Research into practice: listening strategies in an instructed classroom setting

This paper considers research and practice relating to listening in instructed classroom settings, limiting itself to what might be called unidirectional listening (Macaro, Graham & Vanderplank 2007) – in other words, where learners listen to a recording, a TV or radio clip or lecture, but where there is no communication back to the speaker(s). A review of the literature relating to such listening reveals a tendency for papers to highlight two features in their introductory lines: first, the acknowledged importance of listening as a skill underpinning second language (L2) acquisition more broadly, and second, the relative paucity of research into listening compared with the skills of speaking, reading or writing. In the last ten years or so, however, there has been a growth in the number of studies conducted in the field, as evidenced in Vandergrift's review in 2007 and Vanderplank's more recent overview (2013). Consequently, my view is that it is possible to identify from that research certain key principles in relation to listening within instructed settings, particularly regarding listening strategies

Higher education teachers’ attitudes towards English medium instruction: A three-country comparison

We report on a small scale study carried out in Austria, Italy and Poland which investigated the attitudes of university teachers engaged in teaching their academic subject through the medium of English. The data consisted of 25 teacher interviews. We focused on the topics of internationalisation of universities, on policy and resourcing, and on the levels of English proficiency (theirs and those of their students) needed for effective English medium instruction (EMI). We also observed whether there were differences among the respondents from the three countries and attempted to relate any differences to the linguistic, educational and political context of each. Our findings suggest that whilst very similar concerns are in the minds of the teachers regardless of the country they were teaching in, some interesting variability in attitudes, relating to language and to history, could be detected. To our knowledge, this is the first study on EMI that compares teacher attitudes in three countries, hence its exploratory nature. Our findings would suggest that further research of such comparative kind might provide insights into how the phenomenon of EMI is being introduced and accepted across the world

Introduction to the special issue on English medium instruction: Areas of research needing urgent attention

English medium instruction (EMI), both in higher and secondary education, is now a well-established field of education research and, indeed, many applied linguistics journals are publishing regularly on a variety of EMI topics. Recently, a new journal, Journal of English-Medium Instruction, has been established that is dedicated entirely to this area of academic enquiry. Recent years have also seen several special issues emerge on topics within EMI in journals such as Applied Linguistics Review (published advanced online), System (in 2023), and TESOL Quarterly (in 2018)

English medium instruction, EAP/ESP: Exploring overlap and divergences in research aims

English medium instruction (EMI) is now a well‐established field of education research, yet its distinction from English for academic purposes (EAP) and from English for specific purposes (ESP) remains a subject of debate. This scoping review investigates the overlap and divergences between these fields. As well as using raw data from a previous systematic review of EMI, we identified research questions published in five selected journals between 2017 and 2022: Journal of English for Academic Purposes, English for Specific Purposes, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Language and Education, and Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development in order to identify the convergence and divergence in academic interest areas. We additionally examined research settings and participants across these studies. Our findings revealed a spectrum of research questions with largely distinct areas of research interest and considerable differences in research settings. This study contributes to the academic discussion by offering a detailed picture of the current research landscape, and suggests not only a need for collaboration between EMI, and EAP/ESP researchers but also a value in maintaining some distinction between the two fields

Strategy instruction in listening for lower-intermediate learners of French

Second language listening has historically proved to be a difficult skill. Strategy instruction studies have sought to bring about improvements in subjects’ listening but with mixed results. This lack of success might be due to the nature of listening strategy theory and its influence on conceptualizations of listening strategy instruction. The current study, based on an initial descriptive investigation of a specific population of learners, measured the effects of strategy instruction on both the listening performance and self-efficacy of 68 lower-intermediate learners of French in England, against a comparison group. Moreover, the effects of high- and low-scaffolded interventions were compared. Results suggest that the program improved listening proficiency and learners’ confidence about listening. Implications for pedagogy and strategy theory are discussed

La importancia de la certificación del profesorado que imparte asignaturas en inglés en la educación universitaria en España

The growth of English medium instruction (EMI) courses in non-English-speaking countries has been mirrored by a growth in research into EMI teacher beliefs. Although this research has reported that EMI teachers find teaching content subjects in English (their second language) a challenge, virtually no research has investigated the competencies EMI teachers believe they need in order to deliver courses effectively and whether certification of those competencies is possible and/or desirable. Using questionnaires and interviews we investigated how much and what types of certification were currently available in Spain and the beliefs of teachers and managers in Spanish universities with regard to professional development and certification. We found overall strong support for both greater professional development and for certification, whilst some uncertainty remained as to how both of these desirables might be implemented and financed.El incremento de cursos en inglés (EMI) en las universidades de países no anglófonos ha venido acompañado por un aumento de estudios sobre las creencias del profesorado. Aunque esta investigación arroja que el profesorado EMI encuentra dificultades al impartir asignaturas de contenido en inglés (su lengua extranjera), apenas existe investigación sobre las competencias que el profesorado EMI precisa para impartir estos cursos efectivamente o sobre si su certificación es posible y/o deseable. A través de cuestionarios y entrevistas se analizaron las creencias del profesorado y gestores universitarios españoles sobre dichas competencias y su certificación. Se observó una necesidad perentoria tanto de un mayor apoyo al desarrollo profesional como a la certificación, aunque se plantearon dudas sobre su implementación y financiación

English medium instruction: Comparing teacher beliefs in secondary and tertiary education

Learning content through the medium of a second language is a form of education which is growing rapidly in both secondary and tertiary educational phases. Yet, although considerable research now exists on these phases of education viewed separately, virtually no comparisons have been made between the two phases. This study compared beliefs about English medium instruction (EMI) held by 167 secondary and tertiary EMI teachers from 27 countries. Teachers’ beliefs were elicited in four key areas: EMI teachers’ goals, EMI policy, benefits and drawbacks to students, and challenges to teachers. The findings indicate that secondary teachers felt more strongly that EMI provides students with a high quality education. More secondary than tertiary teachers reported an institutional policy on the English proficiency level required of teachers to teach through EMI, yet in neither phase was there evidence of adequate support to reach a required proficiency level. Teachers deemed EMI beneficial to advancing students’ English but felt that EMI would affect academic content, with no clear difference between the phases. Our conclusions indicate that EMI is being introduced without thorough institutional stakeholder discussion and therefore without clear policies on levels of teacher expertise. Neither is there evidence of a dialogue between phases regarding the challenges faced by EMI teachers and students

La importancia de la certificación del profesorado que imparte asignaturas en inglés en la educación universitaria en España

The growth of English medium instruction (EMI) courses in non-Eng-lish-speaking countries has been mirrored by a growth in research into EMI teacher beliefs. Although this research has reported that EMI teachers find teaching content subjects in Eng-lish (their second language) a challenge, virtually no research has investigated the compet-encies EMI teachers believe they need in order to deliver courses effectively and whether certification of those competencies is possible and/or desirable. Using questionnaires and interviews we investigated how much and what types of certification were currently avail-able in Spain and the beliefs of teachers and managers in Spanish universities with regard to professional development and certification. We found overall strong support for both greater professional development and for certification, whilst some uncertainty remained as to how both of these desirables might be implemented and financed.El incremento de cursos en inglés (EMI) en las universidades de países no anglófonos ha venido acompañado por un aumento de estudios sobre las creencias del pro-fesorado. Aunque esta investigación arroja que el profesorado EMI encuentra dificultades al impartir asignaturas de contenido en inglés (su lengua extranjera), apenas existe inves-tigación sobre las competencias que el profesorado EMI precisa para impartir estos cursos efectivamente o sobre si su certificación es posible y/o deseable. A través de cuestionarios y entrevistas se analizaron las creencias del profesorado y gestores universitarios españoles sobre dichas competencias y su certificación. Se observó una necesidad perentoria tanto de un mayor apoyo al desarrollo profesional como a la certificación, aunque se plantearon dudas sobre su implementación y financiación

Tópicos de Geometria Plana Com o Software Geogebra: Proposta de sequências Didáticas

De acordo com a realidade das escolas em que trabalho, o ensino da geometria plana está deficitário, fazendo com que os alunos esqueçam com facilidade certas definições e propriedades. Um recurso que pode (e deve) ser usado é o que essa dissertação propõe: softwares educacionais para o estudo da geometria plana. Para ser mais objetiva é proposto o uso do software GeoGebra, que é gratuito, para mostrar alguns tópicos da geometria plana. A ideia é levar cada aluno a assimilação de definições e propriedades através de construções geométricas, usando-se o GeoGebra em sequências didáticas. Estas sequências didáticas poderão ser usadas inclusive em qualquer série do Ensino Médio, pois um dos objetivos do projeto é dar suporte para os alunos, independentemente da série que estão cursando. As primeiras sequências têm o objetivo de mostrar alguns recursos do software e as demais, construções geométricas e propriedades envolvidas

USING MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES AND WEARABLE INERTIAL MEASUREMENT UNITS TO PREDICT FRONT CRAWL ELBOW JOINT ANGLE: A PILOT STUDY

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of using an artificial neural network (ANN) and inertial measurement units (IMUs) for estimating front crawl elbow angle in a laboratory environment. The study evaluates the validity of two models resulting from two swimmers who adopted different front crawl techniques. For each participant, data were collected from two IMUs placed on the arm during three minutes of ergometer-based swimming. These data were entered into an artificial neural network along with the target data which was elbow flexion angle from a camera-based motion capture system. The performance of each model was assessed by comparing the predicted elbow angle to the gold standard elbow angle during ten front crawl strokes collected separately from the training data. Root mean square difference (RMSD) between predicted and gold standard elbow angle across the ten stroke cycles was 7.75° for both participants. This pilot study demonstrates validity of using IMUs and artificial neural networks in a laboratory environment for estimating front crawl elbow angle in two swimmers who used different front crawl techniques