ELT 317 Week 6 to 7 PDF

WEEK 6 TO 7 PRACTICAL CONCERNS IN ESP English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  A. NEEDS ANALYSIS Needs may refer to students (study or job requirements, i.e. what they should be able to do at the end of the course. Thus, the first definition al "nee...

WEEK 6 TO 7 PRACTICAL CONCERNS IN ESP English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  A. NEEDS ANALYSIS Needs may refer to students (study or job requirements, i.e. what they should be able to do at the end of the course. Thus, the first definition al "needs" is synonymous with "objectives". (Berwick, 1989) Needs may also be synonymous with 'necessary" or those which the Imr Institution or society views as "desirable to be learned from a (program of language instruction". (Mountford) Needs may be regarded as "what the learner y needs to Conto do cluactually sion acquire the od B language." This is more of the needs in terms of the (Mocoss" of learning. (Widdowson, 1987) Needs may also be synonymous with the "personal aims" of the learner. (Berwick, 1989) Needs may also be synonymous with "lacks" or what students do not know or cannot do in English. (Robinson, 1991) English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  A. NEEDS ANALYSIS These different views on the meaning of "needs" are necessary in understanding the meaning and importance of "needs analysis."According to lwai et al. (1999), the term needs analysis generally refers to the activities that are involved in collecting information that will serve as the basis for developing a curriculum that will meet the needs of a particuiar group of students. y Conclusion d Bo English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  A. NEEDS ANALYSIS As a result of the different views on "needs" various terms (or types) related to needs analysis have been introduced. The following are the most common: 1. Target Situation Analysis- a needs analysis that focuses on the needs of the students at the end of the language program; thus, this analysis focuses on the expectation, i.e. what the student should y be like. Conclusion d Bo 2. Present Situation Analysis- this needs analysis focuses on the level of the student's language skills at the start of the language program, i.e. looking into their strengths and weaknesses. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  A. NEEDS ANALYSIS 3. Pedagogic Needs Analysis proposed by West (1998), this type of needs analysis is an umbrella term that covers three elements, namely: (a) Deficiency Analysis, which looks into the lackings of the learner; (b) Strategy Analysis or Learning Needs Analysis, which looks into the strategies that learners employ in order to learn a language * (establishes the "how the learners wish to learn); and (c) Means Analysis, y whichColooks nclusiointo n the cultural d Bo differences among groups of students (what works well in one situation may not work in another). English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN In the British sense, syllabus refers to the "plan of work to be taught in a particular course" (Robinson, 1991). Mackay and Bosquet (1981) clarify that a syllabus "requires that the target objectives and language that the learner will be expected to master be broken down into an optionally sequenced series of teaching and learning points." On the other hand, the term curriculum in the American perspective is ysynonymousConcwith lusionthe British view d Bo of syllabus. However, recent publications written by North American writers are beginning to adopt the British definition of curriculum, which involves policy-making, planning, and a complete educational environment. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN Types of Syllabus 1. Content-based syllabuses-"Content" has different meanings in syllabus design. It may mean language form, language notion, language function, situation, or even topic. One of the most famous innovations in the 1970s was the development of the notional-functional y Cosyllabus, nclusion in which the d Bo basic units are notions or concepts or functions (greeting, asking, clarifying, etc.) English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN 2. Skill-based syllabuses- "Language skills" in these types of syllabuses would usually focus on particular macro and micro-skills. Examples would be a course in writing business letters or a course in presenting business reports. Conclusion ody B English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN 3. Method-based syllabuses-There are two sub-categories of "method" namely: (a) learning process, which focuses on the student's preferences for language learning (i.e. what happens in the classroom is a negotiation between the teacher and the student), and (b) task or procedure, which focuses on ythe class C activities onclusion that students Bod should do; in this type, students understand the task and they do not act mechanically. This means that each task is relevant and subject-specific. Moreover, tasks are appropriate and meaningful (8.9. It students have to write a letter of application in class, they know that writing is required in the process application, and not just a language practice activity) English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN A single type of sylabus might not be appropriate and sylabus de Anould be ecletio- a combination of different types and approaches as much as possible. Conclusion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN Overview of the Course Design Process 1. Needs Assessment and Analysis According to Graves (1994) “needs assessment" is the process of "obtaining data" while "needs analysis" is the process of "assigning values to those data". This stage focuses on identifying students" needs and looking forward to addressing them effectively. Conclusion One of the most influential models in needs assessment is Munby’s (1978) Communicative Needs Processor (CNP), which looks at the variables that affect communication needs. These variables are considered parameters in determining the profile of the students and later on their needs. Munby's CNP comprises the following parameters/variables: English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN Participant- this variable looks into the identity and language of students, such as age, sex, nationality, and place of residence. Purposive Domain- this variable looks into the reason for taking the language program, ie. for EAP or for EOP. Setting - this parameter deals with physical settings (which includes. spatial and temporal environment such as the place Concof luswork ion or the place of study/school) and psychosocial setting (which involves different "environments" such as culturally different, demanding, noisy, etc.). Interaction- this variable identifies the people to whom the student will be communicating and his/her relationship with them (e.g. professor, boss, supervisor, customers, classmates, etc.). 1. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN 2. Determining goals and objectives- After knowing what the students' needs are, the next important step is to identify the objectives of the language program, because these objectives should be aligned with Sho students' needs. Moreover, the objectives will become the basis for planning the topics, activities, and materials that will be used Ill class. Graves (1996) defines "goals" as the "general statements of the overall, Concllong-term usion purposes of the course." On the other hand, objectives are "the specific ways in which the goals will be achieved." English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN 3. Content conceptualization and organization- After identifying the goals and objectives of the program, the next important step is to know what the program will contain, ie. what lessons and topics should be included in the program. Furthermore, these lessons should be carefully plotted within the program so as to identify what to learn, when (and why?). It should be noted that the content should have a clear relationship Cwith onclusthe ion needs of the students since this is an ESP class. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN 4. Selection and Development of Materials- More often than not, ESP courses develop "specified" materials, i.e. materials that are tailor-fit to the needs of the students. (A more detailed discussion on the role of MAturials in ESP will be provided in succeeding sections.) Conclusion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  B. SYLLABUS/COURSE DESIGN 5. Assessment and Evaluation- This last stage of course designing is very important since this will determine the extent of learning and/or improvement on the part of the learner. Aside from that, assessment and evaluation also provide the course designer with necessary input on the areas that should be retained, improved, or even removed. Conclusion ( A mom detailed discussion on testing and evaluation in ESP will be provided in succeeding sections.) English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  C. ROLE OF MATERIALS In ESP, and in any language program, materials play a very important role. So important are materials that should be carefully selected or designed and designated because materials in ESP are not just for * activity purposes; they are used as a sort of a "simulation" of what will be expected in the target environment (i.e. workplace or academic setting). Conclusion One important characteristic of ESP materials is their "authenticity". In EGP, "authentic" is defined as materials originally produced for a purpose other than language teaching. In ESP "authentic" materials are those that are normally used in the students' workplace or academic environment. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  C. ROLE OF MATERIALS In terms of "types" ESP materials may be divided into two, namely: content- based materials and competency-based materials. In relation to previous discussions on syllabus design, content-based ESP materials are those that focus on language form, language notion, language function, situation, or even topic. Thus, content-based is more appropriate in EAP. On the other hand, competency-based materials focus on language Conclskills usion ( skills-based syllabus); thus, this is more appropriately applied in EOP. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  C. ROLE OF MATERIALS An Overview of the Process of Materials Preparation Similar to syllabus design, materials also go through a process. However, since there is a separate review material that thoroughly discusses this procedure, this section would only present an overview of the processes presented in Sinha & Sadorra (1991). Conclusion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  C. ROLE OF MATERIALS 1. Needs Analysis- As discussed above, every language program, including materials preparation, would always start with an analysis of the student's needs. From this analysis, the writer will have an idea of what to include in the material. (e.g. A needs assessment was conducted for students who will be taking up an "English for Medicine course". It found out that students need to improve their reading comprehension skills, Cone.g. clusigetting on the main idea, drawing inferences, etc.) English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  C. ROLE OF MATERIALS 2. Establishing specific objectives - Alter identifying the needs, necessary to establish objectives which will become the bases for lessons, activities, and supplementary texts that will be included let ESP material. (.9. In line with the above "need" the objective will be: To help students cope with the reading of medical prose, such documents, journal articles, medical cases, etc.). Conclusion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  C. ROLE OF MATERIALS 3. Using a model to organize materials - Any instructional material should be designed according to a theoretical model. This is fundamental since the arrangement of activities, texts, etc. in the material shout based on a particular learning theory or framework. Conclusion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  D. TESTING AND EVALUATION First, what is a "test" and what is an "evaluation"? It should be noted that a test is an instrument or tool that is used to gather a quantitative description of an observed phenomenon. In relation to this, "testing" is the process through which this "tool" is used. On the other hand, "evaluation" is the bigger umbrella from which "test" and "testing" are included. Evaluation involves a qualitative judgment of "how well" a studentConhas clusperformed. ion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  D. TESTING AND EVALUATION ESP Testing There are various types of tests, but since there is a separate reviewer language testing, this portion would only present the most useful (and practical) for ESP, which is performance-based testing. Since testing in ESP focuses on the question "has the student reached the level that he's/she's supposed to reach? "there will be no better way toCo know nclusiothis n but through simulated" tests that compel students to perform. In relation to this, ESP tests are criterion-referenced because a student should reach a particular level in order to pass the course. (This is contrary to EGP tests, which are fin norm-referenced.) English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  D. TESTING AND EVALUATION One of the most widely used ESP tests are the IELTS (International English guage Testing System) and TEEP (Test in English for Educational Purposes) which provide sitems that shows possible academic scenarios will encounter when they join the academic environment. The ile writing task below is extracted from the IELTS 2007 Handbook. This inlar test item tests the students' ability to summarize the information enled inlusaionnon-verbal text Conc such as a graph. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  D. TESTING AND EVALUATION Scoring How "good" is "good"? How can we say that a particular performance or output is "acceptable"? One very important issue to discuss in ESP testing is how performance is judged. Unlike objective types of tests such as grammar Concltests, usion performance- based tests such as the ones mentioned above pose a lot of problems. One of these is the tendency of raters to be biased and subjective. This concern led to the development of standardized scoring bands or rubrics. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  D. TESTING AND EVALUATION Scoring There are two types of scoring that are widely used, namely: (a) Holistic scoring- which evaluates the overall performance of a student (see sample IELTS scoring band below), and Conclusion (b) Analytic scoring- which looks into each criterion closely (see sample Analytic scoring rubric on the next page) English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  Conclusion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  Conclusion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  E. CLASSROOM PRACTICE Opposing views: ESP vs. EGP Because of ESP's popularity, a lot of language teachers and course designers began questioning its importance and efficiency. In Masters' book "Responses to ESP" he mentioned Ron Eckard's article "What's Wrong with ESP?" Conclusion on which ESP is Eckard criticizes the "set of philosophical and pedagogical implications" based because it leads not to the learning of language but to the more immediate goal of getting a job, getting a promotion, or getting ahead. Says Eckard, "When one teaches or learns English for a specific purpose only, one automatically and callously disregards the multiplicity of uses and purposes that language itself has. (Masters, 1998, p. 20) English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  E. CLASSROOM PRACTICE Indeed, various questions were asked. "Should language be learned just because of a specific purpose?" Supporters of ESP would answer "ves" to this simply because there are people with limited reasons to learn a language. On the other hand, the "anti-ESP" would say "no" to this and stress that language should be learned in totality. Conclusion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  E. CLASSROOM PRACTICE "Is there a particular technique adopted by English language teachers in the ESP classroom?" This question was raised by Sinha & Sadorra (1991), and their answer is "no". Indeed, this question has haunted language teachers, in particular, ESP teachers. Although communicative language teaching (CLT is the most prevalent methodology, ESP courses are not limited to this. Conclusion English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  E. CLASSROOM PRACTICE Under the CLT umbrella, one of the most widely used approaches is the task-based approach. Here, Philippsas cited in Robinson (1991) suggests four key methodological principles, namely. 1. reality control, which relates to the manner in which tasks are rendered accessible to students; Conby 2. non-triviality, ie. the tasks must be meaningfully generated clusthe ion students' special purpose; 3. authenticity, i.e. the language must be naturally generated by the students' special purpose; and 4. tolerance of error, i.e. errors that do not impede successful communication must be tolerated. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  E. CLASSROOM PRACTICE Below is a list of some commonly used activities in an ESP program: Role play and Simulation- Here, students assume a different role. For. example, a student pilot may assume the role of the captain and give orders to his crew or report coordinates to the air traffic control tower. Case studies- This activity is common in business, medicine, and law. It involves studying the facts of a real-life case,Codiscussing nclusion the issues involved, and coming up with a decision or plan. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  E. CLASSROOM PRACTICE Project work- Here students work on a particular "project" which may include out-of-class activities. Then, students are expected to construct manuals, which explain how it works and/or discuss how their project was made. This may be applicable to engineering students specifically those who are in the field of robotics and other innovative gadgets. Oral presentations- Relevant to the activitiesCoabove, nclusion students may present or even defend a particular product or issue. Here, students are exposed to possible academic or work environments that they may face in the future. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT  E. CLASSROOM PRACTICE Other pertinent principles and issues in ESP methodology involve: Knowledge for content- One difficult reality in terms of ESP is the teacher's lack of knowledge about the content of a particular discipline or field of study. Naturally, if a teacher does not even know the terms used and how sentences are supposed to be constructed, that teacher will not be very effective. In other universities, teachers team Conclteach usion with a person who knows the content of the subject matter. English for Specific Purposes CC: Glyza Candido LPT Thank you for learning ESP! Ms. Glyzeea English for Specific Purposes