Teaching cohesion in written EAP discourse through blended learning

1. Teaching cohesion in written EAP discourse through blended learning A. Kinga Maior Glasgow International College, Kaplan EAP Conference, University of St. Andrews 25th February, 2017.

2. Importance of cohesion in academic writing • A large-scale study of 5,000 undergraduates from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Evans and Green, 2007) indicates that cohesion is a central issue encountered in academic writing • Certain problems were identified with the use of cohesion (specifically reference and lexical devices) by Liu and Braine (2005) among Chinese undergraduates Reference was deemed to be suitable for trialling the blended learning (BL) approach to teach academic writing cohesion – due to its relative simplicity

3. Blended (or hybrid) learning • … is currently a “buzz” word in language teaching (Kerres and DeWitt, 2003; Sharma, 2010) • In education, there are 3 definitions for it: • A combination of face-to-face/classroom and online teaching => the classic definition • A combination of media and tools (e.g. textbooks) used in e-learning • A combination of methodologies (different pedagogic approaches, e.g. PPP, TBL) and online learning technologies (Klímová, 2014) => Above all: an “integration” of f2f and online learning experiences, which enhances collaborative learning, mainly thanks to the interactive capabilities of Internet communication technology (Garrison and Kanuka, 2004:97-99)

4. Findings from studies on blended learning used in EAP

5. 2 online platforms: Padlet and Socrative • Free programmes that Ts and Ss can access for online learning purposes • Padlet is essentially a virtual wall where Ts and Ss can upload and share their documents/files • Socrative is an online quiz maker/testing tool

7. Socrative

9. Application of Padlet and Socrative to teaching cohesion (reference) in academic writing • Example lesson with exercises (a springboard) • Based on my current courses, the following were taken into consideration: • Class sizes are b/w 18-20 • Mainly monolingual (Chinese) classes • Accustomed to a more T-centred, deductive approach • IELTS level b/w 5.5- 6.0 • The PPP (present/practice/produce) approach was chosen

10. Teaching reference in written EAP discourse I.: Padlet Warm-up: what is the problem with this paragraph? (individual answers on Padlet) Leonardo da Vinci was a 15th century Italian genius who produced only a handful of finished works. However, the finished works include the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, the Last Supper perhaps the most famous painting in the world. Although da Vinci is remembered mainly as an artist, da Vinci was an innovative engineer, scientist and anatomist. Answer: too much repetition (da Vinci, the finished works, the Mona Lisa) Elicit from students: what could be done to avoid the repetition? (anonymous answers on Padlet) Upload the corrected version of the paragraph to Padlet – Ss can read it => continue to II. (explanation of the answers) Adapted from: Bailey (2011:115)

11. Teaching reference in written EAP discourse I. contd.: Padlet Correct version of the paragraph: Leonardo da Vinci was a 15th century Italian genius who produced only a handful of finished works. However, they include the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, the former perhaps the most famous painting in the world. Although he is remembered mainly as an artist, he also was an innovative engineer, scientist and anatomist. Adapted from: Bailey (2011:115)

12. Teaching reference in written EAP discourse II.-III.: Padlet II. Explain what “reference” is by presenting it on Padlet, can categorise it into anaphoric and cataphoric (T’s choice) and provide examples in the same document – Ss follow on laptop (e.g. they / he / the former = anaphoric references only) III. Practice: upload a document with a gap-fill (or a matching exercise), to which the students write their own answers on Padlet – p/w; w/c check and T uploads answers Adapted from: Bailey (2011:117)

13. Teaching reference in written EAP discourse IV.a&b: Padlet IV.a. Preparation for production phase: upload a paragraph where students have to replace the words in bold with reference words – p/w; w/c check and T uploads answers Velcro is a fabric fastener used with clothes and shoes. Velcro was invented by a Swiss engineer called George de Mestral. Mestral’s idea was derived from studying the tiny hooks found on some plant seeds. The tiny hooks cling to animals and help disperse the seeds. Mestral spent eight years perfecting Mestral’sinvention, which Mestralcalled ‘Velcro’ from the French words ‘velour’ and ‘crochet’. The invention was patented in 1955 and today over 60 million metres of Velcro are sold annually. IV.b. Production phase: based on the previous paragraph and new information uploaded on Padlet, students write their own paragraph, applying reference as often as they deem it necessary; can be finished as homework – feedback from T. written on Padlet after class Adapted from: Bailey (2011:118)

14. Teaching reference in written EAP discourse V.: Socrative V. Informal testing of students’ newfound knowledge through a brief quiz, anonymous results shared and discussed at the end – answers saved and sent to Ss. by email after class On your phone (or laptop), please go to Socrative.com => Student login => Room FABPXWV85 => use an alias today (@ the end, your name will appear in the results!)

15. Please come to https://padlet.com/kinga_maior/EAPConferenceto leave your questions  - I will answer them now and they will be available after the Conference

16. References Bailey, S. 2011. Academic Writing – A Handbook for International Students. London: Routledge. Evans, S. and Green, C. 2007. Why EAP is necessary: A survey of Hong Kong tertiary students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6, pp. 3-17. Garrison, D.R. and Kanuka, H. 2004. Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. Internet and Higher Education, 7, pp. 95-105. Gildin, A. and Sorlovich, N. 2014. Teaching EAP in a Blended Environment: The MOODLE Experience. In: Deng, X. and Seow, R., eds. 4th CELC Symposium for English Language Teachers. Singapore: NUS, pp. 76-82. Kerres, M. and DeWitt, C. 2003. A Didactical Framework for the Design of Blended Learning Arrangements. Journal of Educational Media, 28(2-3), pp. 101-113. Klímová, B.F. 2014. Blended Learning. In: S. Pokrivčákováet al., eds. 2014. CALL and Foreign Language Education: e-textbook for foreign language teachers. Nitra: UKF. Ch.5. Liu, M. and Braine, G. 2005. Cohesive features in argumentative writing produced by Chinese undergraduates. System, 33, pp. 623-636. Prensky, M. 2001. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), pp. 1-6. Sharma, P. 2010. Key Concepts in ELT – Blended learning. ELT Journal, 64(4), pp. 456-458. Tomlinson, B. and Whittaker, C. eds., 2013. Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation. London: British Council. Part 1. English for Academic Purposes.