzing strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities that will presumptively exist if schools integrate the latest ICTs into classrooms. It concludes with a proper strategy—namely, integration strategy— deduced out of the SWO analysis that can be best implemented in schools. Keywords: Information & Communication Technology (ICT), blended learning, virtual learning, Gen Y, SWOT analysis, 21st Century Skills Movemen

Learning English as a Foreign Language in a Blended Mode of Face-to-face and Online Discussions: A Case Study in a University in Taiwan

Learning English as a Foreign Language in a Blended Mode of Face-to-face and Online Discussions: A Case Study in a University in Taiwan Previous studies have documented many beneficial results arising from integrating online discussion with face-to-face instruction for language learning, yet the interactive process of students within both formal and informal contexts remains to be explored. This research examined the dynamics of student learning in blended face-to-face and online discussions in and after class in the context of learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in a university in Taiwan. An embedded case study was applied with a mixed-methods approach to investigate how students jointly accomplished tasks, and how this blended approach had contributed to their English learning. The data collected include the qualitative data of observations on three groups of 14 participants, three focus groups with 11 participants, 72 online discussion logs of the three groups and the quantitative data of 45 questionnaire responses. The findings revealed that students learned primarily through mediation of L1 and L2, through collaborative interaction, through co-construction of meaning, and from teacher and peer scaffolds. Students tended to provide information and suggestions in face-to-face discussions by using L1, but they expressed thoughts, gave comments and probed questions in online discussions by using L2. Students changed their interactive patterns from passive to active by mutually assisting each other in accomplishing tasks. Data also showed that students recognised that blended discussions had contributed to their cognitive, language, interactional and affective gains. Blended discussions were perceived as learner-centred undertakings that increased participation, collaboration and engagement. Four key factors were observed to have affected learning in this blended instruction. The research concludes that blended discussions changed the conventional EFL classroom culture and had a positive influence on student learning in terms of interaction, processes of meaning construction and perceptions. Keywords Online Discussion, Computer-Mediated Communication, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Blended Learning, Collaborative interaction, Co-construction of Meanin

The Use of Blended Learning to Support Vocabulary Learning and Knowledge Retention in Thai Tertiary EFL Classrooms

The aim of the study was to investigate the feasibility of a blended learning approach to enhance students’ vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary knowledge retention in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms at the tertiary level in Thailand. This was to address challenges in relation to practice and use of English language, rote learning and memorisation, limited one-to-one interaction with peers and teacher, lack of learner-centredness, and low rate of knowledge retention. This study was conducted as a quasi-experimental design, employing the sample from four intact classes with a total of 146 students who registered in an English course at a university in Bangkok, Thailand. The sample was divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was exposed to the flipped classroom model, while the control group was taught in the traditional setting. Research tools consisted of an English language proficiency test, vocabulary pre-test, post-test, and delayed test, questionnaire, interviews and observations. The quantitative findings revealed a negative overall impact of the blended learning instruction on the experimental group, and on some particular classes and different academic majors. Gender differences and correlations occurred between language proficiency, vocabulary knowledge and knowledge retention. Qualitative results indicated that students and teachers had positive perceptions and attitudes towards feasibility of the approach. Although the blended learning method is perceived in a positive and feasible way, it may only be applicable for some particular groups or types of learners. Hence, different aspects regarding nature of learners and language learning should be taken into consideration, these include: language abilities, background knowledge, gender, academic majors, learners’ characteristics and capabilities, content and assessment, and selective types of technology