bbi3211 units 5-7 15 nov 2009
TRANSCRIPT
Pusat Program Luar/FBMKUNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
Program Bersemuka 2Semester I 2008/2009
Kursus: BBI 3211(English for Specific Purposes)
Tarikh: 21 September 2008Tempat: BKP 001 UPMPensyarah: PM Dr. Mohd Faiz
Abdullah
BBI 3211 (ESP): Review of Course Objectives and Assessment Scheme
Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Faiz Abdullah
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, students are able to:1. identify the differences between
teaching/learning ESP and General English;2. describe the different approaches to needs
analysis;3. list and describe the possible constraints on
the process of analysing needs and designing ESP courses;
4. identify the various approaches to ESP course design;
Learning Objectives (cont’d)
5. determine how special language can be analysed and described;
6. describe the role of the ESP practitioner and appropriate methodology in ESP;
7. identify the features of sound ESP materials; and
8. describe the functions of evaluation and apply techniques of assessment in ESP.
Assessment
• Individual Task 10%
• Mini-project I 15%
• Mini-project II 15%
• Mid-semester Test 20%
• Final Examination 40%
• TOTAL MARKS100%
Final Examination
• assessment of your knowledge of the course content
• will comprise 40 multiple-choice questions and two (2) essay questions
• You must attempt all the multiple-choice items (30% of course marks) and choose one essay question (10% of course marks).
BBI 3211 (ESP): REVIEW OF UNITS 5 – 7
Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Faiz Abdullah
Unit 5: ESP MATERIALS
Unit ObjectivesAt the end of this unit, you will be able to:• describe ways in which knowledge of special
language can be used in the development of ESP materials,
• identify authentic texts for use in ESP classes,• distinguish between language-focused and authentic
activity-focused use of text,• assess the relative merits and demerits of using
textbooks and in-house materials, respectively, and• select appropriate techniques of ESP materials
design and apply these to their own practice.
Link between Language and Content
1. Language descriptions - the link between NA, CD and Materials.
2. Methodology in ESP - two angles, i.e. ‘methodology’ as:• the approach to problem-solving that is practised
in a particular discipline and/or area of study/work, and
• the sum total of teaching/learning activities in a course of instruction.
3. Current approaches to ESP are based on:– notions of ‘genre’ and ‘register’ in relation to
language use in work/study context– Topics and learning tasks in course design
Link between Language and Content (cont’d…)
4. Descriptions of special language link NA to the language content of the course via:– description carried out at NA stage of course design
– basis for the development of materials
– important first stage in the selection of content
– basis of ESP materials esp. areas of materials that are language-focused E.g. exercises on word formation, collocations (i.e. words that tend to occur together), abbreviations, and the linguistic forms associated with the expression of rhetorical functions and discourse moves or stages
Link between Language and Content (cont’d…)
5. Language descriptions are not explicit in communicative activities:
• part of “language focus” stage, not “content focus” stage
• knowledge of typical genres is useful for the teacher or materials-writer as a basis for structuring communicative activities
• Units of materials structured according to Topics and Tasks
Link between Language and Content (cont’d…)
6. Structure of a unit of materials (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987): Starter Input Language Focus and Content Focus
(alternating) Tasks (pedagogic tasks leading to
‘real world tasks) Projects (optional)
Text and Tasks
7. Authentic tasks are devised, based on authentic texts:
• Authentic tasks resemble the actions learners need to do in real life situations
• Authentic texts are those which are similar to actual texts found in those situations
• Authenticity of text and task is therefore a key consideration in ESP materials
Using Authentic Texts
1. Properties of authenticity with regard to ESP materials include the following:
• the texts were not produced for language teaching/training purposes
• the texts are relevant for the target context of language use
• the texts should be what the learners would do in their specific area of study/work activity
Authentic Texts (cont’d…)
2. If authentic texts are linguistically too difficult for the learners, simple or simplified texts can be used.
• ‘simple’ = specially written for the language class
• ‘simplified’ = the original text is modified to make it simpler
3. In simplified accounts, two features that are usually changed are:
• lexis, or vocabulary• syntax
Authentic Texts (cont’d…)
4. Two textual features that one should be careful to preserve unchanged in simplified accounts are:
• rhetorical structure• information structure5. Two other ways of making difficult texts more
accessible to the learner are:• grading by information density (i.e. controlling
focus on content from less to more)• grading by task complexity (i.e. arranging tasks
from easy to more difficult)
Language-focused and Authentic Activities
1. TALO (Text as Linguistic Object) - texts that focus on language
2. TAVI (Text as Vehicle of Information) - texts that are used to stimulate authentic activities
3. Procedure for application of concepts:• Selection of text i.e. principles whereby the
text is chosen – what the teacher looks for• Working with text• Classroom interaction i.e. teacher and
learners – who is talking, and to whom?• Follow-up activities i.e. in class or as
homework
Using Textbooks
Advantages• good quality, from expert
authors and editors
• good appearance
• convenient to have a book
• the book provides a syllabus and a course shape
• accountability, control and co-ordination in a large-scale course with several student groups taught by different teachers
Disadvantages• irrelevance of topics for group
• wrong language level for group
• wrong level of subject knowledge for group
• not suitable for learning style(s) of group
• not meeting their particular language difficulties
• students may have used the book before
• book may be culturally inappropriate
• not enough copies for students
Using In-house Materials
Advantages• relevance and appropriacy
for particular group of learners, with regard to:
– topic– level of subject – knowledge– language level– language difficulties– learning style– cultural acceptability
• flexibility – responding to needs as they arise, or keeping up-to-date with topical subjects
• materials writing is professionally prestigious
Disadvantages• very time-consuming to
produce
• variable quality
• difficult to coordinate across teachers – they tend to want to use their own only
• lots of bits of paper inconvenient for students, and also teachers
• a syllabus and course plan must also be drawn up
• difficulty in finding suitable source material, especially fro listening
UNIT 6: METHODOLOGY FOR ESP
Sub-topics:
• ESP Methodology and EGP Methodology
• Activities in ESP
• Using Students’ Knowledge of the Specialism
• Problem Solving Tasks
• Review
ESP/EGP Methodology
Differences between ESP/EGP teaching/learning:
• teacher roles in the ESP classroom, • teacher and student knowledge of
the specialism, • the relationship between the
specialism and ESP methodology, and
• tasks for the ESP classroom
ESP/EGP Methodology…
Dudley-Evans and St John (1998, p. 187): “We [suggest] that ESP teaching can be
very different to EFL [EGP] teaching …mainly from two factors associated with the learners:
• the specialist knowledge that they bring – both conscious and latent;
• the cognitive and learning processes that they bring with them from their experience of learning and working within their specialist field.”
Roles of the ESP teacher/instructor
• Empathiser• Consultant• Course designer and administrator• Diplomat/Negotiator• Analyst• Materials writer• Evaluator and tester• Report writer• Collaborator with content specialists• Classroom researcher
Activities in ESP
– Role Plays – Simulations– Case studies – Project work– Oral presentation– Information transfer– Information gap– Jigsaw listening/reading
Using Students’ Knowledge of their Specialism
Appropriating students’ knowledge of:
• the world,
• their mother tongue, and other languages
To carry out:
• Problem Solving Tasks
• Using a ‘deep-end’ strategy
UNIT 7: EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT IN ESP
Sub-topics• Assessment vs. Evaluation• The Design of Evaluations• Guidelines on Evaluation• Evaluation Methods: Data Gathering• Evaluation of Process and Product• Programme-Fair Evaluation• Evaluation Criteria• The Evaluation of Projects• The Realities of Evaluation• Evaluation in ESP• Testing in ESP
Main differences between assessment and evaluation Assessment
• Assessment = measuring or judging the progress, achievement, or proficiency of students
• The focus is on student learning, the outcomes of instruction
Evaluation
• Evaluation is a broader concept than assessment – value-adding process
• Assessment may be one part of an evaluation. But evaluation may focus on many other aspects of a course apart from student learning; e.g. quality of the teaching or the materials, the appropriateness of the objectives, the classroom climate and so on.
Evaluation
• “The process of determining to what extent the objectives are actually being realised.”
• “Evaluation is the systematic collection and analysis of all relevant information necessary to promote the improvement of a curriculum and assess its effectiveness and efficiency, as well as the participants attitudes within the context of the particular institutions involved
A practical perspective on evaluation
Collecting educational information about:
• the achievement of learners
• the teachers
• the materials
• the teaching methodology
• the syllabus, etc.
Design of Evaluations
• Why evaluate?
• Who evaluates?
• For whom
Formative evaluation vs. summative evaluationFormative• Gathers information
about an on-going program
• Periodic – aims to check on progress and suggest improvements to program. Focus on improvement
• Usually internal agents of evaluation
Summative• Appraisal of a completed
program
• Asks if objectives have been met
• Serves the accountability function. Informs decisions on renewal or abandonment of the program
• Usually external evaluator
Evaluation Methods: Data-Gathering
• questionnaires
• interviews
• classroom observation
• study of documents
• tests
• ratings
Testing Purpose and Test Types
• Achievement test.
• Proficiency Test
• Placement test
• Diagnostic test
• Progress test.
The Interpretation of Test Scores
• Norm-Referenced testing
• Criterion-referenced testing
Scoring Tests
• Objective scoring.
• Subjective scoring
Test Validation• Reliability issues• Validity issues
Test Methods• Direct tests• Indirect tests• Performance tests• Competence tests
Thank you for listening…
Best of luck with your studies!PM Dr. Faiz Abdullah
E-Mail: [email protected]/Phone: 012-9789764FBMK Room No. 212
(2nd Floor, Language Studies Block, Faculty of Modern
Languages and Communication UPM)