2. Employing Integrated-skills Approach (ISA) to Develop ESP Materials for Professional-graduates
-Dr. Krishna Chaitanya E
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Abstract
The integrated-skills approach (ISA) is considered to be one of the most successful and dominant trends in developing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials in the recent times. ISA incorporates all the four language skills i.e. reading, writing, speaking and listening; provides a realistic approach in designing materials. Moreover, integrating skills will add variety to the materials and motivate learners for the language learning and to use language in a variety of authentic contexts.
The purpose of this study is to show how the use of ISA in designing classroom materials will give a better language learning experience to the students. The present study is investigative in nature and is conducted through survey method. The study is conducted in two phases. The primary aim of study is to explore whether the activities on LSRW skills (in the prescribed textbook chosen for the study) are designed employing ISA and its problems. The secondary aim is to elicit learners’ needs analysis (LNA) and design a need-based material using ISA. The third aim is to administer the material and obtain feedback from students in the classrooms besides analyzing the study’s findings in the light of its contribution to improve the English language skills of the learners along with its positive impact.
Key words: ESP, ISA, LNA & LSRW
Introduction
Although the audio-lingual method has lost its charm and relevance in the contemporary times, its influence is still present in designing English language materials at the undergraduate level. The key features of this method i.e., the skills and component model of language teaching still prevails in many ESL contexts including the private and public educational institutions in India. Being immersed in this tradition, practitioners seem to have forgotten the fact that a human body is a combination of several body parts/organs, however, a human will never walk, think, speak etc. unless these body parts are in coordination with another in a systematic way into a unified whole. In the similar lines, learners can study language skills and components only in an integrated fashion. Moreover, learners’ interaction with outside world does not take place unless they can use language skills in combination. The main problem is that many language learners in India have an adequate understanding of language components such as grammar, vocabulary and the like, but they can seldom exercise them to converse in English. The principal reason being majority of the English language materials (used for the I year undergraduate level in the professional colleges affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, JNTUH) focused on teaching grammar, vocabulary and the isolated reading skill, and rarely do students get an opportunity to use language skills in an integrated fashion. A majority of these materials on LSRW skills in the prescribed text (i.e. Fluency in English) fall short to integrate content and language to provide a rich learning experience. Hence, it is proposed to use authentic materials incorporating ISA in designing ESP materials. It equips learners with the ability to use language skills in expressing their technical subjects with ease and confidence. Therefore, English language teachers, material designers and practitioners should teach/design courses which integrate skills and components in combination.
Research Methodology:
The present study is investigative in nature and conducted through survey method. The study was conducted in two phases i.e. preliminary study and main study. The primary aim of study is to explore whether the activities on LSRW skills (in the prescribed textbook) were designed employing ISA and its problems. The secondary aim is to elicit learners’ needs analysis and design a need-based material using ISA. The third aim is to administer the material and obtain feedback from students through questionnaire and classroom observation besides analyzing the study’s findings in the light of ISA’s positive impact on skill development and usefulness to the learners.
The study sample comprised of two hundred and forty students (60 students from each of the four branches) of I year B.Tech., pursuing Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE), Computer Science Engineering (CSE), Civil Engineering and Information Technology (IT) courses in the second semester in Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology, affiliated to JNTUH, Telangana State. The selection of sample is based on random sampling method. Data for preliminary study was collected from informal interaction with students and teachers besides analyzing the prescribed textbook. Data for the main study was obtained using questionnaire survey, interviews of students, and classroom observation. As the prescribed English textbook (i.e. Fluency in English) is common to all the engineering colleges affiliated to the JNTUH across Hyderabad, the situation of teaching material of LSRW skills in these professional colleges does not seem to be different (i.e. in terms of teaching LSRW skills in segregation, lack of variety of task types and gap between content and language). Hence, the findings were used to form the basis for designing main study.
The stages of study
Stage-I: Analysis of the preliminary study
Stage-II: Analysis of the main study (design and administration of the need-based material)
The preliminary study
The preliminary study was required to know the background of students. The sample group of students who participated in the study aged between 18-20 years. During an informal talk, it was found that their overall percentage in the Board of Intermediate examinations (BIE) varies from 65-90, and all of them scored between 65 and 90 marks out of 100 in English in their BIE. Further, they were asked to rate their proficiency in English. 23% rated excellent, 29% very good and 48% rated themselves average. Apart from this, students’ opinions on the prescribed textual activities (LSRW) and their help in language development were elicited. While sharing views, a majority of the learners opined that that they require additional material or practice to master certain topics in their syllabus. When enquired specifically, they responded stating that they have a lot of apprehensions about public speaking and presentation skills. Sharing reasons of stage fright, they said their exposure to public speaking events in schools and colleges was limited. Because of this, their participation in classroom discussions, academic seminars and presentations need immediate improvement. Besides this, it was found in classroom observation that they require an exclusive need-based material to fine-tune their presentation skills. Moreover, they have shared a few other problems such as body language, interview skills, resume and cover letter writing. Of all the problems mentioned in needs analysis, presentation/public speaking skills was mentioned by a majority of them and hence it was decided to prepare a need-based material on presentation skills using authentic materials and ISA.
In addition to this, the researcher has also collaborated with the teachers of English to analyze the prescribed text book (i.e. Fluency in English) for I year B.Tech., students. The criterion used for analysis of LSRW skills is to know whether the activities are graded, sequenced and designed with integrated-skills approach. And it also aimed to know whether a variety of task types and material was used. During this period, the researcher visited the teachers at regular intervals and obtained their feedback. A majority of the teachers who have collaborated with the researcher in the study mentioned the following demerits after spending considerable amount of time:
Analysis of the textual material on LSRW skills:
A majority of the activities in the text books are designed following segregated-skills approach which is one of the drawbacks. A lot of tasks in the texts are not properly graded from simple to complex. There are not many guided activities or freehand activities to provide help and encouragement to the students. The task types given in the texts are not diverse in nature. Moreover, the exercises are not challenging and are pitched at basic level. There are no text-based activities which limit textual knowledge of the students. A majority of the tasks are prescribed discretely without appropriate follow up activities and sources for practice.
Another problem is a majority of the tasks on LSRW skills presented in the texts test accuracy of the learners rather they test fluency. Accuracy activities, as stated by Burkhalter (2013) restrict the learners’ natural flow of expression because learners are more conscious about grammar than fluency while expressing their views.
Here is a summing up of the problems mentioned:
- LSRW skills are not properly integrated and task types are not diverse in nature
- Absence of graded and guided or freehand activities
- Gap between the prescribed syllabus and academic and professional needs of the students
- The objectives of the course are not met
Hence, it can be stated that the existing textual activities on LSRW skills do not comply with the content and their learning objectives. The analysis proves that there is an urgent need to incorporate integrated skills approach (ISA) to overcome the problems. Therefore, it is proposed to use authentic materials pertaining to a specific content (i.e. public speaking/presentation skills) employing ISA would be a better alternative. It is because such material gives more scope to teachers to update the content and language tasks according to the learners’ needs analysis than the activities in the prescribed text.
Keeping this in view, a need-based syllabus using authentic materials and ISA was designed on presentation/public speaking skills. A detailed discussion on material, its objectives, administration and evaluation in classrooms and results are discussed in the ensuing section.
Stage-II: Analysis of the main study
Rationale for developing need-based syllabus
A need-based material on ‘Public Speaking/Presentation Skills’ was developed with an aim to fulfil the requirements found in the learners’ needs analysis. It contributes to learners’ cognitive skills in learning and understanding a particular subject matter quickly while also helping teachers to reinforce their content knowledge. Moreover, such material fulfils the needs of the students i.e. improving communicative competence and language development.
Objectives of the need-based material:
In connection with the design of need-based course material there is a vital need to establish its objectives leading to the design of relevant tasks.
- To develop language skills and content knowledge on presentation/public speaking skills by designing several task types with the integrated skills approach.
- To hone learners’ LSRW skills and their subsidiary skills in integration.
- To improve their listening skills by the means of providing them with audio and visual material which complements their textual material.
- To expose students to the structures, vocabulary and supporting ideas used in the context of opinion giving and problem solving.
Contents of the need-based syllabus material:
As mentioned earlier, the contents of material are based on the needs analysis found in the preliminary research. The findings of the preliminary study revealed that many learners need additional practice and material to improve their ability to present their views in academic seminars and public gatherings. To meet this, a lot of authentic materials on presentation skills were drawn from books, newspapers and other online sources in developing the need-based material. The teachers have stated that their students need such activities and material which help them to put theory into practice and improve the art of public speaking.
Integrated-skill approach (ISA):
The integrated-skill approach (ISA) is proved to be a more authentic approach in designing ESP courses than that of segregated approach. The ISA aims at integrating the four basic skills i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing along with the subsidiary skills i.e. grammar and vocabulary. Thus, it will not only encourage learners to communicate in an authentic and meaningful way but also expose them to the richness and complexity of the language (Penelope, 2006).
The linguist that advocated first foremost about integration of the four language skills was H.G. Widdowson (1978: 144). He said language use takes place in the form of discourse and in specific social contexts, not in discrete "units". Because of this reason, and to become skilled language users, learners need to learn receptive and productive skills in both spoken and written discourse. In his proposal for integrated and communicative language teaching in general and in particular in English for Specific Purposes, Widdowson (1978) has emphasized on the integration of the four skills.
Moreover, it was stated by proponents of the whole language approach that in the real world of language use, most of our natural performance involves not only the integration of one or more skills, but connections between language and the way people think, feel and act (Brown, 2001).
Brown (ibid, p. 234) further states that there is an interrelationship between written and spoken language which is intrinsically motivating reflection of language, culture and society. It is obvious that one skill will always reinforce another skill i.e. people learn to speak, for example, in part by modelling what they hear, and they learn to write by examining what they can read.
Similarly, the integration of skills in the academic context (classroom) means the coherent interaction of the four main skills during a lesson. An integrated skills lesson must be a stimulation of communication in actual contexts of use. Supporting this Oxford (2001) says:
The ISA leads to the best possible ESL/EFL communication by interweaving the four primary English language skills during instruction, then “in designing activities, teachers should consider all the skills conjointly as they interact with each other in natural behaviour, for in real life as in the classroom, most tasks of any complexity involve more than one macro skill.” (Nunan, 1989, in Oxford, 2001).
As mentioned by Oxford, ISA exposes English language learners to the richness and complexity of the language; provides a wholesome learning experience to the students. Apart from using ISA, various exercise types were employed in developing the material
Exercise types
Varied exercise types, with specific objectives to enhance content and language skills of the learners, were employed in designing need-based material. The chief purpose of designing diverse task types is to sustain the interest of learners. Some of the activity types are Pre-reading activities, True/False, Yes/No, Categorization, Matching, cloze test, multiple choice, Reading-sub skills, Gap filling, Sequencing, Q&A etc.
Description of target group
The need-based material was administered to a small sample group of two hundred and forty students pursuing I year B.Tech., II semester to test out the material. Although the target group of students varies in terms of branches (ECE, CSE, CIVIL & IT), their level of proficiency is more or less similar. The course material incorporated the contents that students mentioned in the needs analysis. Incidentally, the students pursuing these courses are heterogeneous by nature and represent a larger group of learners encountering similar problems. Therefore, the material was restricted to a small sample group.
Task administration
Task administration for the sample groups was carried out in 5 classes of 2 hours each approximately. Every class was followed by a face to face interaction. Administration of the course was carried out in collaboration with other language teachers. In order to avoid ambiguity and inconsistency in guiding the students, the researcher had to discuss and explain the nature of the tasks before administration at a greater detail. The teachers too participated enthusiastically and extended their cooperation in every respect while the course was being tested out. Moreover, all the teacher participants felt that it is a new learning experience to observe, participate in collaborative/team teaching and learning.
The researcher along with the teacher participants gave a briefing about 30 minutes to students on the nature and significance of each of the material and tasks. They further explained the nature of tasks and what students were expected to learn from each material. Each of the tasks was completed in the stipulated time, doubts were clarified and feedback was obtained from students on each unit. In addition to these, teachers gave take home assignments to students because of time constraints. Teachers carefully monitored the assignments and gave feedback to students for further improvement. Three teacher participants simultaneously monitored and guided the students.
Task administration was thus systematically administered and the ensuing section deals with the objectives and nature of tasks besides the outcome of the study.
Public speaking/presentation skills (cf. appendix – 1)
The chief objective of this material, as mentioned earlier, is to impart effective strategies for presentation/public speaking and to reduce stage fright. In this material, 18 tasks were given and the material used here was drawn from books, newspapers and other online sources.
Table No. 01( Look at the bottom of page)
Table No. 02 (Look at the bottom of page)
Table No. 03 (Look at the bottom of page)
Table No. 04 (Look at the bottom of page)
Analysis of the need-based material
All the students expressed their willingness and interest to improve their public speaking/presentation skills and to overcome stage fear. While attempting the pre-reading activities, they shared their public speaking problems and some dos and don’ts of presentations. A majority of the students were able to interpret the intended information from the pictures. Pre-reading activities, as said by students, not only increased their participation but also made them feel at home to express their opinions.
Students showed a lot of enthusiasm in reading the articles on ‘Effective presentation strategies’ and ‘Handling stage fright’. Some of them clarified their doubts about modes of presentations and vocabulary while reading the article. While attempting the follow-up tasks 1, 3 & 6, students showed improvement in identifying the differences between facts and opinions. Students; ability in inferring specific points of a reading text was improved while attempting the tasks 2, 5 & 8. They further showed improvement in grouping/categorizing things while doing language task 4. Many students were able to establish coherent links and match the given statements with their appropriate ones in task 7. While doing the task 8, students used strategies of understanding functional relationships such as cause and effect relationships to fill in the gaps. A majority of the students found task 8 challenging as they had to use right words in right places to fill in the blanks appropriately. About 58% the students were able to do this task well. Moreover, tasks 1 to 9 in the material integrated reading, speaking and writing skills besides giving ample practice in grammar and vocabulary. Besides this, all the tasks are text based and hence provided ample room for integrating content and language for language skill development amongst the students.
Furthermore, while attempting tasks 9 to 18, students watched two experts’ videos on public speaking i.e. ‘Public speaking techniques by Rachel’ and ‘Convocation address of Steve Jobs’. Students found the videos inspiring and interesting. Students listened to the speaker and sequenced the jumbled points in the task 9. Some students found it challenging as they had to listen to the speaker and mark the sequence of jumbled points simultaneously. Many students (64%) were able to mark the specific presentation techniques explained by the speaker in the video (task 11).
The follow-up tasks (9-18) of these videos helped students integrating LSRW skills. For instance, tasks 12, 13, 16 & 17 required students to listen to the speaker’s views on effective presentation strategies; read the given tasks carefully; write down the answers to fill in the gaps simultaneously; speak out their views to the class on the similar topic. Although a few students found it challenging, the guidance of peer group and faculty helped the rest of the students to complete the tasks.
A majority of the students, while doing the tasks 13 & 18, shared their views on the content of Rachel’s techniques of presentations, Steve Jobs’ convocation address and some of the best presentation strategies they found. Inspired by the presentation of Jobs’, many students gave brief presentations on topics of their choice.
The data shows that a majority of the students are successful in learning several useful strategies of effective presentation apart from acquiring techniques to reduce nervousness and stage fear. Thus, the objectives of the unit, i.e. to integrate and master both content and language skills of presentation; to learn techniques to reduce stage fright; make effective presentation and to exude confidence for making presentations are met adequately.
It was found that a majority (above 70%) of the students show substantial improvement in presenting their views to the class confidently. Many of them mentioned that they find the need-based materials truly engaging and motivating for language learning. They said that material incorporated the contents which are essential for their academic and professional success. They felt that material of this kind would definitely motivate them to read and fulfil their present academic and future professional needs.
Conclusion:
Based on the analysis and findings of the need-based material, it can be stated that integrated-skills approach is a better alternative to segregated-skills approach in designing ESP materials. The data shows that students were happy because need-based material was designed keeping their needs analysis in view. The use of authentic materials, design of various task types for LSRW activities, graded and guided tasks and ISA further enthused their zeal for language learning and content enrichment. Therefore, it can be stated that the study made a modest attempt of bridging the gap between the students' needs and the syllabus. Apart from this, it has integrated the content and language which is one of the principal objectives of the study.
Usually, in an ESP setting, emphasis is laid on learners’ autonomy since learners need to continue learning with the kinds of inputs provided through the study. Hence, the need-based material, if administered with increased number of teaching hours can definitely yield more productive results in the further research.
References
- Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (2nd ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman
- Burkhalter, N. (2013). Fluency vs accuracy which one, when and how? (power point presentation). Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/Marinazx/fluency-vs-accuracy.
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- Nunan, D. (1989). "Designing tasks for the communicative classroom." Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.\Oxford, R. (2001). Integrated Skills in the ESL/EFL Classroom. ESL Magazine, 6(1).
- Penelope (2006, September 21). An Integrated Approach to Language Learning. Retrieved April 15, 2012, from http://voices.yahoo.com/an-integrated-approach-language-learning-77279.html.
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- Stanford University (2008, May 14).Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address [Video file].Retrieved on March 22, 2018, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_ptbiPoXM.
- The Mobile Studio Company (2011, May 19). Presenting & Public Speaking Tips How to improve skills & confidence. [Video file] Retrieved on March 2, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5WT2vweFRY.
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