The one-computer classroom in ESP
Many a dispute may be started regarding the issue of equipment in modern classrooms. Most arguments against CALL are directed at the lack of proper computers, insufficient funding, slow internet connection, rather irregular maintenance and support, etc. The list is endless. Unfortunately.
Within the area of ESP, the situation is even worse. First of all, there is the restriction imposed by the fact that the computer classroom (if there is one at all) at the institution where ESP is being taught, is not available. Most often, such space is being used for computer application classes within other courses. ESP teachers do not have many opportunities to use said classroom . Unfortunately.
Second of all, even if the ESP teacher is allowed to use the computer classroom occasionally, no continuous computer-assisted language course can be planned as the ESP teacher does not know when they will have the opportunity to use the classroom again! Unfortunately.
However, there is no reason to dispair. An excellent way to boost language classes for ESP is the so-called one-computer classroom. Such space usually provides a projector, which allows for presentations to be used effectively. Most ESP teachers probably do use the possibilities offered in a one-coputer classroom.
The question that is raised immediately is what should an ESP teacher do apart from presentations in a one-computer classroom? In fact, there are many things to be done in such an environment. Here is an idea to be realised as part of a presentation class.
Introducing a new text and explain unknown words:
A great thing to do would be to pull some article (related to the topic to be covered in the textbook) from an online source and present it on the wall in the form of a summary. A challenge would be to prepare the text as a cloze test, where students would have to suggest vocabulary for the blanks in the summary. As a last resort, the teacher could use the text from the textbook and prepare a summary. The difference in approach is the level of engagement. If the group is not too large, the teacher may call out students and have them suggest the answers. The rest of the group can help or provide other options. The teacher can type all the answers suggested by the students onto the respective blank lines so that everybody in the group can see them. If the teacher distributes handouts after that, which would be a good idea, the students could be asked to complete their summaries by choosing only one of the options provided. A few students could then be asked to read out their summaries and the rest of the group could be asked to analyse the differences in meaning and say which of the chosen meaning sound best. In the end, the teacher can put up the complete text and let the students mark their own choices, which would provide some level of self-assessment.
An example is the following sample text on Board meetings. The text provided here has been completed with some answers. The teacher would have to use a text without suggested answers.
In the next step, the teacher could use a PowerPoint presentation where each slide would present one new vocabulary item with a set of sample sentences prepared to illustrate the meaning of the particular item. The students should be asked to copy the sample sentence they believe is appropriate into their notebook. The trick would be that if the answers have been chosen correctly, when written down following one another, the product would be a complete summary of the text that has been covered (or a second part of the same text). Of course, the teacher should not announce this, but let the students complete the exercise, read their sample sentences aloud and see for themselves if the chosen sample sentences make any sense to them.
An example is the following sample exercise on Types of contractual clauses.
The examples provided here have been prepared by means of Google Docs and Google Slides but ordinary Office Word and PowerPoint options may be used as well.
ESP in general
Most teachers engaged in teaching English as a foreign/ second language do not realise that English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a separate field with a separate set of rules to be followed. The most important aspect of an ESP course is that it has to combine a specific subject matter with a particular form of English language teaching methodology. The problem is that it is impossible to define a unique and comprehensive form of teaching to be applied to any ESP course. In other words, depending on the subject matter (law, medicine, business, economy, architecture, dentistry, robotics, etc.), a separate ESP teaching methodology following separate norms and standards has to be defined.
Many a dispute may be started regarding the issue of equipment in modern classrooms. Most arguments against CALL are directed at the lack of proper computers, insufficient funding, slow internet connection, rather irregular maintenance and support, etc. The list is endless. Unfortunately.
Within the area of ESP, the situation is even worse. First of all, there is the restriction imposed by the fact that the computer classroom (if there is one at all) at the institution where ESP is being taught, is not available. Most often, such space is being used for computer application classes within other courses. ESP teachers do not have many opportunities to use said classroom . Unfortunately.
Second of all, even if the ESP teacher is allowed to use the computer classroom occasionally, no continuous computer-assisted language course can be planned as the ESP teacher does not know when they will have the opportunity to use the classroom again! Unfortunately.
However, there is no reason to dispair. An excellent way to boost language classes for ESP is the so-called one-computer classroom. Such space usually provides a projector, which allows for presentations to be used effectively. Most ESP teachers probably do use the possibilities offered in a one-coputer classroom.
The question that is raised immediately is what should an ESP teacher do apart from presentations in a one-computer classroom? In fact, there are many things to be done in such an environment. Here is an idea to be realised as part of a presentation class.
Introducing a new text and explain unknown words:
A great thing to do would be to pull some article (related to the topic to be covered in the textbook) from an online source and present it on the wall in the form of a summary. A challenge would be to prepare the text as a cloze test, where students would have to suggest vocabulary for the blanks in the summary. As a last resort, the teacher could use the text from the textbook and prepare a summary. The difference in approach is the level of engagement. If the group is not too large, the teacher may call out students and have them suggest the answers. The rest of the group can help or provide other options. The teacher can type all the answers suggested by the students onto the respective blank lines so that everybody in the group can see them. If the teacher distributes handouts after that, which would be a good idea, the students could be asked to complete their summaries by choosing only one of the options provided. A few students could then be asked to read out their summaries and the rest of the group could be asked to analyse the differences in meaning and say which of the chosen meaning sound best. In the end, the teacher can put up the complete text and let the students mark their own choices, which would provide some level of self-assessment.
An example is the following sample text on Board meetings. The text provided here has been completed with some answers. The teacher would have to use a text without suggested answers.
In the next step, the teacher could use a PowerPoint presentation where each slide would present one new vocabulary item with a set of sample sentences prepared to illustrate the meaning of the particular item. The students should be asked to copy the sample sentence they believe is appropriate into their notebook. The trick would be that if the answers have been chosen correctly, when written down following one another, the product would be a complete summary of the text that has been covered (or a second part of the same text). Of course, the teacher should not announce this, but let the students complete the exercise, read their sample sentences aloud and see for themselves if the chosen sample sentences make any sense to them.
An example is the following sample exercise on Types of contractual clauses.
The examples provided here have been prepared by means of Google Docs and Google Slides but ordinary Office Word and PowerPoint options may be used as well.
ESP in general
Most teachers engaged in teaching English as a foreign/ second language do not realise that English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a separate field with a separate set of rules to be followed. The most important aspect of an ESP course is that it has to combine a specific subject matter with a particular form of English language teaching methodology. The problem is that it is impossible to define a unique and comprehensive form of teaching to be applied to any ESP course. In other words, depending on the subject matter (law, medicine, business, economy, architecture, dentistry, robotics, etc.), a separate ESP teaching methodology following separate norms and standards has to be defined.
Most teachers engaged in teaching
English as a foreign/ second language do not realise that an ESP teacher is not just an English language teacher but also an expert in the subject matter that the ESP course is about. This means that the
ESP teacher can resort to their formal language knowledge and traditional methodology but will have to upgrade both these sources of knowledge and adapt them to the subject matter being taught. In reality, this means that the same ESP teacher will have to spend additional time studying the particular subject matter that the ESP course is related to, almost in the amount an expert in the area would do, and find ways to teach all that in English!
What is more, most teachers engaged in teaching
English as a foreign/ second language do not realise that an ESP course is more
than just a specific set of vocabulary focused on the subject matter of law,
medicine, business, economy, architecture, dentistry, robotics, etc.
Each of these listed subject matters follows a particular style and genre of
writing, a certain type of discourse, a precise set of grammar rules and, last but not least, a whole pool of resources in both the
linguistic and the extra-linguistic context of the subject matter.
The trouble is that ESP is an
on-going process, it is an area in the making and there is a lot of theoretical and practical research to
be conducted. In one word, it is a never-ending story. Since new areas of
study and subject matters keep appearing as science is evolving and the existing areas are being updated on a daily basis, new ESP
courses will have to be designed to cater for the particular needs of those
professionals expected to read, write, listen to, comprehend and speak in
English within their area of study.
Part of this blog will be devoted to CALL in the area of ESP, which means that practical ideas shall be suggested to ESP teachers. All these ideas should be accepted as initial steps to be taken and they are liable to improvement and upgrading.
As indicated in the post on Lesson planning, here is a more detailed lesson plan for a Legal English course.
Lesson
Plan
Level: Tertiary education, advanced level
Duration of lesson: 90 minutes
Materials:
1. Technology component downloaded from/ accessed in class at:
Warm-up vocabulary practice
Top 10 truly ridiculous criminalacts
750-word summary
2. Other material:
Textbook: International Legal English by Amy Krois-Lindner, Translegal® and Jeremy Day, Cambridge University Press,
Introduction:
1. Review of previous lesson:
The difference between the common-law judicial system and the civil-law system.
The basic characteristics of the adversarial and inquisitorial approach to the “truth seeking process” in legal procedures.
2. Objective of the lesson:
Based on the new vocabulary introduced in the Warm-up vocabulary practice and the reading task related to the Top 10 truly ridiculous criminalacts, the students will describe how the listed offences could be categorised into violent and non-violent criminal acts and how they would be punished in the adversarial judicial system. Finally, they shall summarise their thoughts in a two-paragraph essay via 750-wordsummary presenting thus a clear and straightforward understanding of how crimes are categorised and measured.
Procedures:
1. Presentation, including key vocabulary:
The teacher:
Presents a list of vocabulary describing different criminal acts in the form of a categorised presentation by means of a PPt presentation on Types of crime.
Shows that all criminal acts can be categorised into two basic categories: violent and non-violent crimes.
Presents that according to the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) there are five categories of violent crimes: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault.
Presents that non-violent criminal acts basically include: theft, burglary, forgery, fraud, property damage, trafficking / smuggling/ illegal distribution of objects and hazardous material, racketeering, traffic violation with no human victims, etc.
2. Activity:
Students:
Complete the vocabulary practice after the teacher finishes with the presentation.
Do the reading assignment on the top 10 ridiculous crimes.
Work in pairs and discuss the possible punishments for the listed crimes according to the adversarial judicial system.
Make a list classifying the top 10 ridiculous crimes according to the degree of severity they attribute to each crime.
Write the 750-word summary about how the crimes can be classified, measured and punished.
Read their summary to the class.
3. Assessment:
Complete the vocabulary practice after the teacher finishes with the presentation.
Do the reading assignment on the top 10 ridiculous crimes.
Work in pairs and discuss the possible punishments for the listed crimes according to the adversarial judicial system.
Make a list classifying the top 10 ridiculous crimes according to the degree of severity they attribute to each crime.
Write the 750-word summary about how the crimes can be classified, measured and punished.
Read their summary to the class.
3. Assessment:
As the summaries will be read in
class, all the students will have the task to comment on each other’s summaries
and evaluate two aspects of the summary:
a) Have the crimes been properly categorised and
b) Have the punishments for each crime been allocated in accordance with the degree of the severity of the criminal act.
This should be a valuable indication of whether the task has been completed by each student.
Learning style(s) addressed:
Verbal
Visual
Social
Solitary
Technology alternative (in case things don't work as planned):
A sheet with the vocabulary from the quiz presented in the form of a list with definitions shall be supplied as hand-outs. The students will do an alternative matching exercise, linking the word to the correct definition. The texts to be read shall be on sheets as well.
Review before the end of the class session:
The peer assessment after each of them reads their report will at the same time be the review.
Homework:
Students will make sure they study the new vocabulary as they will be tested on it at the beginning of the next class in a quick test.
How this lesson plan based on the use of the computer is different from regular lesson plans:
The dynamics of the class is completely different as the students will contribute to the presentation of the new material by doing some work on their own. Furthermore, as they will write the summary in class, they will get immediate feedback unlike the usual situation when they wait for it until the next class or some test. The part based on peer assessment is also new since they only get feedback from the teacher.
a) Have the crimes been properly categorised and
b) Have the punishments for each crime been allocated in accordance with the degree of the severity of the criminal act.
This should be a valuable indication of whether the task has been completed by each student.
Learning style(s) addressed:
Verbal
Visual
Social
Solitary
Technology alternative (in case things don't work as planned):
A sheet with the vocabulary from the quiz presented in the form of a list with definitions shall be supplied as hand-outs. The students will do an alternative matching exercise, linking the word to the correct definition. The texts to be read shall be on sheets as well.
Review before the end of the class session:
The peer assessment after each of them reads their report will at the same time be the review.
Homework:
Students will make sure they study the new vocabulary as they will be tested on it at the beginning of the next class in a quick test.
How this lesson plan based on the use of the computer is different from regular lesson plans:
The dynamics of the class is completely different as the students will contribute to the presentation of the new material by doing some work on their own. Furthermore, as they will write the summary in class, they will get immediate feedback unlike the usual situation when they wait for it until the next class or some test. The part based on peer assessment is also new since they only get feedback from the teacher.
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