In 2011, when NTUST was first assigned by MOE, they held the IEP targeting the students from technological and vocational colleges in northern Taiwan. There were 33 students from five universities. After one month of intensive English training, they improved 94.5 points averagely on TOEIC test (Wang, 2011). The next year, NTUST conducted the second IEP. The scale of 2012 IEP was expanded to 192 students from 32 universities because of the salient improvement in the first one. The result was even better. The students improved 139 points averagely on TOEIC. After 2011 and 2012 IEP program, people became more aware of the role of TA. Taipei Municipal Minzu Junior High School invited the researchers to hold a 10 days IEP program for 22 junior high school students. This shows that the course can not only be applied to college students but also to junior high school students. The researchers were invited to the workshop hosted by Overseas Chinese University Department of Applied English sharing organization, management, and TA’s training in the IEP program and the series of ESP held in NTUST on the topic of TA’s role and job on account of the outstanding records (see Appendix D). Besides, the researchers were invited to the International Conference on Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching (ALLT) on the topic of The Management and Implementation of an Intensive English Program (see Appendix K).
Table 5.1 showed the applications.
Table 5. 1
The Applications of the TA and IEP
Host Application Dates
1. MOE 2011 IEP July 4th ~ 29th, 2011
2. MOE 2012 IEP July 2nd ~ 27th,
2012
Host Application Dates 3. Taipei Municipal Mingzu Junior High
School
10 days IEP program Jan. 22nd ~ Feb. 2nd, 2012 4. Overseas Chinese University of
Department of Applied English
Sharing organization, management, and TA’s training in the IEP program
Oct. 12th , 2012
5. NTUST TA’s role and job Sep. 28th, 2012
6. International Conference on Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching (ALLT)
The Management and Implementation of an Intensive English Program
April 19th, 2012
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APPENDICES Appendix A.
Inte rvie w Questions for TAs
Attitude
1. Would students ask you actively regarding schoolwork? How wo uld you assist them?
若學生在課業中有問題，學生會不會主動詢問您？您可以如何幫助學生課業？
2. Would you need to remind students of homework?
您需要適當提醒學生做作業嗎?
Expectation
1. How did you help students to reach their expectation?
您如何幫助學生達到他們的期望?
Motivation
1. Have you encountered the situation that students could not catch up with the class? How could you reconstruct students’ confidence in learning English?
您是否遇過學生落後情形？您怎麼重建學生自信心？
2. How could you contribute to encourage and help your students in learning English?
您在密集班如何激勵及幫助學生學習英文?
TA
1. Are TAs needed in the IEP?
您覺得在密集班中需要TA嗎? (覺得除了老師外，助教的必要性?) 2. What is the role of TAs in the IEP?
您覺得TA在密集班扮演什麼角色?
3. Could I appropriately assist teachers/ students in the classroom?
您是否能適切地在教室裡輔助老師與學生?
4. In what way, do you think TAs are efficient and effective? (give examples) 您覺得TA在哪方面、工作是有效率和效益的?
Self-regulated learning
1. Have students ever asked you to share some methods of learning English?
學生是否請您分享過學習英文的方法、訣竅?
2. Do you think students’ habit of self- learning English was cultivated during IEP?
您認為學生是否有在密集班期間養成自我學習英文的習慣?
Appendix B.
Inte rvie w Questions for Students
Attitude1. Would you ask for TAs’ help actively when you have problems with the assignments?
若對老師課堂出的作業有困難或疑問是否會主動詢問TA？
2. Would you do the assignment without TAs’ reminding?
您會自動自發做作業、複習功課嗎?
Expectation
1. What did you expect to learn from the IEP? Did you really learn what do you expect?
您希望從密集班學到些甚麼？您是否有達到您的期望？
Motivation
1. What would you do if you fall behind the rest of the class? Would you ask TAs for help?
2. 若您跟不上班上同學，您會如何改變現況？您是否會尋求TA的幫助？
3. How could TAs contribute to encourage and help you in English learning?
TA如何鼓勵及幫助您學習英文？
TA
1. Are TAs needed in the IEP?
您覺得在密集班中需要TA嗎？ 除了老師外，教學助教的必要性？
2. What do you think the role of TAs in the IEP?
您覺得TA在密集班扮演什麼角色？
3. Did TAs assist teachers/ students in the classroom appropriately?
您是否覺得TA能適切地在教室裡輔助老師與學生？
4. In what way, do you think TAs are efficient and effective? (give examples) 您覺得TA在哪方面、工作是有效率和效益的？
Self-regulated Learning
1. How TAs can help you with the further English learning in case of self- learning?
您覺得TA可以如何進一步幫助您學習英文？
2. Have you learned some beneficial tips of learning English form TAs? How do you apply these tips in your self- learning?
您如何運用在TA身上學習到學英文的方法、訣竅？
3. How will you sharpen your English ability when the IEP program was finished?
您會如何在密集班結束之後培養英文能力？
Appendix C.
This questionnaire uses a 6-point Likert Scales:
6 非常同意 Strongly Agree 5 同意 Agree 4 稍微同意 Mildly Agree 3 稍微不同意 Mildly Disagree 2 不
非 favorable in this program.
6 5 4 3 2 1
I hope to better understand English people and their way of thinking after this program.
6 5 4 3 2 1
學習動機 Motivation 8.
學習英文讓我可以和我 的英語朋友溝通。
Studying English will help me converse and communicate with English-speaking friends.
6 5 4 3 2 1
9.
學習英文幫助我在英語系國家旅遊能以英文 溝通。
Studying English will help me communicate in English when I travel to English-speaking required to meet the standard of graduation.
6 5 4 3 2 1
非 Acquiring good English-speaking skills is a stepping-stone to one’s success in life.
6 5 4 3 2 1
When I have a problem understanding something we are learning in English class, I immediately ask the TA to help.
6 5 4 3 2 1 always rewrite them, correcting my mistakes.
6 5 4 3 2 1
18.
我會自願在英文課中回答問題。
When I am in English class, I volunteer answers as much as possible.
6 5 4 3 2 1
This is the end of the questionnaire.
Thanks for your cooperation!!
Appendix D.
Interview Responses from T1 (TA Victoria)
Attitude
1. Would students ask you actively regarding schoolwork? How would you assist them?
Since the students and I were peers, when they needed any help, they would come to me without hesitating. Compared to teachers, students were closer with TAs, which I think was the best part of the TAs’ role since the distance that was common between teachers and students were gone. In this way, TAs could be seen as a successful model of learning English motivating students better.
2. Would you need to remind students of home work?
Yes, I always reminded them before calling it a day, and on the weekends when we couldn’t meet, I would post on the Facebook group to remind them.
Expectation
1. How did you help students to reach their expectation?
As students’ peers, I shared my learning experiences with them, convincing them that if I could make it, they could make it as well.
Motivation
1. Have you encountered the situation that students could not catch up with the class?
How could you reconstruct students' confidence in learning English?
When there’re students lagging behind, I would first talk to the students looking into the causes. If it’s because that students didn’t put efforts in it, I would seek some other ways to motivate them. However, if it’s because the students’ English levels were low, I would provide them extra help either in the class or after class.
2. How could you contribute to encourage and help your students in learning English?
I think first you have to make student like English, and realizing the importance of English. Besides, TAs could help them set their goals. Once they were motivated, they would be more willing to learn English trying to reach the goals. What’s more, as TAs were had the successful learning experiences, they were able to provide different learning methods for students.
TA
1. Are TAs needed in the IEP?
Yes. Since this is an intensive English program, students were actually under a lot of pressure making progress within limited time. With TAs, whenever students were at the edge of giving up, TAs, as their peers, could provide both encouragement and help. I think the contribution of TAs in this program was mainly about that how they helped students know more about English and how they assisted students to build confidence and find passion for it.
2. What is the role of TAs in the IEP?
I think TAs played as a role of motivator. For example, at the beginning of the program, some of the students had low motivation to learn English. They didn’t know how to learn English or they just had n’t found the way for the learning. At this point, as the peers, TAs could share their learning experience with the students, so that the students would know that since their peers could do so, they could make it as well. Besides, through the experiences sharing, students could choose one which they were interested or suitable for them.
3. Could I appropriately assist teachers/ stude nts in the classroom?
Yes, when the teachers asked students to do group discussions, I always went around to see if they need my help.
4. In what way, do you think TAs are efficient and effective? (give examples)
I think the greatest contribution was that how I helped students love English, how I raise their motivation toward English learning, how I assisted them found the most appropriate learning method.
Self-regulated learning
1. Have students ever asked you to share some methods of learning English?
Yes. As I could recall, after first week, students started to ask me how I learned English. Besides sharing my own experiences, I also offer different ways based on students’ English proficiency. I would suggest them to try as many different ways as they could, and pick one that they were so interested in that they would keep learning English through it.
2. Do you think students’ habit of self-learning English was cultivated during IEP?
Yes. I think a lot of people dislike English because they don’t know how to start or
they haven’t found the most appropriate way for themselves to learn. This is where TAs could bring them into play. During the program, TAs were not only a guideline provides, but also a English learning motivator.Appendix E.
Interview Responses from T2 (TA Elle)
Attitude
1. Would students ask you actively regarding schoolwork? How would you assist them?
若學生在課業中有問題，學生會不會主動詢問您？您可以如何幫助學生課業？
學生若上課聽不懂會在下課時來問我。而作業不懂的地方，會另外約學生出來 聊天
學生若上課聽不懂會在下課時來問我。而作業不懂的地方，會另外約學生出來 聊天