Assessment for English Language Education on the Programs at the Agricultural Engineering School of Madrid (original) (raw)
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2012
The current level of internationalization of Spanish universities is demanding an increase in the command of foreign languages among students. Numerous Spanish universities are introducing in their syllabi courses taught in languages different from Spanish, mainly English, through different multilingual programmes. The present paper analyzes the results obtained for the English exam at the Spanish university entrance test (PAU) from 2002 to 2010 in order to study the students' language level before entering tertiary studies. We took a sample of 15897 students, 6454 men and 9443 women. Analytically processed data provide excellent qualitative comparisons between the two groups, showing the differences of both and contrasting results with the national trend. They also provide information about the specific factors that influence the outcomes of these types of tests, in contrast with certain gender stereotypes attributed to language performance. The present study reveals that, as a starting point for successful bilingual education in higher education, the results in English at the entrance examination to university should be on average at least two points above the current. This would only be possible by the increase of the number of hours devoted to language teaching as well as by the restructuring of the current language teaching system both in secondary and bachillerato.
2020
Este estudio empirico se propone analizar el perfil de los estudiantes universitarios que cursan titulaciones bilingues en Espana, tomando como muestra la seccion bilingue del Grado de Maestro en lengua inglesa de la Universidad de Granada. Con ese fin, se aplico un breve cuestionario a 216 estudiantes de dicho grado para obtener los datos. Aunque el 75 % de los estudiantes manifestaron que tenian problemas a la hora de seguir las clases en ingles, estas dificultades disminuian o desaparecian despues de haber cursado el primer trimestre. La mayoria de los estudiantes (70 %) estan satisfechos con el programa que se les ofrece, pero tambien detectan algunas deficiencias que hicieron constar con el fin de contribuir a mejorar la calidad de dicha titulacion.
International CLIL Research Journal, 2013
In order to improve the language proficiency of students and hence their future employability, Spanish universities are developing bilingual programmes of various kinds. Implementing such programmes, however, requires much more than simply promoting a bilingual education policy in universities or the goodwill of teachers interested in participating in them. Given the general language proficiency of teachers and students, it is necessary to design programmes that have clear objectives and sensible timelines that take into account the particular characteristics of each university. Moreover, it is essential that bilingual programmes are well organised and use the appropriate resources and support measures (training in methodology, linguistics, incentives, etc.). In this paper we review the basic methodological premises that should underpin educational proposals based on the learning of academic knowledge through a language other than the students' mother tongue. We analyse the key problems faced by university education authorities when designing such programmes, and finally examine the structural, organisational and training measures that should be taken to overcome such problems and thus ensure the effectiveness of bilingual programmes. English language. Additionally, studying subjects in an additional language facilitates mobility within the European Higher Education Area, and students receiving academic instruction through English have greater opportunities to study in other European and non--European universities. More specifically, the benefits of teaching of academic content through an additional language include:
Higher education bilingual programmes in Spain
Porta Linguarum Revista Interuniversitaria de Didáctica de las Lenguas Extranjeras
The purpose of this contribution is to summarize and put together information about which Spanish universities have started Bilingual or Multilingual Programmes and offer courses in foreign languages for their undergraduate courses. The current situation in our country, where primary and secondary bilingual programmes are being established all along our geography, makes necessary a move from higher education institutions in the form of Bilingual or Plurilingual Programmes so that those bilingual students will be able to continue their bilingual education at university level.
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2012
The present study tries to illustrate and analyse the initial or preliminary level of 'ESP awareness' that Spanish students from different scientific degrees have when first joining an ESP course. It also seeks to examine their motivations, expectations and attitudes towards the subject. By means of an anonymous questionnaire filled in during the first session of the course, Spanish students from Pharmacy, Biology and Environmental Sciences degrees reflected on the ESP teaching-learning process. The results obtained have revealed the (too) many aspects of specialised languages that students are not familiar with and the preliminary lack, in general, of basic English language knowledge from their disciplines. Presumably, as this and further studies on the topic will try to corroborate, this may be due to a nearly total lack of exposure to English language both in their everyday life and in their degrees, something illogical given the lingua franca status of this language nowadays and thus its importance in the transmission and spreading of scientific knowledge and results. On the basis of students' answers and views on the different aspects posed, a series of conclusions have been drawn and a broad course of action grounded on awareness-raising practices and students' attitudes and expectations has been suggested with the aim of overcoming the problems and inconsistencies brought to light by the questionnaires. Hence, this study is intended to be the first in a series analysing final performance and thus the evolution experienced.
English-Medium Instruction in the Education Faculty of Málaga University: Students' profiles
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English for research purposes at the University of Santiago de Compostela: a survey
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Although much research has now accumulated on the dominance of English in world science, attention to the specific reality of Southern European countries has been comparatively scarce. This paper intends to partly redress this imbalance by reporting on survey data gathered at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Data were collected by means of a 25-item postal questionnaire sent to the research staff of 25 (1/3) of the University's departments. A total of 213 questionnaires were returned (24.94% return rate). Generally, findings indicate that English clearly plays a lesser role than in other institutions previously investigated, that the local languages are still the default choice for most functions and that there is a localized but significant demand for other foreign languages as well. While some groups of respondents already estimate their current English writing competence to be sufficient, most staff are keenly aware of an increasing pressure to improve their English-speaking skills and of their deficits in this area. Finally, means available in the institution to meet the staff's English needs are comparatively scarce, which is likely to place them in a difficult position vis-à-vis other more 'privileged' groups of NNS scholars, particularly in Europe.
English for Specific Purposes - a Stimulating and Innovative Approach for Agricultural Universities
Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca: Horticulture, 2012
The current paper is the result of the experiments which took place at the University ofAgricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine from Cluj, Romania, concerning the language teachingapproach conceived for teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to students of Agriculture andHorticulture. The students' training starts from the current state and requiremets of global economy,which involve career-specific terminology in order to coordinate research and to deliver professionalservices. Technical universities require a special language teaching approach, which combines subjectmatter and English language teaching (ESP). Students approach the study of English through a domainwhich they have already studied. This approach is focused more on language in context than onteaching lexical structures and grammar. Students of agricultural universities need a good grasp ofEnglish in order to communicate a set of professional skills and to perform job-related functions bothat home and a...
As Dearden notes (2015), teaching tertiary programs in English is a growing phenomenon, and the number of universities incorporating these into their program offerings have risen substantially in the last decade. This may be due to the rise of the importance of internationalization (Morell, Alesón, Bell, Escabias, Palazón & Martínez, 2014). Bologna is also often credited for this change (Kirkpatrick, 2016). However, as the case in Italian public universities show, converting whole programs to English as a matter of course may meet with resistance from faculty and students, and perhaps for good reasons. This paper explores the rise in EMI tertiary programs in Spain and from a European context, and presents approaches to develop linguistic competence in instructors. It seeks to understand how this up and coming trend may affect teaching English at this level. How will EMI instructors become more focused on teaching language as well as their content area?