2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Research on Effective Syllabus Design and Materials Development for Teaching ESP at the Tertiary Level
| Project/Area Number |
15520362
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Foreign language education
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| Research Institution | University of Miyazaki (2004)
宮崎医科大学 (2003) |
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Principal Investigator |
YOKOYAMA Shozo University of Miyazaki, Department of Medicine, Associate Professor, 医学部, 助教授 (60347052)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YAMAUCHI Hisako Kurume Institute of Technology, Department of Engineering, Associate Professor, 工学部, 助教授 (70200582)
NAKANO Hideko Kyushu Kyoritsu University, Department of Engineering, Associate Professor, 工学部, 助教授 (20309735)
YASUNAMI Seisuke University of Kumamoto, Research Center for Higher Education, Associate Professor, 大学教育機能開発総合研究センター, 助教授 (00290833)
KAWAKITA Naoko Miyazaki Prefectural University of Nursing, Department of Nursing, Associate Professor, 看護学部, 助教授 (80405589)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Keywords | ESP / Teaching English for Specialty / Syllabus Design / Materials Development / Needs Analysis |
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| Research Abstract |
Firstly, we conducted needs analyses for the medical, nursing and engineering departments in several universities. The results showed that the skill most needed in teaching and learning each field of specialty is unexceptionally the ‘reading skill', which was quite different from what we had anticipated. About 70% of the department staff pointed out that they have difficulties in teaching specialty subjects due to the lack of students' abilities of English. Admittedly the needs for communication both in department staff and students are high, though it remains questionable whether they have a clear understanding of what ‘communication ability' really means. Thus, this point needs further investigation.
Secondly, we pointed out the importance of ‘sub-technical' vocabulary in teaching ESP to be taught by the language instructors.
Thirdly, we have developed an ESP syllabus and materials model for medical, nursing and engineering students. Yamauchi developed web-based reading and vocabulary
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teaching materials, and Nakano also developed web-based materials to instruct technical English in addition to remedial materials, which are now in great requisition in many universities. Both of these are specifically designed for engineering students. Yasunami also developed listening practice materials using the internet resources for medical students. These are Web CT-based materials, so that one can distribute, collect, and calculate the scores automatically. It also enables both the instructor and the students to communicate on-line in order to address students' queries. Yokoyama and Kawakita developed textbook-based materials for medical and nursing students. We will continue our research on the merits and demerits of both types of materials (web-based and textbook-based) and how they can cover current shortcomings. Based on the results of this project, we shall move to the next step, which is to seek an effective methodology or system with regards to the instruction for reading and writing in ESP. Less
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