Korean Science and Engineering Students’ Perceptions of English-Medium Instruction and Korean-Medium Instruction

The purpose of this study was to examine how Korean science and engineering students view English-medium instruction (EMI) and Korean-medium instruction (KMI). The participants were 174 undergraduate students enrolled in EMI and KMI classes offered by the same instructor at a Korean science and engineering school. Interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted, and students’ course evaluations, English scores and course grades were compared. The results of a campus-wide undergraduate student survey on EMI were also analyzed. The findings of the study show that the KMI-class students demonstrated higher levels of satisfaction and better performance in their classes than the EMI-class students did. Only 22% of the students in both classes found EMI classes helpful for improving their English ability. Nevertheless, the majority of the students supported the school’s maintenance of an EMI policy. In the conclusion, the paradoxical attitude of the students and the implications of the study are discussed.     

依托学科内容培养EFL学生自主能力的实证研究

本文在依托式外语教学模式的指导下,结合非英语专业学生英语学习的环境和特征,设计依托学科内容的大学英语课堂活动,并通过实证研究旨在证明该教学模式如何从学习者学习态度和学习能力两大方面有效培养学生自主学习能力,提高英语学习效率。     

On the Technology-based Ways to Promote Learner Autonomy

This papermainlyfocuses on the technology-based ways to promote learner autonomy: web-assisted instruction and estabishing the self-access center,through analyzing the functions and problems of these ways.     

改进高职英语阅读教学,促进学生自主阅读

高职英语阅读教学存在课时少、班级大和教学方法的单一等等问题,针对这些问题,尝试将自主学习的学习理论引入阅读教学中,旨在培养学生的阅读自主性,提高他们自主阅读的能力。     

大学英语双语教学对学习者的影响——以黄淮学院国际学院大学英语教学为例

本文以黄淮学院为例,对比研究了实验组和普通组中学生学习大学英语的不同,探索双语教学对大学英语学习者学习兴趣、学习环境和学习动机的影响,进而论证了双语教学是促进大学英语学习的一种有效手段。     

大学英语写作策略训练研究

探索大学生英语写作自主是完善大学英语写作教学的一种有益尝试。从学习者写作策略训练的理论层面探讨学习策略的内涵及意义、国内外学者对写作策略的研究、学习者写作策略训练的内容以及在策略训练中应注意的问题等,以期对完善大学英语写作教学提供参考。     

Differentiated instruction: are Hong Kong in-service teachers ready?

Differentiated instruction (DI) is nothing new and is believed to be an effective research-based strategy to cater for learner diversity. Differentiation involves finding multiple ways to structure a lesson so that each student is provided with an opportunity to work at a moderately challenging level. Previous studies, however, found that teachers were not well prepared and insufficiently equipped with skills and knowledge about DI. In the recent Hong Kong curriculum reform, DI has been highlighted as one of the ways to catering to learner diversity. The purpose of the study is to examine in-service teachers’ readiness for using DI strategies and perceived challenges in its implementation. Using a mixed-methods design, a questionnaire was used to investigate teachers’ perceived readiness for and obstacles toward using DI strategies, as followed by semi-structured focus group interviews that were done to in-service teachers of two schools. Qualitative data as obtained from the interviews was used to explain the quantitative data. With the use of factor analysis, two factors were identified in the survey, including Factor 1 Teacher-centred approach and Factor 2 Student-centred approach. Findings indicated that teachers generally tended to be ready for using DI strategies; however, they were more ready for using teacher-centred approach. Three perceived obstacles toward DI were identified: class size and diversity, time, and understanding of teaching strategies. Implications for curriculum development, professional development and research directions will be discussed at the end of the paper.     

Testing foreign language impact on engineering students’ scientific problem-solving performance

This article investigates the influence of English as the examination language on the solution of physics and science problems by non-native speakers in tertiary engineering education. For that purpose, a statistically significant total number of 96 students in four year groups from freshman to senior level participated in a testing experiment in the Degree Programme of Aviation at the FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria. Half of each test group were given a set of 12 physics problems described in German, the other half received the same set of problems described in English. It was the goal to test linguistic reading comprehension necessary for scientific problem solving instead of physics knowledge as such. The results imply that written undergraduate English-medium engineering tests and examinations may not require additional examination time or language-specific aids for students who have reached university-entrance proficiency in English as a foreign language.     

'Who I work with is important': dyslexic students' narratives about the benefits of grouping for instruction in Caribbean classrooms

This article utilises a multiple case study strategy to explore the narratives of Caribbean students with dyslexia on grouping for instruction. It presents a model on learner engagement which highlights students' cognitions about the social and cognitive aspects of learning and the processes that contribute to building knowledge and understanding. The qualitative research design combines multiple methods of data collection, mainly focus groups, in-depth interviews, documentary evidence along with narrative observations to capture the experiences of students. This research also demonstrates that students are the most powerful resource available to teachers, and that engaging them in dialogue can facilitate the development of effective pedagogies for teaching.     

Didactic competencies of teachers from the learner’s viewpoint

Teacher competencies can be researched in many different ways. In the present article they are studied from the learner’s viewpoint. The article presents results of the extensive project “Teacher Education for New Competencies for the Knowledge Society and the Role of these Competencies in Educational Goal Attainment at School”, carried out at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana, with the financial support of the Slovenian Ministry of Education and Sport. We present the results of the learner’s judgement of the teacher’s didactic competencies. We formed a questionnaire with which we operationalised teacher competencies with the purpose of measuring the teacher’s efficiency of instruction. In order to achieve the goals of modern instruction it is important to engage both models: learner‐centred and teacher‐centred education. The research showed that elements of the traditional instruction model are more frequently used than the model that demands a changed learner role.     

提升英语学习成效的课堂自主学习策略探析

自主学习策略是提升英语学习成效的有效策略之一。自主学习是学习者对自己学习的自觉负责,它具有同是教育之目标与手段的重要性。单元任务可以为自主学习策略教学提供与常规教学相结合的训练,同时,单元任务还可以为自主学习策略教学提供所需要的实践空间与时间。概言之,单元任务为在我国中小学英语教学中培养学生自主学习能力提供了可能的策略教学形式。     

试析教师在自主学习中的作用

“自主学习”是当前英语教学的热点问题。在强调学生的“学”的同时,不可忽视教师发挥的过程系统导控作用,即合理配置资源、传授策略方法、操练综合技能、全面考核过程。悉心引导学生达到“自主学习”。     

网络教学环境下的形成性评价模式研究

大学英语教学改革的最终目的是培养学生的自主学习能力,体现学生学习过程、突出学生主体地位的形成性评价成为培养学生自主学习能力的最重要教学评价模式,重视形成性评价是现代大学英语教学发展的必然要求。本文从网络教学环境下师生的角色定位,形成性评价的意义、原则、内容和方式等方面展开探讨,旨在探索提高大学生自主学习能力的教学评价模式。     

Learner profile stability and change over time: the impact of the explicit strategy instruction program “learning light”

Abstract

This study examined the stability and change in secondary school students’ learner profiles after receiving an explicit strategy instruction (ESI) to foster their text-learning strategy use. A randomized quasi-experimental repeated measures design was set up with one experimental condition – receiving an eight-lesson-teacher delivered instructional treatment – and one control condition. Four learner profiles (i.e., integrated strategy users, information organizers, mental learners, and limited strategy users) were corroborated at three measurement occasions in a sample of 444 students. Cluster movement analysis identified positive changes in students’ learner profiles over time. Both short- and long-term results were promising.