Blended learning approach to teaching English for specific purpose case study of TED talks

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Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)

Blended learning approach to teaching English for specific purpose case study of TED talks

M.A. Rudneva, N.G. Valeeva

6 Miklukho-Maklaya St., Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation

This work analyzes implementation of TED talks as a part of ESP blended learning training for fostering students' listening comprehension skills. We present a case study of12 lower proficiency non- linguistic students who were assigned listening to a designated TED talks each week and performing listening comprehension tasks that were later checked in the classroom. TED lectures were offered as a part of academic and specific English course for undergraduate students of the ecological faculty and were aimed at enhancing learner autonomy, enriching academic vocabulary, developing listening comprehension skills and promoting scholarly journal writing in a long-term perspective. The results were formally assessed by pre-test and post-test as well as by individual anonymous surveying of the students upon completion of the course. We looked into the results of the survey and overviewed pros and cons of implementation of TED talks into ESP curriculum.

Keywords: blended learning; listening comprehension; English for specific purposes

Смешанный подход к обучению иностранным языкам: внедрение TED talks

М.А. Руднева, Н.Г. Валеева

Российский университет дружбы народов

Российская Федерация, 117198, Москва, ул. Миклухо-Маклая, 6

В работе анализируется внедрение TED talks в рамках смешанного обучения ESP (English for Special Purposes) для развития у студентов навыков восприятия на слух. В исследовании приняли участие 12 студентов неязыковых специальностей с низким уровнем владения языком, которым было поручено слушать лекции TED talks каждую неделю и выполнять задания по аудированию с последующей проверкой в классе. Лекции TED talks были предложены как часть специального академического курса английского языка для студентов бакалавриата экологического факультета и направлены на повышение самостоятельности учащихся, расширение академического словарного запаса, развитие навыков восприятия на слух в долгосрочной перспективе. Результаты формально оценивались до и после теста, а также путем индивидуального анонимного опроса студентов по окончании курса. По результатам опроса выделены плюсы и минусы внедрения TED talks в учебную программу ESP.

Ключевые слова: смешанное обучение; аудирование; английский язык для специальных целей

Introduction

The notion of blended leaning has existed in the field of language teaching for over a decade now [1]. Although a few interpretations of this term have been proposed, in this study we draw on C. Whittaker, who summarized it as “In ELT blended learning is the term most commonly used to refer to any combination of face-to-face teaching with computer technology (online and offline activities/materials)” [2]. There is an emerging body of blended language learning research with quite controversial results [3]. However, a few scholars agree that of all micro-skills listening has been significantly overlooked, with greater attention being paid to productive skills, i.e. speaking and writing, as well as reading, traditionally considered the key academic skill [4--6]. Although a few studies have argued the importance of listening comprehension in SLA pedagogy [7--9] it still remains a much neglected skill and has even been referred to as the “Cinderella” of communication strategies [6]. Even though the existing curriculum at Russian universities recognizes the value of listening comprehension, much deliberation is still needed to enhance curriculum design and foster language learners' listening abilities. At RUDN

University all students are encouraged to take Cambridge FCE or CAE examinations, depending on their level oflanguage proficiency. Listening comprehension is an important part of examination and all students are taught listening strategies as a part of exam preparation in their general English classes. However, when it comes to ESP listening, the curriculum is limited to in-class activities. Taking into consideration limitations imposed by classroom time (on average 1 hour a week allocated to listening instruction with academic year lasting 34--36 weeks), and major focus on general English exam preparation, there is a significant need in off-site autonomous learning. The importance of extensive listening for proficiency development is not to be challenged; however, it is essential for the overall success that the teachers provide guidance and support for the extensive listening experiences, so that the students would benefit most from incorporation of authentic quasi-professional materials in their daily foreign language practices. This paper argues that it is essential to extend the existing on-site, process-oriented listening instruction by autonomous, learner-focused and self-regulated activities. We draw on the definition of self-regulated learning by PR. Pintrich [10], stated as “an active constructive process whereby learners set goals for their learning and then attempt to monitor, regulate and control their cognition, motivation and behaviour, guided and constrained by their goals and the contextual features in the environment”. The students who took part in the current study were responsible for the extent and degree of their personal involvement in overall development of listening skills.

Methodology

The case study presented in this paper was conducted at RUDN University (Russia) ecological faculty. 12 participants (5 male and 7 female) with an average age of 20 were selected from the same study group. They had been learning English for 8--10 years, depending on selected programme ofsecondary school education. Listening comprehension was practiced for the same time period; however, listening experience of specific ecological contexts was limited to 2 years of tertiary education. For the purpose of comparison all students were allocated into 3 categories with respect to their overall English proficiency, the placement was performed with respect to the entrance streaming test. The results are presented in Table 1.

Table 1 Categories of language proficiency