A higher-education teaching module for integrating industry content and language through online recruitment advertisements

Empirical evaluations of practical teaching units integrating content and language in higher education are rare and deserve more attention. The current article aims to narrow this gap by providing an empirical study of an integrating content and language in higher education (ICLHE, Smit & Dafouz, 2012) teaching module. It investigates the effectiveness of a content-based English for specific purposes module in tertiary aeronautical engineering education, which incorporates recruitment advertisements as online resources. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach and surveyed three aeronautical engineering student groups (N = 141) over three consecutive years on their perceptions of the module’s learning outcomes. This longitudinal survey was complemented by a teacher-assessed writing task and a qualitative content analysis of online recruitment advertisements (N = 80) in a self-built corpus. All three year groups rated the 10 questionnaire statements on a 5-point Likert scale rather equally, thus suggesting a similar perception of academic achievement stemming from the module’s completion. This student view was supported by the results of the writing assignment. In short, the module’s effectiveness was corroborated both quantitatively and qualitatively, which identifies this teaching concept as a feasible way forward

Design-Build-Write: Increasing The Impact Of English For Specific Purposes Learning And Teaching In Aeronautical Engineering Education Through Multiple Intelligences Task Design

This article presents an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) task developed for teaching aeronautical engineering students. The task Design-Build-Write rests on the assumption that engineering students are skilled at mathematical reasoning, problem solving, drawing and constructing. In Gardner’s 1983 Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory, these skills strongly correspond to the logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic and spatial intelligences. The current task combines creativity, innovation and problem solving with the description of technical concepts. An enthusiastic learner response in class suggests that the target group of aeronautical engineering students could be engaged and captivated by this assignment.

Engineering students' perceptions of the role of ESP curses in internationalized universities

Recently there has been a trend towards English-medium instruction (EMI) with increasing numbers of programs taught in English (Wächter & Maiworm, 2014). At the same time, there has been a long tradition of ESP courses aiming at preparing students for effective academic and professional communication. In an increasingly internationalized context, it is necessary to reappraise current ESP courses in order to find out the extent to which they are adapted to the ever-changing needs of engineering graduates in a glob- alized world. Within this context, this study looks at the impact of ESP courses on uni- versity students of engineering in two European universities (Spain and Austria). Specifically, our research was based in three campuses: two campuses from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), UPC-Vilanova (n 1/4 52) and UPC-Barcelona (n 1/4 26), and a third campus at FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences (FHJ) in Austria (n 1/4 17). This research set out to track participants’ perceptions of how ESP courses prepared them for academic communication in general and EMI in particular (N 1/4 95). Data stem mainly from surveys administered both at the start and at the end of an ESP course. Students were asked about their perceived initial level of proficiency, their expectations, and their learning objectives (first survey, T1) as well as their perceived development in the different skills, the degree of fulfilment of their initial learning objectives, and their evaluation of the ESP course as preparation for international academic and professional communication (second survey, T2). These data were complemented with qualitative diary entries from students (n 1/4 7) who reflected on their learning at different stages of their ESP course. Results point to overall satisfaction with ESP courses and greater awareness of the nature of specialized communication and yield deeper insights into students’ strategies and areas where ESP can contribute to better student preparation and empowerment.Postprint (author's final draft

Teaching vocabulary in tertiary ESP using TED talks [Innovation and digital technologies in Languages for Specific Purposes]

Teaching vocabulary is particularly important in tertiary English for specific purposes (ESP) education, as technical terms form the foundation for oral and written communication in disciplines, professions, and projects. Becoming accurate and fluent in speaking and writing about subject-specific content requires extended linguistic instruction and opportunities to practise the language, which is why engineering students need to be enabled to participate in ESP courses in their academic degree programmes. This talk, therefore, reviews some vocabulary teaching techniques and illustrates pedagogical scenarios for teaching technical terminology. It thus caters for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in higher education, but its contents may be transferred to other academic subject areas or in-service training courses in industry. The main scenario presented revolves around a TED talk video file on technology and society, whereas two further TED video files adopt a narrower focus on 3D-printing in aircraft design and removing CO2 from the atmosphere. TED talk files are permanently archived, accessible online, and accompanied by transcripts. The teaching sequences under consideration involve discussion questions, note-taking of facts and figures from the talks, an analysis of key vocabulary and phrases, using key terms in discussing aspects of the talks, and preparing arguments and counter-arguments related to the speaker’s view. These teaching scenarios may be complemented with homework assignments or integrated into several lessons treating the same thematic strand. The major objectives of this talk are revisiting an essential area of ESP and exchanging techniques from tertiary pedagogical practice. It may be characterised as a methodological contribution rooted in teaching experience, thus resembling a concept talk rather than a research presentation. Instead of research data and results, it focuses on pedagogical aspects and the spreading of good teaching practice among tertiary ESP professionals

Learner Autonomy SIG stories

This article tells the personal stories of four professional efl educators and their own understanding of learner autonomy with reference to their own teaching contexts. It was written for the Iatefl Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group (LASIG)