Using Free Hi-Tech Online Communication Tools to Train EFL in ESP Students to Think Critically and Independently
By Buthaina Al-Othman, e-mail: buthaina_3@yahoo.com
Opportunities and Challenges
Teaching intermediate to high-intermediate English for specific purposes (ESP) science English classes in the English as a foreign language (EFL) environment in Kuwait has provided the class instructor with opportunities to learn more about the ways of thinking and strategies of learning used by Kuwaiti students who have completed their previous education in Kuwaiti public schools.
Despite the fact that many of these students have good speaking and listening skills acquired from watching American-English movies, most of them lacked the skills of independent and critical thinking, particularly when practicing reading and writing activities online.
With the growing industry and development of educational Internet communication technologies (ICTs) resulting in effective teaching and learning in the EFL/ESL classrooms worldwide, a number of online task-based activities that supported and encouraged independent learning and critical thinking through online searching, reading, and writing were designed for an English for Science (EfS) female sophomore class taught in the English Language Unit at the College of Science. These online activities were planned and created to help students complete a required final project of writing and presenting a short term paper.
The main activity of the final project required students to present their final term papers either in a face-to-face traditional classroom or online before a remote group of international ESL/EFL teachers from Webheads in Action, an online community of practice (CoP) formed in 2002. This audience included ESL/EFL professionals and experts in the field of education from all over the world. For this purpose an online chat portal, which supported text and voice and had a facility to project PowerPoint or html files as web pages, was used. The Alado voice-chat portal was provided free to the Webheads CoP courtesy of Alado.net. The Webheads in Action portal page can be viewed at http://www.geocities.com/vance_stevens/papers/evonline2002/webheads.htm The Alado voice-chat portal can be viewed at http://www.alado.net/webheads
Nine students volunteered to do online presentations at the Webhead’s Alado.net webcast portal. The multiple-venue presentations (MVPs) were delivered before the local audience composed of the 13 in-class student presenters and the class instructor who were physically at the Kuwait University Distance Learning Center and the remote audience of eight ESL/EFL Webheads teachers from Denmark, Spain, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Germany, Greece, and Brazil.
The purpose of this project was to show that using instructional technology is feasible and effective in an all-female class at the university level in an EFL environment characterized by a conservative culture. In addition, it demonstrated that e-learning can encourage a student-centered learning environment on the basis of critical thinking and independent learning.
The project required the class teacher to practice learning and teaching approaches and concepts on the basis of constructivist theories of learning and techniques learned through participation in Webheads in Action. She led her class as the “guide on the side” rather than as a “sage on the stage,” facilitating learning processes in her face-to-face classroom and online. To do this she used several free synchronous and asynchronous tools (ICTs), including e-mail, a message board, weblogs, web pages, and MSN and Yahoo instant messaging, to provide the necessary instructions and conditions for scaffolding to the group of students presenting online.
The project resulted in a positive, desirable outcome for both students and the instructor. It positively influenced and motivated the class, increasing various language, computer, and Internet skills. In addition, it created constructive academic competition among students. The in-class presenters reported being motivated to present online if they are given the opportunity in the future. The project offers concrete suggestions for ESP teachers in EFL/ESL around the globe to try this type of online activity. Results showed that it can help students enhance their English academic reading and writing skills with critical thinking, as well as assist them in developing e-learning strategies and techniques that are one of the main ways to learn in the information technology age.
Final Notes
The class instructor offers the following reflections on the students’ oral presentations, final general notes, and comments:
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The nine students who presented online were very observant and focused on one another’s presentations. They asked intelligent and interesting questions in a very efficient and professional way during the discussions that followed each presentation.
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The students were at all presentations and arrived on time, showing respect, interest, and enthusiasm toward presenters. They exhibited an awareness regarding the important role of the audience during presentation events, whether online or in-class.
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Most students performed very well in the final exam. The table shows the overall grades for all students.
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Students were motivated in general to continue their learning. The following semester one of them registered in an advanced elective science English course that teaches the skill of writing a critical analysis. Others requested information about distance-learning English courses to improve their speaking and listening skills.
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Although it was some students’ first experience with creating PowerPoint slides, they managed to produce very creative slides for their presentations, some of which included images and sound.
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The students who preferred to present in a face-to-face classroom tried to compete with those who presented online. This competition resulted in very good oral presentations by first-time presenters; they spoke good English in loud and clear voices and maintained good eye contact that reflected knowledge and confidence. They used professional expressions such as “I’m sorry I don’t know the answer” and “I’m sorry I didn’t research this point but I promise to further research it and bring you the answer as soon as I can.” This was beyond my expectations.
This web-based project, which used several synchronous and asynchronous online writing tools, integrating the webcasting technology of Alado.net/Webheads, was effective and resulted in a positive, desirable outcome for both the students and the instructor. It motivated students to look for new ways to improve their English, which means they are taking the first step toward independent learning, an essential approach toward learning in the 21st century.
Note: This student Web project was presented in the Internet Fair at the TESOL Convention 2004, Long Beach, CA, USA; visit http://www.ilc.cuhk.edu.hk/english/tesol/2004/wed.html
Project URLs
- Students’ Final Project, Portal Page: http://alothman-b.tripod.com/wia_162finalproj.htm
- Live Sessions Schedule of Students’ Online Presentations: http://alothman-b.tripod.com/present_162.htm
- Photo Album of EfS162 Students and Class Instructor: ttp://alothman-b.tripod.com/index4.htm
- Students’ feedback on the new learning experience and using ICTs to search, read, write, and present online: http://alothman-b.tripod.com/162_stdtsfeedback.htm
- Webhead teachers’ feedback on the learning and teaching experience: http://alothman-b.tripod.com/162finalpro_wia_feedback.htm
Buthaina Al-Othman teaches EFL and ESP in the Faculty of Science at Kuwait University. She has been using a blended teaching and learning approach in her ESP/English for science and EFL remedial classes since she started her teaching career in 2001. She completed her master’s degree in TESOL at the State University of New York, Albany, New York, in 2000. She has been an executive board representative of TESOL’s ESP IS since 2004 and a Webhead in actionsince the CoP was founded by Vance Stevens in 2002.
