group 2 (1)
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TRANSCRIPT
Group 2FATIMA GULMARRIYAM
TARIQ SITARA AYAZ
ABIDA PARVEEN
ABSTRACT• The aim of this research is to have an overview of the needs
and thereby design English for Special Purposes (ESP) writing course outline.
• The questionnaires were distributed between the targeted group (engineers) and authentic data analysis was taken from engineers working place.
Makkays Pvt. Ltd
TOPIC
THE PROCESS OF
DESIGNING AN ESP
WRITING COURSE FOR
ENGINEERS IN A
PAKISTAN
Introduction
Maurice Strong
"Sustainable development will be
impossible without the full
input by the engineering
profession."
Engineering students have
specific English needs.
Engineering students and
engineers have expressed
long-term
dissatisfaction with
their English abilit
y
(Watta
nasakunpusakon,
1996; Kitti
dhaworn, 2001).
EFFECTIVE USE OF
PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
WRITTEN
ORAL
AIMS
give st
udents a ch
ance to
grapple w
ith th
e challe
nges
of engin
eering d
esign. En
coura
ging s
tuden
ts
to s
ynth
esize
and
inte
grate
thei
r
know
ledge
in th
e
broad
er e
nginee
ring
conte
xt.
To equip st
udents with
a
variety of re
ading tech
niques
and strategies
A nee
ds a
naly
sis will
be
used
to
dete
rmin
e th
e
key
com
pone
nts
nece
ssar
y fo
r de
sign
ing
a writing
cou
rse.
Writing and reading, as
engineering activities, are
introduced.
Bump your students up to a higher level of global
language proficiency
Literature Review
ESP (English for Specific Purposes) is one
important branch of the EFL/ESL (English
as a Foreign/Second Language) system
that functions as the main branch of
English language teaching ELT. Therefore,
ESP is not a particular kind of language or
methodology, but rather an approach to
language learning whereby the content
and method are based on the learners
particular needs to learn the language
(Hutchinson, and Waters, 1987).
ESP is an “attitude of mind”,
Graddol (1996) indicates that a quarter of
the world’s population is fluent or
competent in English and no other
language in the world today can match
the steadily growing spread of the
English language.
World English can be argued to be shaped through
linguistic imperialism where the spread of English is viewed as
language imposition (Phillipson, 1992).
Three quarters of the world’s emails are currently in English and 90% of the materials on the Internet are in English (Crystal 2003).
IN OTHER WORDS, L2 LEARNERS NEED TO DEAL WITH DISCOURSES FROM DIFFERENT LANGUAGES IN ORDER TO FULFILL THEIR COMMUNICATIVE NEEDS. THIS PROCESS GIVES THEM A CHOICE TO EXPAND THEIR PREVIOUS DISCOURSES TO INCLUDE NEW
ONES.
This bilingual standpoint enables L2 learners to
contribute different aspects from their L1 to the
English language in a process leading to the use
of English as a lingua franca.
Analysis
According to Nunan techniques
and procedures for collecting
information to be used in
syllabus design are referred to
as a needs analysis (Nunan,
1988: 13).
Approaches to needs analysis
• sociolinguistic model• A systemic approach• A learning-centered approach
• Learner-centered approaches
• A task-based approach
The learning needs
Principles for a nalyzing learner needs • Give first priority to communication needs • Give equal importance to learning needs • Take ‘context’ into account • Invite multiple perspectives • Employ multiple data collection methods• Treat needs analysis as an ongoing activity
The Information Gathering Process/Methodology
Questionnaires
Questionnaires are more efficient for gathering information on a
large scale than any other approach (Brown1995).
Questionnaires were determined to be the best means of investigation in this study. They were selected as the source of data collection for the following reasons.
1- The number of participants was expected to be fairly large.
2- They require minimal time from participants and provide a flexible and convenient way to participate in the study.
3- Participants could be assured of a certain degree of anonymity in their responses and could respond candidly.
Analysis of
questionnaires
How far English is important in your opinion?a. Very important b. somehow important c. no importance
a.b. (4)c. (96)
2. To what extent you have to communicate with people in English?
a. Frequently b. occasionally c. No communication
a (74)b (24)c (2)
3.With whom you have to communicate in English?a. With boss b. with colleagues
c. with native customers d. with foreign customers e. with other
departments g. with all
a (10)b (3)c (1)d (80)e (6)
4. Do you think that your profession requires the practice of skills, such as reading, writing, listening
and speaking?a. Yes b. no
a (89)b (11)
5. Which type of speaking skill is required in your profession?a. Formal speaking b. presentation skill
c. informal communication d. all of the above
a (86)b (4)c (3)d (7)
6. Which type of writing skill your profession requires?
a. Technical writing b. business letter writingc. report writing d. above all
a (50)b (20)c (20)d (10)
7. Which type of material you have to read?a. Reports b. advertisements c. manuals
d. documents e. agreement f. bills g. invoice
h. delivery notes
a (53)b (2)c (7)d (20)e (7)f (6)g (3)h (2)
8. Is listening problematic for you, at any situation?a. Yes b. no c. don’t know
a (4)b (96)c
\
9. What is the weak area in which you want to be proficient in English? a. technical vocabulary b. grammar c. pronunciation
a (50)b (4)c (36)
10. Which time of the day is convenient for you, to attend this course?
From 9 a.m- 11 a.m b. from 3 p.m – 5 p.mc. from 7 p.m- 9 p.m
a (1)b (40)c (59)
11.Which day of the week is suitable for you, to attend this course?
a. Saturday - Sunday b. Friday- Sundayc. Tuesday- Wednesday
a (82)b (8)c (10)
12. In which methodology of teaching you will want to learn English?
a. Through text books b. through discussion session
through lecture delivery methodology
a (10)b (50)c (40)
13. In your opinion, which method of evaluation will be useful?
a. Daily base assignments b. daily base class test
c. only one test at the end of the coursed. only one project
e. no proper evaluation criteria
a (10)b (20)c (42)d (28)
FINDINGS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE
FIRSTLY, THE QUESTIONNAIRE ESTABLISHED
THAT IT IS NECESSARY FOR ENGINEERS TO
WRITE IN ENGLISH AND THE MAJORITY OF
ENGINEERS CONSIDERED ENGLISH TO BE
HIGHLY IMPORTANT IN CARRYING OUT THEIR
WORK SUCCESSFULLY AND EFFICIENTLY
SECONDLY, THE QUESTIONNAIRE, AS
COMPLETED BY THE ENGINEERS, GAVE AN
INDICATION OF THEIR LEVEL OF WRITING
SKILLS. IT DEMONSTRATED THAT HALF WERE
HAPPY, WHILST MOST (80%) SAW
THEMSELVES AS EITHER GOOD OR VERY
GOOD AT WRITING
THIRDLY, ANALYSIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE
HAS PROVIDED ME USEFUL INFORMATION FOR
DESIGNING A COURSE. ACCORDING TO THE
QUESTIONNAIRE, THE MAJORITY OF ENGINEERS
PREFER SHORT COURSES BETWEEN 2 AND 6
WEEKS. THE QUESTIONNAIRE REVEALED THAT
MOST OF THE ENGINEERS EDIT AS THEY WRITE
BEFORE PRODUCING A FAIR COPY. IN OTHER
WORDS, ENGINEERS USUALLY HAVE TIME TO
CORRECT THEIR WORK AND PERHAPS INVITE
SOMEONE TO READ AND COMMENT.
AUTHENTIC DATA ANALYSIS
I have adopted th
e framework
suggeste
d by Ellis and Jo
hnson
1994 (see appendix1). I
n the
next secti
on I will
demonstrate
how this
framework w
as use
d to
analyze extra
cts of th
e engineers
work.
Collecting the authentic documents
In order to obtain these documents, I took help
of my brother engineer (Waqar Ahmad) working
for Makkays pvt .ltd. After explaining the aim of
the study, he agreed to e-mail me some
extracts of engineers’ authentic written
documents.
In fact report writing is considered to be one of the most common activities engaged in by engineers, especially given that there are many different types of reports for instance: inspection or trip reports, laboratory report, and progress report (Beer,and McMurrey 1997). According to Beer, and McMurrey, all reports are similar in that all start with a prologue and end with a conclusion. In fact, this is not always the case, as the reports in this study will show.
Report writing
Analyzing samples of the engineer’s written work revealed that all documents collected were written only in English,
and that all these documents were reports.The documents appeared to suffer from language problems, specifically with organization, sentence
structure, and grammar. However, these problems seem not to be so fundamental that a short course could not
help rectify them. The table on next page summaries the most important features of these documents and will
indicate the framework required for a course of study in writing.
Summary of findings from the
authentic data documents
Limitation of the Study
Firstly, this study looked only at the engineers needs, whilst
there were other people who should have been involved in the
needs analysis. According to Brown, administrators and teachers
are two important sources for information, in addition to the target
group (Brown, 1995). Unfortunately, d
ue to word limitation in this
project, other groups were not addressed.
Teaching Methodology
There are three main
approaches relative to the
teaching of writing:
the product approach,
the process approach,
and the genre approach
(Badger, R. and White G
2000).
Process Genre ApproachSince each of these approaches have their
strengths and weaknesses this has led to the development of an effective method, which engages both process and genre. This approach aims to look at each approach and tries to adapt it for a particular situation (Key, and Dudley-Evans, 1997).
Syllabus
TOPIC S
structural/situational
syllabus,
functional/notional
syllabus,
skills syllabus,
situational syllabus,
functional/task-based
syllabus,
discourse/skills syllabus,
andskills and strategies.
Having determined the engineers needs
through the two research tools I have used,
namely a questionnaire and authentic data
analysis, the discussion will take place
around, determining the outline for the
technical writing course.
Course outline
Aims and objectivesTo promote engineers ability to write different types of reports1. Inspection reports2. Specification reports3. Instruction reportsThe objectives of the course will be as follows:� Recognize the organization of different report genre.� Use appropriate grammatical structures, and functions.� Write a full report with 80% accuracy.� Assess each other’s writing.� Use the appropriate technical and semi-technical vocabulary.� Use appropriate layout and punctuation.� Employ the process of editing and drafting.� Using linking devices, where appropriate, to produce cohesive text.� Express a variety of functions in writing.� Promoting writing fluency
FunctionsBy the end of the course the engineers should be able to:•Describe the condition of something, e.g. piece of equipment.•Give instructions or orders•Suggest actions to be taken.•Clarify actions that have been taken.
Content
•Present continuous•Present simple•Modals (shall, should)•Modals + passive infinitive•Simple present passive•Past simple•Simple past passive
The structure
The course will cover technical and semi-technical vocabulary. There will be specific vocabulary input such as areas that may be problematic or unknown to the engineers e.g. spelling, multi-word verbs, and compound nouns.
The vocabulary
Designed course
Course Code/Name: Eng 401
ESP for E
ngineers
Level: Graduate
Type of the Course: C
ompulsory
Components:
•Planning: The instructor presents students with a language task and explains the rationale behind it. Students are then asked to plan their own approaches to the task; choosing strategies that they think will facilitate its completion.•Monitoring: During the task, students are asked to ‘self-monitor’ their performance by paying attention to their strategy use and checking comprehension.•Problem-solving: As they encounter difficulties, learners are expected to find their own solutions.•Evaluation: After the task has been completed, students are then given time to ‘debrief’ the activity, e.g. evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies they used during the task.
O’Malley and Chamot (1990):
Method of Instruction Lecture; team/class discussions; communicative/meaningful language exercises; in- and out-of-class reading/writing tasks; presentations; library research; online research; workshops.
Length and period: 3 hrs a day, 6 weeks in total
References
•Fatima Gul (junior faculty members )•Sitara Ayaz (junior faculty members )•Maryam Tariq (junior faculty members )•Abida Parveen (junior faculty members )
Teaching Staff
•Rashid Sheikh (senior faculty
member)
•Muhammad Tariq (senior
faculty member)
•Ayaz Khan (senior faculty
member)
AttendanceCode of Academic ConductGrading •midterm exam: 25%•active participation during the classes, attitude toward the course, preparation for the pre- assigned chapters, assignments handed in due time : 10% - Delivery of presentation: 20 % - Technical report writing: 20 % - Final exam: 25%
Learning level Associated action verbs
Knowledge define, describe, state, list, name, write, recall, recognize, label, underline, select, reproduce, outline, match
Comprehension identify, justify, select, indicate, illustrate, represent, name, formulate, explain, judge, contrast, classify
Application predict, select, assess, explain, choose, find, show, demonstrate, construct, compute, use, perform
Analysis analyze, identify, conclude, differentiate, select, separate, compare, contrast, justify, resolve, break down, criticize
Synthesis combine, restate, summarize, precise, argue, discuss, organize, derive, select, relate, generalize, conclude
Evaluation judge, evaluate, determine, recognize, support, defend, attack, criticize, identify, avoid, select, choose
Objectives Writing Objectives for Lesson Plans Using Bloom’s Taxonomy and Associated Action or Performance Verbs
ABCDs of Writing Objectives •A-Audience: The who. "The student will be able to…" •B-Behavior: What a learner is expected to be able to do or the product or result of the doing. The behavior or product should be observable. •C-Condition: The important conditions under which the performance is to occur. •D-Degree: The criterion of acceptable performance. How well the learner must perform in order for the performance to be considered acceptable.
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