388
Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Chapter 21
Shu-Chiao Tsai
National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, Taiwan
Task-Based Learning with
Interactive ESP Courseware
Integration in Higher
Vocational Education
ABSTRACT
This chapter reports on integrating a self-developed interactive courseware of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) into a self-study and elective course “English Reading for Technology” offered for sophomore students in the Applied Foreign Languages Department (AFLD) of a vocational university in Taiwan two hours per week for twelve weeks. A Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) approach combined with a Task-Based Learning (TBL) approach was adopted. The course mainly fo-cused on vocabulary, reading, and comprehension. Evaluation of implementing these Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into ESP instruction with courseware integration was based upon data from a variety of pre- and post-tests including cloze, listening, writing, and Q&A. Meanwhile, a traditional teacher-centered Face-to-Face (F2F) instruction was conducted as a control group. The learning effectiveness in most of the post-tests under both instructions has been significantly improved. Students under the ICT instruction with courseware integration made as much progress as those did under the F2F instruction, suggesting that the well-structured courseware offered a potential solution to problems in the development and expansion in frequency of ESP courses in Taiwan by playing the role of an adjunct teacher, peer, and facilitator, through which students were able to practice language skills and learn content knowledge. Most students were satisfied with practices for learning English skills and professional knowledge provided by the courseware and had a positive attitude toward such ICT instruction. In addition, students used reading strategies to a high degree, and the most-commonly used reading strategies were cognitive, memory, and compensation, but social-affective strategies were least frequently employed.
17 more pages are available in the full version of this document, which may
be purchased using the "Add to Cart" button on the publisher's webpage:
www.igi-global.com/chapter/task-based-learning-interactive-esp/63073
Related Content
Visual And Diagrammatic Languages: The Logic Perspective
Bernd Meyer and Paolo Bottoni (2008). Visual Languages for Interactive Computing: Definitions and
Formalizations (pp. 22-50).
www.irma-international.org/chapter/visual-diagrammatic-languages/31032/
Identification, Transparency, Interactivity: Towards a New Paradigm for Credibility for Single-Voice Blogs
Brian Carroll and R. Randolph Richardson (2011). International Journal of Interactive Communication
Systems and Technologies (pp. 19-35).
www.irma-international.org/article/identification-transparency-interactivity/52590/
The Critical Role of Content Media Management
Margherita Pagani (2003). Multimedia and Interactive Digital TV: Managing the Opportunities Created by
Digital Convergence (pp. 156-179).
www.irma-international.org/chapter/critical-role-content-media-management/26982/
A Robust Interactive Narrative Framework for Edutainment
Samiullah Paracha and Osamu Yoshie (2012). International Journal of Interactive Communication Systems
and Technologies (pp. 18-35).
www.irma-international.org/article/robust-interactive-narrative-framework-edutainment/68808/
Second Life in the Psychology Classroom: Teaching and Research Possibilities
John E. Edlund and Jessica L. Hartnett (2013). International Journal of Interactive Communication Systems
and Technologies (pp. 47-56).