business english program for freshmen at ulis-vnu-hn: initial evaluation by the stakeholders
DESCRIPTION
Business English Program for Freshmen at ULIS-VNU-HN: Initial Evaluation by the stakeholders. Trần Thị Quỳnh Lê Trần Thị Thanh Phúc ULIS-VNU-HN. Contents. 1. 2. 3. The Business English Program at ULIS-VNU. Introduction. Evaluation of the assignments. Introduction: rationale. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
LOGOwww.themegallery.com
Business English Program for Freshmen at ULIS-VNU-
HN: Initial Evaluation by the stakeholders
Business English Program for Freshmen at ULIS-VNU-
HN: Initial Evaluation by the stakeholders
Trần Thị Quỳnh LêTrần Thị Thanh Phúc
ULIS-VNU-HN
Trần Thị Quỳnh LêTrần Thị Thanh Phúc
ULIS-VNU-HN
Contents
Introduction 1
The Business English Program at ULIS-VNU
2
Evaluation of the assignments
3
Introduction: rationale
The growing importance of English in business communication
The situation in ULIS – VNU Aims of the paper: Description of the BE speaking
program in ULIS-VNU Evaluation of the two assignments
employed as formative assessment tools
Introduction: Literature review
Curriculum Kerr (1983): all learning planned and guided by the
school Evan (1995): a structured set of learning outcomes
or tasks OECD (1998): content, teaching, learning and
resourcesTwo features:
Planned and guided learning Schooling activities
Introduction: Literature review
Curriculum development Tayler (1949):
• Select aims, goals, objectives• Select learning experiences and content• Organize learning experiences• Evaluate of the achievements of objectives
Wiggins and McTighe (2005):• Identify desired results• Determine acceptable evidence• Plan learning experience
Introduction: Literature review
Curriculum evaluation Tuckman (1979): means to determine
whether the program is meeting its goals, whether the outcomes match the intended outcomes
The current BE speaking program comprises both:
Curriculum design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005)
Curriculum evaluation
Introduction: Literature review
Assessment Hanson (1993): representational technique Messick (1989): validation of assessment Forms:
• Summative: encapsulates all the evidence to a given point (Maddalena, 2005)
• Formative: compasses all activities to provide information to be used as feedback for modification of teaching and learning activities (Black, 1998)
The BE speaking program
Steps to design the program: Identify the desired goals (knowledge, skills,
attitudes) Determine acceptable evidence
• Two assignments• Final speaking test
Learning plan (working out the syllabus) Collect data on the effectiveness of the
program
The BE speaking program
Core book: Name: New Market Leader (Pre-intermediate)
Second Edition by Cotton, David and Kent (2005) Reasons for choosing:
• Suitable level• Authentic input• Case study in each unit (review)
Supplementary material: Name: Business Vocabulary in Use -Intermediate by
Mascull (2002) Reason for choosing: Business Vocabulary in Use -
Intermediate by Mascull (2002• Explanation of key business terms• Build up vocabulary (Levelt 1989, Ota 2003)
The BE speaking program
Assignments Vocabulary mini-test: one test per two weeks, 10
minutes, 20-25 items• Semester 1: 50% from the two books, 50% from other BE books
(low performance)
• Semester 2: 50% from each book
Case-study: focus on discussion and presentation skills
• Semester 1: adapted case study
• Semester 2: no official adaptation
End of term speaking test (adapted from BEC Premilenary speaking test)
Evaluation of the two assignments
Research questions: i. How were the assignments received by the
teachers and students? ii, What are their suggestions in improving the
assignments? Instruments
Questionnaires (60 students, 5 teachers) about the effectiveness and their preference
Interviews (5 students, 2 teachers) Procedure
Questionnaire completion (60 randomly selected students and 5 teachers who taught the program)
Interview: 2 teachers and 5 students
Evaluation of the two assignments
Findings: How were the assignments received by the teachers and students?
The effectiveness of the case studies – Students’ feedback
The case study was effective
3 1
26
47
23
0
10
20
30
40
50
1
Per
cen
tag
e
Totally disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Totally agree
Evaluation of the two assignments
Findings: How were the assignments received by the teachers and students?
Comments on case study (CS): T1: prefers the CS of semester 1 Most Ss: prefers the CS of semester 1 Reasons: more suitable for Ss’ level, more close to the Ss, Ss have
more to say Ss: favor CS that invited discussion and argument from the audience
The effectiveness of the case studies – Students’ feedback
Evaluation of the two assignments
Findings: How were the assignments received by the teachers and students?
The effectiveness of the mini-test – Students’ feedback
The Vocabulary mini-test was effective
5 5
26
46
18
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1
Perc
en
tag
e
Totally disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Totally agree
Evaluation of the two assignments
Findings: How were the assignments received by the teachers and students?
Comments on vocabulary mini-test (VT): Make Ss learn more Help Ss re-check business vocabulary Ss may forget what they learn Ss favor VT in semester 2 (only from the assigned
books) Level: not appropriate (too difficult in semester 1
while very predictable in semester 2)
Evaluation of the two assignments
Suggestions for CS: Contextualize CS:
• More assessable• Related to the real world of work• Same situation and complex language with minor change
More work on CS before going to class Fewer CS for Ss to have better preparation
Suggestions for VT: Better design Some focus on pronunciation More time to deal with the vocabulary
Evaluation of the two assignmentsImplications
CS promotes speaking skills. CS work well when being practical and
familiar. Ss need to be exposed to unfamiliar
situations. More exploitation of input is necessary. Ss and Ts use Internet to adapt CS. More speaking elements should be
employed in the VT. Ss must have more opportunities to use the
items in the VT.
Limitation and suggestion for further research
Broader scale Comparison between the current program
and other BE programs at other universities More comments from other researchers
REFERENCES
Black, P. & William, D. (1998) Assessment and Classroom Learning, Assessment in Education 5(1) pp 7-74
Cotton, D., David, F. & Kent, S. (2005) Market – Leader (Pre-intermediate_New Edition) Student's Book), Pearson Education Limited
Howell, K.W. & Evan, D.G. (1995) Must instructionally useful performance assessment be based in the curriculum? Comment. Exceptional Children, 61 (4), pp 394-396
Hanson, F.A. (1993) Testing Testing: Social Consequences of the Examined Life. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Kelly, A. V. (1983; 1999) The Curriculum. Theory and practice 4e, London: Paul Chapman Levelt, W.J.M. (1989) Speaking: From intention to articulation, MA: MIT Press Mascull, B. (2002) Business Vocabulary in Use, Cambridge University Press Messick, S. (1989) Validity, In R.L.Linn (Ed.), Educational Measurement (3rd ed.), Phoenix,
AZ: Oryx Press, pp 13-103 Nomura, M. (2004) Enhancement of speaking ability and vocabulary: Using an archaeological
research method, Naruto English Education, 18, 60-71. Naruto University of Education, Department of English
OECD. (1998) Making the Curriculum Work, Paris: Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Ota, H., Kanatani, K., Kosuge, A., & Hidai, S. (2003) How English ability is developed: Exploring English acquisition process of junior high school students, Tokyo: Taishukan
Taras, M. (2005) Assessment – Summative and Formative – Some Theoretical Reflections, British Journal of Educational Studies, ISSN 0007-1005, Vol.53, pp 466-478
Tuckman, B.W. (1979) Evaluating Instructional Programmes, Boton/London: Allyn & Bacon Inc.
Tyler, R.W. (1949) Basic principles of curriculum and instruction, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005) Understanding by design, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development
Appendix 1: Identify the desired goals
Appendix 2: Semester 1vocabulary mini-test 1 (part 1)
Appendix 2: Semester 1vocabulary mini-test 1 (part 2)
Appendix 3: Semester 2vocabulary mini-test 1 (part 1)
Appendix 3: Semester 2vocabulary mini-test 1 (part 2)
Appendix 4: Case-study 2 (part 1) (in the core book)
Appendix 4: Case-study 2 (part 2) (in the core book)
Appendix 4: Case-study 2 (part 3) (in the core book)
Appendix 5: Case-study 2 - adapted