scholarly journals Planning needs analysis research for international students in higher education

Porta Lingua ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 109-118
Author(s):  
Ildikó Furka
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Language Education ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Materials Development ◽  
Attention To Students

Research-informed language education has been a valued trend in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) around the world (Hyland, 2014; Purpura − Graziano-King 2004; Akyel − Ozek, 2010; Rao, 2014) and in Hungary (Sárdi, 1997; Édes, 2008; Doró, 2011; Prescott, 2008). EAP instruction for international students in higher education in Hungary, however, is a fairly new phenomenon (Lannert, 2018). Due to the growing number of international students studying in Hungarian higher education institutions, faculties have started to feel the need for systematic attention to students’ skills development. As part of a larger research effort to provide course design, materials development and recommendations for language teachers and subject matter instructors, an inquiry into the current situation at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) was initiated recommended by previous practice (Hyland, 2014, Purpura − Graziano-King, 2004). The paper describes the stakeholders and the background of EAP instruction at BME, the initial identification of data sources, methods of data collection, and preliminary data analysis to inform the next step of the larger research effort. Results will inform the needs analysis instruments to be used to identify the required learning outcomes, the respective language content for the course design and materials development, and the recommendations for teachers involved.

Language teachers’ accounts of challenges in two European settings of integration training

2021 ◽  
pp. 147490412110549
Author(s):  
Miira Häkkinen ◽  
Mirjamaija Mikkilä-Erdmann
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Second Language Education ◽  
Second Language Teachers

This study investigates the work of second language teachers in two institutional settings responsible for integration training. By exploring teachers’ accounts in Finland and Germany, we seek to deepen the understanding of the daily practice of second language education. Bridging conceptual and practical approaches, the aim is to contribute to the current discourse on the development of adult second language education in Europe. A phenomenographic analysis of semi-structured interviews reveals challenges that influence instruction from inside and outside institutional practice. Accounts in the Finnish setting depict issues in how language education, teachers’ work, and adult education are perceived. Administration and language teachers disagree on what needs to be improved in a changing societal environment. Professional pride and appreciation are strongly demanded in a profession that is still being established, and challenges specific to adult education translate into priorities in delivering instruction. In the German setting, expressions culminate in prerequisites, and challenges lie in the way external factors influence course design and instruction. They also touch upon learning: methods, materials, and abilities. Feelings of inadequacy describe teachers’ psychological working environment. A comparison concludes a need to defend contact teaching in Finland and to improve tracking of slower learners’ progress in Germany.

Language Teachers as Materials Developers

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822110616
Author(s):  
Jiao Li ◽  
Xuesong (Andy) Gao ◽  
Xuehai Cui
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Teaching Materials ◽  
Materials Development ◽  
Materials Analysis ◽  
Learning And Teaching

This report reviews studies on language teachers as materials developers in language education, particularly focusing on how language teachers act as materials users, materials analysts, and materials designers when engaging with language learning and teaching materials. We contend that the three dimensions of materials development – that is, materials use, materials analysis, and materials design – intersect with one another, and that language teachers play a critical role in all three. Therefore, this review concludes with a research agenda that centres on language teachers as materials developers to expand our understanding of their roles in materials development.

Thriving in the New Normal

2021 ◽  
pp. 253-271
Author(s):  
Li Li ◽  
Gareth Richard Morris
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
New Normal ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Professional Development Needs

Language education in higher education has been significantly impacted by COVID-19, and this has placed significant pressure on practitioners around the world irrespective of their respective experience prior to the pandemic. Teachers are now expected to deliver classes utilising new mediums whilst learning how to use different technologies. This can place a significant strain on individuals, institutions, and education sectors as everyone is expected to become proficient in a new normal working environment. In light of this, this chapter considers the in-service professional development needs and experiences of 88 language teachers at a Sino foreign university in Mainland China. The aim is that the insights provided here will help education providers better understand the challenges that their staff may be facing and consider ways in which teacher learning can be addressed. This chapter should be of interest to educators, managers, leaders, and policymakers in a wide range of international settings.

scholarly journals QUESTIONING EAP: A CRITIQUE OF THE ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES COURSES AT UNIVERSITY

2021 ◽  
pp. 401
Author(s):  
Natalia Fedorova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
First Language ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Academic Environment ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Language Requirement

Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses are meant to prepare international students for their undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in an English-speaking academic environment. Prospective university candidates for whom English is not the first language are required to complete a pre-sessional EAP course if their IELTS score is lower than the admissions requirements. Even though, in terms of the language requirement, the lack of language proficiency is the only reason preventing international students from entering their degree programmes directly, the course they are required to take is an EAP course rather than a General English one, hence, not directly addressing their lack of general language proficiency. In this essay I question the need to impose such a course on international students: is EAP in its current shape necessary for their success at university or is it merely a product of neoliberalism in higher education?

Distance Learning Course Design

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian L. Wendt ◽  
Deanna Nisbet ◽  
Amanda Rockinson-Szapkiw
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
International Students ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Preliminary Research ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
The U.S

Research has extensively provided insight regarding best practices for designing distance learning courses at U.S. institutions of higher education. However, with the increase in course offerings to students abroad and with the documented challenges that international students enrolled in U.S. courses face, it is important to consider whether current frameworks for course design support the needs of international learners. Unfortunately, little research exists that examines this facet of culturally responsive course design and development. This chapter presents what is currently understood regarding international learners enrolled in U.S. courses, an overview of the most widely utilized frameworks for course design in the U.S. context, what preliminary research suggests regarding support for international learners, and practical implications and areas in need of further exploration.

METHOD FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC IDENTITY WITHIN ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: THE CASE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OF MASTER PROGRAMME “INFORMATION AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING”AT HOCHSCHULE WISMAR

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Andreas Ahrens ◽  
Jelena Zascerinska ◽  
Julija Melnikova
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Language Education ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Master Programme ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Scientific Identity

Reaching the Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is facilitated by science development. In order to strengthen scientific efforts in implementing the 2030 Agenda, the number of our modern society’s members who associate themselves with scientific community has to be increased. The research question is as following: What method promotes the construction of students’ scientific identity in language education within higher engineering education? The aim of the present research is to analyse the inter-connections between scientific identity and language education underpinning empirical analysis of use of biographical methods in English for Academic Purposes within Master programme “Information and Electrical Engineering” for International students at Hochschule Wismar. Research methods include theoretical and empirical methods. Theoretical methods comprise analysis of theoretical sources and theoretical modelling. The research methodology implies the study of the meaning of the key concepts of “scientific identity”, “language education” and “biographical method”. Moreover, the study demonstrates how the key concepts are related to higher engineering education. The empirical study was carried out at Hochschule Wismar in 2018. The data reveals students’ positive evaluation of use of biographical methods in English for Academic Purposes studies. The novel contribution of the paper is the newly formulated research question. 

scholarly journals Innovative Trends in the System of Language Education in the XXIst Century

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 73-83
Author(s):  
T. A. Dmitrenko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Language Training ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers

The article analyzes the problem associated with the quality improvement of professional training of foreign language teachers in the conditions of digitalization of Language Education. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to train competitive specialists in the field of intercultural contacts who are fluent in their profession at the level of international standards. The quality and level of foreign language training in higher education are determined by the teaching staff, who are the carriers of the ideology of updating language education. Today, the digitalization of language education has brought the foreign language training of students to a qualitatively new level, which allows not only to raise the culture of teaching foreign languages, but also to ensure the development and social adaptation of the student, and contributes to the formation of an appropriate environment for social and personal development. The quality improvement of foreign language training in higher education presupposes both the widespread use of digital teaching technologies and the mandatory consideration of the general patterns of the personality formation and individual characteristics of students, as well as the development of each student’s abilities and interests. The formation of creative thinking, flexibility, initiative and versatility, the ability to quickly respond to changes, as well as creative search in solving professional problems are especially relevant in the education and training of foreign language teachers. The article examines significant innovative trends in the system of higher education, which make it possible to train a competitive specialist who becomes the main indicator of the quality of university education.

scholarly journals Contemporary practices of foreign language preparation of future international relations specialists at universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Nataliia Vasylyshyna ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Language Training ◽  
Methods Of Learning

The article analyzes the changes taking place in Ukrainian education during the last five years, are compared with the processes taking place in Europe, and an attempt is made to identify the main trends in the development of domestic foreign language education in the near future, allowing us to: predict probable challenges and prepare for overcoming them; focus on the main areas; to formulate new tasks, review the content, and possibly approaches to methodological training foreign language teachers taking into account these trends. Special attention is paid to the training of specialists in the field international relations is due to the fact that the process intercultural communication is significantly complicated problems due to certain differences and differences in perception of the world around us native speakers of different languages and cultures, which often leads to misunderstanding of each other, and in some cases becomes the cause of undesirable situations. The purpose of the article is to analyze the peculiarities of the development of foreign language education in Ukraine, to investigate the tendencies of the influence of the European educational system on the development of foreign language education in our country. The article highlights the results of the study of trends in the development of foreign language education in Ukraine, them influence on the formation of methods of learning foreign languages in higher education, their effective used during foreign language training of future specialists in non-language specialties in modern times stage. Some aspects of the formation and development of foreign language education at different stages of it are analyzed formation in the context of the subject of research and their relevance in modern conditions of preparation for the future specialists in the humanities in higher educational institutions of Ukraine. The main directions are clarified development of trends in foreign language education through analysis of works and research of leading experts in the field. In the frame of the study, it was revealed that the concepts of "bilingualism", "plurilingualism", and "multilingualism" in the system of higher education in Ukraine have become the significant components of foreign language training of future specialists in a particular field. The research concluded that, at the present stage of Ukraine's entry into the European educational space foreign language education is an element of cultural interaction, that promotes the formation of interests in another mentality, increases motivation, and expands the scope of international cooperation. We see the conclusions and prospects for further research in this area in a more in-depth approach to creative development and finding new ways to improve efficiency of the educational process of students of the faculties of international relations in the light of the latest requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for teaching foreign languages at a qualitatively new level.

scholarly journals Textbook Evaluation as a Means of Discovering Learners' and Teachers' Needs

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-23
Author(s):  
Svetlana Bogolepova
Keyword(s):  
Course Design ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Writing Project ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Textbook Evaluation ◽  
Essential Step ◽  
Textbook Writing ◽  
Evaluation Stage

Needs analysis is considered an essential step which normally precedes English for Academic Purposes course design. It allows course developers to identify the tasks the target audience has to complete, and the skills they need to master. Based on the experience of the 'English for Academics' textbook writing project, the paper shows that needs analysis can be extended to the materials evaluation stage of textbook development. The piloting undertaken at this stage involved a questionnaire which required qualitative and quantitative responses from teacher and learner participants. The respondents were encouraged to evaluate different aspects of the course implementation, e.g. timing, relevance, difficulty, sequence, clarity of instructions, etc., and suggest improvements. The questionnaire was analysed which provided course developers with the opportunity to identify additional learners' needs and to explore teachers' needs and expectations, which in many respects coincided with each other. Consequently, the learning and teaching materials were restructured in accordance with the evaluation. The changes which were introduced into the textbook and the Teachers' Notes are described. It is concluded that piloting can be an instrument to expose both pedagogical and linguistic needs, thus, providing for the triangulation of the methods and reliability of the results.

Facing the Challenges of Higher Education in a Second Language

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Clinton Hendry ◽  
June Ruivivar
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Science Program ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Speak Up

This chapter reports on a needs analysis on a joint science program in which students spend two years each in China and Canada. Students take ESL courses in China to help them transition to the English curriculum in Canada. Since many of these students plan to work in Canada upon graduation, the authors aimed to determine how the program prepared them not only for university, but also for out-of-class interactions. They interviewed students currently in the Canadian stage of the program, a science teacher, and two ESL teachers. Students were well prepared for academics, but struggle with informal talk. The science teacher found the students to perform well, though were reluctant to speak up. In contrast, the ESL teachers commented on their lack of motivation. All parties noted that a specialized English for academic purposes (EAP) course might address these issues. The authors discuss implications for cross-cultural curriculum design and the need for communication between domain and language experts.

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