Teaching Academic English to Japanese University Students: Development and Quality Assessment of a Blended EGAP Course (original) (raw)
Related papers
2019
This research study is an attempt at designing, developing, implementing, and assessing the quality of a blended course of English for general academic purposes targeting undergraduate Japanese students at Osaka University. The study has been conducted in several iterative stages as explicated below.Following Michael Allen's Basic Successive Approximation Model (SAM1), the researcher began with carrying out a thorough language needs analysis study to investigate the needs and difficulties of Japanese students as far as learning English at university classes and using it for communicative purposes was concerned. To this end, questionnaire data were collected from 278 Japanese undergraduate students enrolled at Osaka University. In order to further clarify the language needs and difficulties of Japanese learners, twelve instructors teaching Practical English courses were also interviewed. The findings of this stage indicate that students and instructors invariably underline the importance of improving learners' listening and speaking abilities alongside other skills in academia and at workplace so as to help promote the ultimate goal of internationalization and to nurture 21st Century global citizens.Continuing with the next stage, the researcher designed and developed a blended course of English for general academic purposes to replace the old course of “Practical English (e-learning)". Among the major differences of the old versus the new course are the use of a placement test, provision of content at three different levels of proficiency, integration of four language skills, inclusion of free speaking and writing tasks, focus on global themes, addition of a group project, and utilization of open educational resources resulting in the course being free of charge for students. The new course, titled Osaka University Global English Online (OUGEO), was hosted on the university learning management system,Blackboard Learn, locally known as CLE (Collaboration and Learning Environment). The entire course content, including syllabus and guidelines, weekly study materials, exercises, and assignments, were uploaded on CLE by March 2017.Osaka University Global English Online was subsequently implemented in the spring semester of 2017-2018 with 86 undergraduate students mainly from the Faculties of Law, Letters, and Economics. Similar to other face-to-face courses, OUGEO was also expanded over fifteen weeks, with the exception of having only five face-to-face classes. The remaining ten weeks were run online, during which the students were required to access the designated learning materials for each week on the learning management system and submit the related assignments. Regarding the face-to-face classes, the first session was allocated to orientation and getting the students familiar with the course, how to access the content, and where to submit their assignments as well as informing them of ways to contact the instructor and teaching assistants when need arose. The last session was also spent on giving the final exam, which was created on the learning management system and scored automatically. The second face-to-face class, however, was dedicated to training the students in doing poster presentations and overlaying videos on their posters using an augmented reality (AR) application called BlippAR.As a group term project, the students created posters on global themes and presented them during two face-to-face classes, with seven groups as presenters and seven others as listeners each time. This poster presentation carousel task required the listener groups to move from one poster station to the next in a circular fashion and to use the BlippAR app to view the AR content created by their classmates. The purpose of this user experience study was to analyze students' views toward the use of BlippAR in language classes and its usefulness. The students' responses to a user experience questionnaire indicated that the majority of the respondents found BlippAR an engaging tool for language learning, which made learning more interesting, yet many believed that the app per se did not contribute to improving their English skills. In attempt to evaluate the course both internally and externally, two types of quality assessment were administered. First, the students enrolled in the course were asked to fill out an evaluation questionnaire toward the end of the semester, in which they reflected their opinions on the usefulness and pace of the course, quality of teaching, availability of support, and ease of navigation among others. They were also given an opportunity to share any qualitative comments they had through an open-ended question. Overall, most of the students agreed that the course helped them improve all their skills, in particular oral/aural skills, and that they were in general content with it and felt that the course met their language needs to a great extent. Nevertheless, there was a consensus regarding the existence of some technical difficulties, for instance in submitting speaking assignments online.With regard to external evaluation of the blended course, it was assessed using the Quality Matters Higher Education Course Design Rubric (Fifth Edition) both by the researcher first and later by a peer reviewer affiliated with Quality Matters. Some revisions were made during the self-review prior to getting the course peer reviewed. The first round of peer review yielded a score of 70 out of 99,resulting in failure to meet the Quality Matters standards of course design. Nonetheless, the course currently meets all the standards of the Higher Education Course Design Rubric upon amendment with a new score of 99/99. The researcher believes that there is still room for improving the course by rerunning it with several groups of students, getting it further refined and fine-tuned to the needs of Japanese learners as well as by solving the technical problems which occasionally occurred during the implementation phase.The current study bears significant implications for online/blended course designers and developers. It explicates examples of best practice and demonstrates potential pitfalls threatening the smooth flow of online language teaching and learning. It also has important implications for faculty development and strongly advocates the need to train faculty to design, develop, and evaluate their courses following mainstream standards while meeting students' needs and preparing them for living in the globalizing society of this century. 本論文はe-Learningシステムを用いたオンライン授業と対面授業を組み合わせたブレンド型授業の開発から評価までの実践研究をまとめたものであり，日本人大学生向けに英語を教育するためのコース開発においてデザイン過程から得られる知見と，開発した教授法を用いて実際に教育を実施して得られた知見に関する一連の研究を取りまとめたものである．本邦においては，従来のこのようなコース開発と評価が，開発者の個人的なアイディアや経験によりおこなわれ，完成された授業法についても体系的な評価もほとんど行われていないのに対して，本論文では広範な関連研究の調査に基づいて学習者のニーズ分析を行い，それに基づいてe-Learning教育法を開発し，本学学生向けの実際のブレンド型授業を実施している点が評価できる．本論文の主な成果としては，次の三点が認められる． 第1には，学習者，教育者に対してのニーズ分析を行い，学習者が自身の語学能力習得の必要性を，在学中の学習・研究という状況と，社会に出てからの職業的要求に場合分けして意識していること，英語４技能のうち，リスニングと，スピーキングの現状の達成度を他の技能より低く評価していることなどを明らかにした．同時に，学習者，教授者共にコミュニケーション能力の向上を重視しており，教育の国際化の方針とも一致しているが，これらが現状では十分に考慮されていないことなどを明らかにした． 第２には，設計された教材の中で，拡張現実（Augmented Reality）を用いた教材を学習者自らが作成する課題を実施することで，情報技術が学習者にどのような影響を与えるかを主に質問紙を用いて，質的および量的に分析している．その結果，対象となった学習者では，拡張現実を利用した教材を作成する技術的な困難性にも関わらず，課題に対する集中力と動機づけが増すことを明らかにし，このような最新の情報技術を教材に取り込むことの可能性を明らかにした． 第３には，学習者，教育者を調査対象としたニーズ分析に基づいて設計されたコースに対して，ルーブリックを用いた評価を実施し，定量的な評価結果を得ると同時に，評価に基づいた授業デザインの改良を実施している．このようなルーブリックを用いたe-Learning教材評価は本邦では例がなく，米国において開発された，Quality Matters™Higher Education Course DesignRubric (Fifth Edition)用いた．その結果，本論文でのデザイン手法で開発された授業法には，一定評価が得られ，わずかな修正で，適用したルーブリックを用いた評価基準を満たせることが明らかとなり，一連のデザイン手法の有効性を示すことができた． これらの一連の研究は，体系だったオンライン教材の開発と評価に関して重要な知見を与えるもので，その学術的意義は大きいと考えられる．これらの成果は，それぞれ専門学術論文誌やトップカンファレンスに採録されている．また，一連の研究を通じて今後の情報技術を用いた教材開発プロセスに関しても大きな知見を得ることができている． 以上のように，本論文は今後さらに利活用が進むと期待されるブレンド型のe-Learning 授業の開発と進展に重要な成果を挙げた研究として，情報科学および言語教育学の進展に寄与するところが大きい．よって，本論文は博士（学術）の学位論文として価値のあるものと認める．
Current Trends in English-medium Instruction at Universities in Japan
OnCue Journal, 2016
Brown, H. (2016). Current trends in English-medium instruction at universities in Japan. OnCue Journal, 10(1) 3-20. English-medium Instruction (EMI) of academic subjects is expanding rapidly at universities in Japan without a clear nationwide picture of the context. This study paints such a picture with findings from a nationwide survey of 258 universities with undergraduate EMI programs (response rate 46%, n=118). The survey results cover the scope, scale and organization of EMI programs as well as showing which fields are most often taught in English. Results also reveal some challenges to EMI implementation relating to both faculty and students. 日本の大学において、専門課程の英語による教育（EMI）が急速に広がりつつあるが、全国的な現状の輪郭は明確に描かれていない。本研究は、EMIによる学位プログラムを提供する日本の大学258校を対象に実施した全国的調査によって明らかになった現状を報告する(回答率46%, n=118)。調査結果は、英語による教育が最も多く提供されている分野を示すだけでなく、EMIプログラムの範囲、規模、組織についても取り上げる。また、教員および学生双方のEMI導入に対する課題を明らかにする。
Evaluating a Blended Course for Japanese Learners of English: Why Quality Matters
International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (ETHE), 2019
With the increase in the number of blended courses in higher education over the past few years, it is now increasingly important to assure the quality of online education by evaluating blended (or hybrid) courses from various aspects such as consistency of learning objectives with assessment, learning materials and technology used, and pedagogical and technical support among others. This article describes the evaluation phase of a blended course of English for general academic purposes (EGAP) targeting second-year undergraduate Japanese students mostly from the Faculties of Law, Letters, Economics, and Human Sciences at Osaka University. In this study, the researchers adopted an inclusive approach to blended course evaluation. In order to ensure the course quality from the outset, the Fifth Edition of Quality Matters Higher Education Course Design Rubric was utilized as the major reference. As part of the evaluation process, students' perception on the usefulness of the course was also measured quantitatively and qualitatively through an attitudinal survey instrument and open ended reflection questions. Eventually, to add an outsider positionality, the blended course was peer-reviewed by a certified reviewer from Quality Matters (QM) after having been self-reviewed by the researchers. The findings of the evaluation survey demonstrated students' overall satisfaction with the course, and their responses to the open-ended questions provided further insight into the educational and technical difficulties they encountered. The QM peer review also yielded a score of 70 out of 99, resulting in failure to meet the essential standards. However, comments from the peer reviewer guided the refinements and improvement of the course design, and the course currently meets all the requirements of the Higher Education Course Design Rubric (Fifth Edition) upon amendment. This study discusses the implications for design, development, and evaluation of English-as-a-foreign-language blended courses and provides practical tips for online/blended course designers. Further refinements to the existing course can be made in the future by implementing it several times with various groups of students.
The Evaluation of English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) Course in an Indonesian University
Floris, F.D. (2011). The evaluation of English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) course in an Indonesian university. Jurnal Bahasa dan Seni, 39 (1), 105-118.
This paper presents an internal evaluation on English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) subject which is developed by the English Language Teaching Center (ELTC) from a private university in East Java, Indonesia. The research was conducted to elicit feedback on the effectiveness of English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP). The presented data were obtained from questionnaires, group interviews, classroom observations and the students’ final scores. There were 124 students and 6 lecturers involved in this small-scale research. Therefore, this paper is intended to describe the interesting facts of the study.
Developing English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) Course in an Indonesian University
Floris, F.D. (2008). Developing English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) Course in an Indonesian university. K@ta, 10 (1), 53-62.
This paper discusses the methodology and findings of a needs analysis survey which was carried out in 2005 by English Language Teaching Center (ELTC) of a private university in East Java, Indonesia. Based on the survey of 1,450 students’ and 34 teachers’ language needs, some implications related to course type, teaching methodology and course materials were made.
Understanding the Current State of English-Medium Instruction in Japan
The number of institutions offering English-medium instruction of content classes (EMI) is growing in Japan. Along with high profile programs at elite universities, innovations in EMI are developing across the country. According to government sources, at least 194 universities currently offer some undergraduate EMI courses, often in humanities and social sciences. However, individual EMI programs are developing to suit local needs and contexts. Some are fully-developed, degree-granting programs while others have much less coherence. Currently there is no overall picture of the growth of EMI and no clear indication of what the future implications for Japanese higher education might be. This presentation focuses on the initial results of a study attempting to develop just such a picture. Based on a review of published documents, interviews with EMI program stakeholders and a survey sent to all universities known to offer EMI, results show that EMI programs in Japan exist along a continuum from ad hoc collections of EMI classes scattered across faculties, based on individual teachers' decisions to teach in English, to entire campuses running in English. A tentative typology of undergraduate EMI in Japan can now be proposed to outline the motivations, goals, makeup and pedagogies of programs. This allows a discussion of possible implications of this new trend to proceed on a solid foundation: a real understanding of the current state of EMI in Japan.
Localizing EAP in Light of the Rise of English-Medium Instruction at Japanese Universities
OnCue, 6(3), pp. 5-20, 2012, 2014
"""English-medium content classes are becoming more common on Japanese university campuses. When taught by Japanese faculty, the language of instruction may be English but the classroom culture remains grounded in local academic norms. This has implications for EAP practice at such universities. This study looks at data collected from Japanese faculty working in an English-medium program in the social sciences. The study examines their goals, expectations for student performance and descriptions of classroom practice. Data analysis shows important implications for change in four areas. EAP teachers preparing students for work in a local English-medium program in Japan, rather than for study abroad, may need to reconsider their practice including longer-term focus on a single topic, more one-on-one interaction with students, the addition of translanguaging and a greater focus on academic skills rather than language. Although findings are limited to our local context, some resonance may be found in similar Japanese universities offering English-medium content instruction and EAP courses preparing students for that purpose."