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

Communicative Language Teaching in Current Chinese Colleges and Universities.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been prioritized as the key instructional approach in colleges since the Chinese Ministry of Education issued a revised syllabus in 1999 that underlines college EFL students\u27 communicative competence. The issuance of the syllabus was followed by a series of reforms on curricular designs and teaching methods. However, CLT has encountered great resistance. College teachers and learners are constrained by socio-cultural influences such as the perceptions of teachers\u27 roles and ways of learning and teaching (Hu, 2002; Rao, 1996). Although some teachers have shown positive attitudes towards CLT, in general they have failed to practice it communicatively. This thesis discusses solutions and provides suggestions after delineating the difficulties these teachers and learners have encountered particularly. Taking into consideration China\u27s increased global impact and internationallycollaborating programs that are currently conducted in many universities, this thesis highlights that CLT is an applicable approach to improve students\u27 communicative competence

Communicative Language Teaching in Current Chinese Colleges and Universities.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been prioritized as the key instructional approach in colleges since the Chinese Ministry of Education issued a revised syllabus in 1999 that underlines college EFL students\u27 communicative competence. The issuance of the syllabus was followed by a series of reforms on curricular designs and teaching methods. However, CLT has encountered great resistance. College teachers and learners are constrained by socio-cultural influences such as the perceptions of teachers\u27 roles and ways of learning and teaching (Hu, 2002; Rao, 1996). Although some teachers have shown positive attitudes towards CLT, in general they have failed to practice it communicatively. This thesis discusses solutions and provides suggestions after delineating the difficulties these teachers and learners have encountered particularly. Taking into consideration China\u27s increased global impact and internationallycollaborating programs that are currently conducted in many universities, this thesis highlights that CLT is an applicable approach to improve students\u27 communicative competence

Computer-based materials: a study of learner autonomy and strategies

This paper reports on a study which examines the extent to which specified cognitive, social, and metacognitive strategies, are used by language students when working with computer-based materials (CBMs), in self-study contexts outside of the language classroom; particularly in a self-access centre (SAC). Data were collected using questionnaires, interviews and snap-shot observations from English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students enrolled on a summer course at a British Higher Education Institution (HEI). The data identify the frequency with which students use a SAC and the value they attach to computers for language learning. The data then examine the types of strategies students use and the extent to which learner autonomy is being fostered. The vast majority of participants were found to have positive attitudes towards computer-based material (CBMs) and language learning despite frequent use of L1, furthermore they were found to use cognitive strategies and to apply metacognitive awareness in their use of such CBMs. Students believed CBMs assisted with learning and demonstrated conscious applications of a range of strategies while learning in an electronic environment. However, the study also found that less than half the students used social strategies in the target language and this raises a number of issues

The net generation and digital natives: implications for higher education

Executive Summary "Our students have changed radically. Today�s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach." (Prensky 2001 p1) 1. There is no evidence that there is a single new generation of young students entering Higher Education and the terms Net Generation and Digital Native do not capture the processes of change that are taking place. 2. The complex changes that are taking place in the student body have an age related component that is most obvious with the newest waves of technology. Prominent amongst these are the uses made of social networking sites (e.g. Facebook), uploading and manipulation of multimedia (e.g. YouTube) and the use of handheld devices to access the mobile Internet. 3. Demographic factors interact with age to pattern students� responses to new technologies. The most important of these are gender, mode of study (distance or place-based) and the international or home status of the student. 4. The gap between students and their teachers is not fixed, nor is the gulf so large that it cannot be bridged. In many ways the relationship is determined by the requirements teachers place upon their students to make use of new technologies and the way teachers integrate new technologies in their courses. There is little evidence that students enter university with demands for new technologies that teachers and universities cannot meet. 5. Students persistently report that they prefer moderate use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their courses. Care should be taken with this finding because the interpretation of what is �moderate� use of ICT may be changing as a range of new technologies take off and become embedded in social life and universities. 6. Universities should be confident in the provision of what might seem to be basic services. Students appreciate and make use of the foundational infrastructure for learning, even where this is often criticised as being an out of date and unimaginative use of new technology. Virtual Learning Environments (Learning or Course Management Systems) are used widely and seem to be well regarded. The provision by university libraries of online services, including the provision of online e-journals and e-books, are also positively received. 7. Students do not naturally make extensive use of many of the most discussed new technologies such as Blogs, Wikis and 3D Virtual Worlds. The use of 3D Virtual Worlds is notably low amongst students. The use of Wikis and Blogs is relatively low overall, but use does vary between different contexts, including national and regional contexts. Students who are required to use these technologies in their courses are unlikely to reject them and low use does not imply that they are inappropriate for educational use. The key point being made is that there is not a natural demand amongst students that teaching staff and universities should feel obliged to satisfy. 8. There is no obvious or consistent demand from students for changes to pedagogy at university (e.g. demands for team and group working). There may be good reasons why teachers and universities wish to revise their approaches to teaching and learning, or may wish to introduce new ways of working. Students will respond positively to changes in teaching and learning strategies that are well conceived, well explained and properly embedded in courses and degree programmes. However there is no evidence of a pent-up demand amongst students for changes in pedagogy or of a demand for greater collaboration. 9. There is no evidence of a consistent demand from students for the provision of highly individualised or personal university services. The development of university infrastructures, such as new kinds of learning environments (for example Personal Learning Environments) should be choices about the kinds of provision that the university wishes to make and not a response to general statements about what a new generation of students are demanding. 10. Advice derived from generational arguments should not be used by government and government agencies to promote changes in university structure designed to accommodate a Net Generation of Digital Natives. The evidence indicates that young students do not form a generational cohort and they do not express consistent or generationally organised demands. A key finding of this review is that political choices should be made explicit and not disguised by arguments about generational change

Teaching English to Engineering Students in India

In our country English is important for a number of reasons. India is a land of diversity. Different people speak different languages. A person of South India does not speak Hindi. So he can't understand Hindi of a person from North India. However he can understand in English. So English is a link language. Different people can communicate with one another with the help of English. Secondly, all advanced knowledge in science, technology and medicine is available in English. The results of the latest researches come to India through the medium of English. If we give up English, we will lag behind in the higher fields of study. Today the world has become one family. It is all due to English. English is an international language. English is the language of the Constitution, the Supreme Court, the High Courts and official departments. English is now firmly rooted in the soil of India. It has become a part of Indian life. Thus English has great importance for the integrity of India. It has to be second language in our country for the better development of the country. In this paper I have tried to mention the problems faced by teachers of English subject , in teaching students of Engineering and Technology, at the same time problems faced by students in learning English .I have also mentioned some suggestions and ways to develop all skills related to English Language that might be useful for both-students and teachers

Cooperative Learning in China's EFL and ESL Settings

Fecha de lectura de Tesis Doctoral: 18 de noviembre 2019.Research on the efficacy of instructional approaches has been of great interest to researchers, scholars, instructors, and policy and planning makers in foreign language education. Cooperative learning, originated in the United States, is one of the most popular and well-researched instructional approaches among them. Various educational researchers presented different definitions of cooperative learning based on their own researches. No matter which definition one employs in classroom contexts, instructors might struggle with the implementation of this approach. Instructional pedagogies develop as modern information technology evolves. A large number of exploratory and empirical studies on cooperative learning were conducted as newly-emerging technologies placed an important role in classroom settings. This dissertation reviewed and analysed important contributions to the evolution of cooperative learning made by researchers, educators and foreign language instructors. It also presented the history of English language education in China as well as foreign language education policies and planning in China since the world-known “reform and opening up”. This research aimed to assist researchers, instructors, and planning and policy makers in foreign language education, to view the importance and efficacy of placing emphasis on instructional approaches - especially the cooperative learning though it evolves from an approach to a strategy used in China’s EFL and ESL settings. This dissertation consisted of six parts, including the framework of the research, the state of the art, the research hypothesis, the methods, the theoretical framework and the evolutions of cooperative learning, and its effects on China’s EFL and ESL reforms

Achieving English competence in Korea through computer-assisted language learning and crosscultural understanding

The purpose of this project is to address the problems and improve English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning for the students of Korea by contrasting cultural similarities and differences and the same time utilizing computer-based instruction learning

The Effectiveness of MALT on Vocational College English Teaching

With the fast development of modern information technology, mobile terminals and their applications, an increasingly number of teachers come to realize it may be probable to improve teaching quality by using mobile terminals. However, there is no solid data so far in literature that support the effectiveness of MALT (Mobile Assisted Language Teaching). Therefore, this article is dedicated to prove its effectiveness on vocational college English teaching using Moso Teach as a platform. It is found that MALT has effectively improved teaching quality. The students who used Moso Teach more have achieved greater progress. But poor students are not active in using the mobile teaching platform. As a result, it is suggested that teachers should integrate MALT in their English teaching on condition that teaching is carefully designed, and teachers should try to help poor students change their attitudes toward using mobile teaching platforms

Beyond foreign language writing instruction: The need for literacy pedagogy

The situation we have found ourselves in after 1989 has all the signs of a literacy crisis. As academic teachers, we find the academic literacy skills of many our students below our expectations. Yet, we must not exclude such students, but admit them and find new ways to educate them, taking example from American institutions of higher education which faced a similar literacy crisis in the 1970s. We must provide literacy instruction for those students who lack the traditionally expected literacy skills. My point is that tertiary-level students in Poland should be offered such assistance as long as our goal is university education not only for the elite. For our democracy to thrive, its foundations need to be broadened, which means increasing the number of citizens with critical thinking/literacy skills. By organizing conferences like this one, we can build bridgeheads from which to launch not just writing instruction but literacy instruction in our tertiary education. The key point is understanding what is involved in the transition from being a teacher of the standard academic language to being a teacher of literacy