Solomchak N.
Project Work in
Teaching ESP
The experience shows that the methodological problem number one in
teaching English in
Approximately 75% of students we teach at the university do not know why
really they study English. We tell them that every highly educated person
should know at least one foreign language, that according to the curriculum of
the University they should study English, that, probably, they will go to an
English-speaking country, or the firm they will work for will cooperate with
foreign partners and so on and so far. But for 17-18 year old students it’s
either a “must” developed by their teachers or just unreal future. That’s why the
teachers should do their best to make the lessons interesting and in this way
to inspire students to learn English.
There is no one method which will be suitable for
everyone. The teacher should be inspired to change and to experiment. But he
may be limited by a number of institutional factors. Among these may be
regulations which demand a certain curriculum content, budgetary constraints
which will dictate class size and number of hours, an old-fashioned text book,
or an obligation to teach in a certain way (grammar-translation “method” for
example). An inexperienced teacher has to overcome this.
The ESP teacher must be sure that the content and the activities he
chooses are relevant to the goals of the learners. This means that he should be
as familiar as possible with what the learners do and how they do it. That’s
why the teaching staff of the English Language Department of the technical
university closely cooperates with the professors who are experts in oil and
gas industries.
Great attention should be paid to motivation and
student purpose. The learners must be clearly aware of the aims of the course,
its content and its activities, and can see how the course will be of benefit
to them.
Very often the learners have only an instrumental
purpose in learning English – they are only interested in language learning for
the sake of their career or promotion. In this case it is impossible to expect
them to show an intense interest in the language itself. Then the teacher
should focus on the purpose to which the language is put. Encouraging learners
and showing enthusiasm and interest may be very helpful.
The experience shows that young professionals would like to use English
in the following spheres of their work: describing maps, diagrams, etc.; filling
in application forms, CVs; interpreting; making presentations; negotiating; reading
for specific information; reading for general information from original special
texts; telephoning; using English for professional purposes; writing faxes,
e-mails; writing resume, summary.
The present study focuses on the problem specific for ESP teachers at
technical universities. The problem is how to build the bridge that would help
to eliminate the psychological gap between teaching oral communicative skills
for everyday life that greatly inspires our students’ interest and teaching
skills in technical reading, and professionally-oriented communication in the
field that is usually considered by our students majoring in petroleum
engineering to be a dull and uninspired job.
To solve this problem and to teach professional speaking, writing,
reading and listening within an integrated skills approach we have introduced
project work into our syllabus. The project work methodology can be defined as
an integrated pedagogical and language activity that successfully combines
simulations, role-plays and various forms of discussion. Project work involves
multi-skill activities which focus on a theme of interest. In project teams
students work together to achieve a common purpose, a concrete outcome ( a video, a report, an article).
Sample Project:
-
Purchasing a Computer
-
Application of Customized
Microbial Culture Products for Improved Oil and Gas Production in the
Carpathian Foreland
-
The Development and
Comparison of Two Algorithms for the Purpose of Determining Which Algorithm is
the Best for Demonstrating the Importance of Various Meteorological Variables
on the Ultraviolet Radiation Reaching the Surface
Sample of Team Assignment:
On
Your oral
presentation will include the following sections:
introduction, support, conclusion.
Audience: your audiences for this oral presentation will be your groupmates,
instructors. Other audiences may include deans, visitors, professors and
students from various departments. You may invite friends to attend.
Project work
can not only promote the growth of positive motivation, but also offer the
following advantages to the students:
-
it allows the students to proceed at
their own rate;
-
it allows the students to choose
their own learning mode;
-
it
allows the students to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to recycle
through remedial modules, repetition or a change in learning mode.
Bibliography:
1.
Master P. In Defense of ESP. –
Responses to English for Specific Purposes. –
2.
Numan D. The Learner-Centered Curriculum.
–
3.
Robinson P.C. ESP Today: A
Practitioner’s Guide. – Prentice Hall, 1988. - 143p.