Communicative competences in non-linguistic university degrees

As labour markets continue to change rapidly, the learning environments continue to be unchallenged in the provision of new professionals across the world. This change has compelled the need for students to attain communicative competences in non-linguistic institutions of higher education. In order to address this issue, we propose a novel approach to communicative competences integration into the curriculum development of a specialised foreign language course. For this purpose, we combine students’ needs analysis with a personalised English for specific purposes (ESP) course design that motivates them to learn more about technical and professional environments through a skill-based routing. Additionally, we provide a scale for measuring training outcomes as well as suggest first results from the piloting phase of the teaching experience. The findings of the study highlight usefulness of the customised competence training experience.Humanidade

Transversal Competences in Engineering Degrees: Integrating Content and Foreign Language Teaching

[EN] There has been a constant advance of the labour markets and permanent reorientation towards digital Industry 4.0. Yet, the environments for learning remain unchallenged when it comes to the provision of new professionals across the globe. Therefore, this has created a gap in transversal competences, which has compelled students of higher learning institutions to pursue them. The majority of higher learning institutions have emphasised transversal skills among learners and developed curriculums to accomplish these demands. The primary focus of the study was to attain integration and fusion of transversal skills into the development of specialised curriculum training for foreign language proficiency. The study applied mixed methodology techniques, which combined qualitative and quantitative methods in the study. To guarantee cohesion of the study, four research and monitoring techniques such as course dossiers, needs analysis, task-based activities and adapted competences scales were used. The outcome of the research shows findings provided by the piloting stage of the teaching experience and emphasises the need for student-based skill training.The described experience was carried out as part of the work in the Innovation and Quality Education Teaching (EICE DESMAHIA) Development of active methodologies and evaluation strategies applied to the field of Hydraulic Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de València.Polyakova, O.; Galstyan-Sargsyan, R.; López Jiménez, PA.; Pérez-Sánchez, M. (2020). Transversal Competences in Engineering Degrees: Integrating Content and Foreign Language Teaching. Education Sciences. 10(11):1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10110296S1131011Laguna-Sánchez, P., Abad, P., de la Fuente-Cabrero, C., & Calero, R. (2020). A University Training Programme for Acquiring Entrepreneurial and Transversal Employability Skills, a Students’ Assessment. Sustainability, 12(3), 796. doi:10.3390/su12030796Moldovan, L. (2020). A Reference Framework for Continuous Improvement of Employability Assessment. Procedia Manufacturing, 46, 271-278. doi:10.1016/j.promfg.2020.03.040Succi, C., & Canovi, M. (2019). Soft skills to enhance graduate employability: comparing students and employers’ perceptions. Studies in Higher Education, 45(9), 1834-1847. doi:10.1080/03075079.2019.1585420Competency Framework. OECDhttps://www.oecd.org/careers/competency_framework_en.pdfSerrano, R. M., Romero, J. A., Bello, M. J., & Pérez, J. D. (2011). Student Training in Transversal Competences at the University of Cordoba. European Educational Research Journal, 10(1), 34-52. doi:10.2304/eerj.2011.10.1.34Graczyk-Kucharska, M., Özmen, A., Szafrański, M., Weber, G. W., Golińśki, M., & Spychała, M. (2019). Knowledge accelerator by transversal competences and multivariate adaptive regression splines. Central European Journal of Operations Research, 28(2), 645-669. doi:10.1007/s10100-019-00636-xHortigüela Alcalá, D., Palacios Picos, A., & López Pastor, V. (2018). The impact of formative and shared or co-assessment on the acquisition of transversal competences in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(6), 933-945. doi:10.1080/02602938.2018.1530341Vasconcelos, S., & Balula, A. (2019). DO YOU SPEAK DIGITAL? – A LITERATURE REVIEW ON LANGUAGE AND DIGITAL COMPETENCES IN TOURISM EDUCATION. doi:10.20867/tosee.05.32Villardón-Gallego, L., Flores-Moncada, L., Yáñez-Marquina, L., & García-Montero, R. (2020). Best Practices in the Development of Transversal Competences among Youths in Vulnerable Situations. Education Sciences, 10(9), 230. doi:10.3390/educsci10090230Sá, M., & Serpa, S. (2018). Transversal Competences: Their Importance and Learning Processes by Higher Education Students. Education Sciences, 8(3), 126. doi:10.3390/educsci8030126Cepic, R., Vorkapic, S. T., Loncaric, D., Andic, D., & Mihic, S. S. (2015). Considering Transversal Competences, Personality and Reputation in the Context of the Teachers’ Professional Development. International Education Studies, 8(2). doi:10.5539/ies.v8n2p8Developing key competences at school in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities for Policy; Eurydice Report 2012/11https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/developing-key-competences-school-europe-challenges-and-opportunities-policy_enCommon European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, and Assessment. Companion Volume with New Descriptors. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishinghttps://rm.coe.int/cefr-companion-volume-with-new-descriptors-2018/168078798Zamora-Polo, F., Martínez Sánchez-Cortés, M., Reyes-Rodríguez, A. M., & García Sanz-Calcedo, J. (2019). Developing Project Managers’ Transversal Competences Using Building Information Modeling. Applied Sciences, 9(19), 4006. doi:10.3390/app9194006Smit, U., & Dafouz, E. (2012). Integrating content and language in higher education. Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education, 25, 1-12. doi:10.1075/aila.25.01sm

An Innovation Project to Develop Multicultural Competence within the COIL Framework

En este estudio, se empleó un enfoque especial basado en proyectos de aprendizaje internacional colaborativo en línea (COIL), introducido por Rubin (2017), con el propósito de fomentar intercambios virtuales entre instituciones de educación superior en diferentes países y continentes. Esta metodología innovadora y rentable permite establecer un entorno de aprendizaje digital que facilita la interacción y viajes virtuales. Las iniciativas COIL, disponibles en www.coilconsult.com, contribuyen a conectar aulas de dos o más universidades, promoviendo una comunicación realista y culturalmente diversa. En el marco de esta investigación, se abordaron los desafíos que enfrentan las personas al estudiar y trabajar en contextos lingüísticos y culturales diversos. Para ello, se implementó un enfoque especial de Proyecto Colaborativo de Aprendizaje Internacional (COIL) con el objetivo de fomentar programas de intercambio virtual entre instituciones de educación superior en España y México. Además de evaluar la competencia lingüística y cultural, este estudio también examinó aspectos como la tolerancia a la diversidad, el trabajo en equipo, el rigor intercultural y la humildad intelectual. Los resultados obtenidos confirmaron que la competencia lingüística y cultural de los estudiantes puede desarrollarse a través de diversas plataformas virtuales, como el Metaverso. Los participantes exploraron un mundo virtual similar a los entornos de videojuegos, en particular el TEC VirtualCampus, donde crearon avatares y presentaron sus trabajos en la sala Main Conference Room.In this study, a special approach based on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects, introduced by Rubin (2017), was employed to foster virtual exchanges between higher education institutions across different countries and continents. This innovative and cost-effective methodology enables the establishment of a digital learning environment that facilitates interaction and virtual journeys. COIL initiatives, available at www.coilconsult.com, contribute to connecting classrooms from two or more universities, promoting realistic and culturally diverse communication. Within the framework of this research, the challenges faced by individuals when studying and working in diverse linguistic and cultural contexts were addressed. To achieve this, a special focus on the Collaborative International Learning Project (COIL) was implemented with the aim of promoting virtual exchange programs between higher education institutions in Spain and Mexico. In addition to assessing linguistic and cultural competence, this study also examined aspects such as tolerance to diversity, teamwork, intercultural rigor, and intellectual humility. The results obtained confirmed that students' linguistic and cultural competence can be developed through various virtual platforms, such as the Metaverse. Participants explored a virtual world similar to video game environments, particularly the TEC VirtualCampus, where they created avatars and presented their work in the Main Conference Room