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ESP Courseware

Presented by Wan-Tsai Kung, Ph.D.

Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages2014/09/14

Table of Content2

Introduction Task-based Language Learning Problem Statement Purpose of the Study

Methodology Participant Task treatment Evaluation and Data Analysis Courseware Theoretical Background of Courseware Design

Result and DiscussionConclusionReferencesQ&A

Introduction3

Higher education programs (e.g. Visual Communication Design) established over the past decade Cultivate design-related manpower

Professional knowledge English communication skills

ESP instruction in design-related programs Increasingly emphasized Integrated into curriculum Bridge the gap

Introduction (Task-based Language learning)

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Task-based language learning (TBLL): also known as task-based language teaching

(TBLT) or task-based instruction (TBI) Use authentic language and ask students to do

meaningful tasks Assessment → task outcome rather than on

accuracy of language forms especially popular for fluency and confidence

Introduction (Problem Statement)5

The importance of entering international competitions broaden their global horizons make themselves noticeable

Few practical courses available for international competitions

Gap in literature on the effect of implementing design-related ESP courseware into task-based learning

Introduction (Purpose of the Study)6

The purpose of this study was to investigate Taiwanese college students’ learning effectiveness through an implementation of ESP courseware in task-based learning.

Also, learners’ learning satisfaction to the courseware and their use of reading strategies while interacting with the courseware were also discussed.

Methodology7

Participants: 60 junior VCD students, who enrolled in an

elective course, “Design English,” in a technical university in Taiwan

33 → ICT group (the courseware group) 27 → F2F group (traditional instruction group)

Methodology8Treatment (During Task):

two hours per week for ten weeks

For the ICT group, the teacher only played the role of supervising and observing students’ behaviours

and learning encouraging students’ self-studying of the

courseware

For the F2F group, the same learning content was used, and the teacher led students to study the target content explained the sentence structures provided Chinese translations

Methodology9

Evaluation and Data Analysis: For both ICT and F2F groups:

1. on-line simulated TOEIC test (t-test) 2. two types (cloze and dictation) given in Pre-Task and Post-Task Phases (two t-tests)

For the ICT group only: 3. A Pearson correlation analysis on 1 & 2. 4. students’ learning satisfaction

questionnaire (Tsai, 2010; 2011) of using courseware (descriptive statistics)

5. students’ reading strategies questionnaire (Oxford, 1990) (descriptive statistics): memory, cognitive, comprehension, metacognitive, affective, and social strategies

Methodology10

Courseware Design: The courseware content provides students with

all information necessary for entering an international competition by including

1. authentic texts with English audio and Chinese

translation support 2. practices of language skills 3. on-line tests with instant self-checking

Methodology11

Theoretical background of Courseware Design

1. Mayer’s (2005) multimedia learning cognitive theory

2. Chapelle’s (1998) criteria for development of multimedia

CALL

Mayer’s (2005) Nine Advanced Principles of Multimedia Learning

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Principles Descriptions

1 Guided-discovery

People learn better when guidance is incorporated into discovery-based multimedia environment.

2 Worked-out example

People learn better when receive worked-out examples in initial skill learning.

3 Collaboration

People can learn better with collaborative online learning activity.

4 Self-explanation

People learn better when they are encouraged to generate self-explanation during learning.

5 Animation and interactivity

People don’t necessarily learn better from animation and interactivity than from static diagrams.

6 Navigation People learn better in hypertext environments when appropriate navigation aids are provided.

7 Site map People learn better in an online environment when the interface includes a map showing where the learner is in the lesson.

8 Prior knowledge

Well structured multimedia presentations should be created for they are most likely to help.

9 Cognitive aging

Instructional design principles that effectively expand working memory capacity are especially helpful for older learners.

Chapelle’s (1998) Criteria for Development of Multimedia CALL

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nsDescriptions

1 Making key linguistic characteristics salient.

2 Offering modifications of linguistic input.

3 Providing opportunities for comprehensible output.

4 Providing opportunities for learners to notice their errors.

5 Providing opportunities for learners to correct their linguistic output.

6 Supporting modified interaction between the learner and the computer.

7 Acting as a participant in L2 tasks.

Result and Discussion14

For both ICT and F2F groups 1. on-line simulated TOEIC test:

ICT = 357.6 F2F = 358.9. no significant difference (t-test)

2. pre-and post-tests on cloze and dictation tests: Both groups made significant improvement in the post-

cloze and post-dictation tests. No significant difference was found between ICT and F2F

groups in the pre- and post-tests of cloze and dictation.

Table 1: Results of Pre- and Post-tests for Both ICT and F2F Groups

GroupSimulated

TOEICTest Type

Cloze Test

Dictation Test

ICT357.6

(N=33) Pre-test 40.9% 33.1%

Post-test 55.3% 55.3%

F2F358.9

(N=27) Pre-test 34.8% 30.9%

Post-test 48.1% 45.7%

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Result and Discussion16

Table 2: Results of Pearson’s Correlation Analysis between Students’ Task Performance and TOEIC-

like Test for the ICT Group17

Pearson’s correlation analysis & coefficient

Cloze task Dictation task

pretest post-test pretest post-test

TOEIC-like test

r value .683 .573 .827 .816p value .000 .000 .000 .000

Result and Discussion18

For the ICT group ONLY 4. students’ learning satisfaction

questionnaire (Tsai, 2010; 2011) of using courseware (5-point Likert scale) :

the overall mean (reliable value =.929) = 3.60

positive attitude

Table 3: Results of Students’ Learning Satisfaction Questionnaire for the ICT

Group19

# Questions Mean

Q1 The courseware improves your related cognition and skills for preparing for international design competition.

3.69

Q2 The courseware is sufficiently helpful to improve vocabulary for international design competition.

3.69

Q7 The courseware is sufficiently helpful to improve translation skills for international design competition.

3.73

Q11 The bilingual and multimedia design of the courseware help decrease the learning barrier and promote the learning motivation.

3.73

Q13 The function keys improve navigation. 3.77

Q14 You are satisfied with such a direct self-study with the courseware implementation.

3.65

Q15 You recommend this courseware to your friends. 3.69

Note: The rest of the questions are not listed here because their means are below the overall mean (m = 3.60).

Result and Discussion20

For the ICT group ONLY 5. students’ reading strategies

questionnaire (Oxford, 1990) :

The overall mean = 3.39, meaning that students used reading strategies in a moderate degree.

used more frequently were compensation (M = 3.86) , cognitive (M = 3.50) and memory type (M = 3.43), but social-affective strategies (M = 3.05) were least frequently employed.

→ consistent with previous literature (Tsai, 2010; 2011)

Table 4: Results of Overall and Specific Types of Reading Strategy

Use21

Strategy Type

Examples Mean

Memory(cloze and dictation tests)

involve the store and retrieval of the language or new information (Ex. grouping, applying imagery)

3.43

cognitive emphasize using the language and learning how it works (Ex. practicing, analyzing and summarizing)

3.50

compensation

relate to using the language despite gaps in knowledge (Ex. guessing and avoiding uncertainty)

3.86

social- affective (cultural factor)

work or interact with others to get input and practice (Ex. cooperation with peers)

3.05

Overall mean 3.39

Conclusion22

The implementation of ESP courseware works as effectively as F2F instruction, and it is quite motivating.

The combination of task-based courseware design (self-study, instant feedback, and interactivity) enhances learner autonomy.

More research is needed with respect to the strategies learners use on interacting with ESP courseware.

References23 Lai, C. Y. (2005) A study on applied English department

students’ needs for taking English for specific purposes courses and students’ perceptions of an effective ESP teacher. Master dissertation, Southern Taiwan University of Technology, unpublished.

Chapelle, C. A. (1998) Multimedia CALL: lessons to be learned from research on instructed SLA. Language Learning & Technology, 2, 22-34.

Mayer, R. E. (2005) The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, Cambridge University Press.

Tsai, S. C. (2010) Developing and Integrating Courseware for Oral Presentations into ESP Learning Contexts. Computers & Education, 55, 1245-1258.

Tsai, S. C. (2011). Multimedia courseware development for World Heritage sites and its trial integration into instruction in higher technical education, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 27 (7), 1171-1189.

Oxford, R. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

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Thank You for Listening!

Q & A