“Another brick in the WALL”:

1. International Conference ICT for Language Learning, 3rdedition Florence, November 11-12, 2010 “Another brick in the WALL”: Wiki-Assisted Language Learning in ESP University Courses Christina Yerou Stavroulla Hadjiconstantinou CYPRUS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

2. Purpose Describe the theoretical considerations that led to the integration of Wikis in ESAP (English for Specific Academic Purposes) courses at university level as well as the benefits and challenges derived from this through examples of their use and students’ reflections.

3. Presentation Outline • English for Specific Academic Purposes • ICT component in ESAP • The Study • Wikis in ESAP • Integrating Wikis in ESAP university courses • Overview of the ENG191 wiki • Overview of the ENG220 wiki • Benefits and Challenges • Students’ Reflections

4. Theoretical Background: ESAP English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) ↓ ↓ English for Academic English for Specific Purposes (EAP) Purposes (ESP) = designed to meet the academic and professional needs of the students of the various disciplines

5. ICT component Some of the most important benefits attributed to the computer in language learning: • Collaboration • Autonomous Learning • Integration of the four skills • Access to authentic material • Immediate feedback • Interaction with the instructor and with other learners • Learner/ instructor satisfaction

6. ICT tools incorporated in the courses • Word Processing tools • Presentation Tools • The Internet • E-mail • You tube videos • Online Dictionaries

7. ICT Incorporation …proved to be a source of great satisfaction and motivation for both: • learners - comfortable with using new technologies • teachers - increasingly savvier in new technologies

8. The Study - the aim In Spring 2010 research* was carried out by the LC to evaluate and improve the ESAP courses offered. * ESAP Curriculum Evaluation Project 2010 Aspects under consideration: • Course Content (relevance to discipline) • Material used (authentic and relevant) • Pedagogical approaches used • Development of all four skills • Integration of ICT component

9. The Study – the context Method: questionnaire Sample: 304 first-year students from all 10 different departments of the university

10. The Results (1)Table 1. Areas in which the English Language is most needed

11. The Results (2)Table 2. Evaluation of ICT skills before and after the course

12. The Study : Discussion of the data The data gathered showed that the ICT component already incorporated into the courses : • …enabled students to considerably improve their ICT skills • …is considered extremely useful by the students

13. The Study : Implications for improvement ICT component a big asset that could be further exploited a new tool that would allow for multiple applications of technology in the learning environment should be adopted

14. What tool? In search of a tool that would encourage students to become co-creators of course content An ESP teacher is no longer a “primary knower” of the carrier content of the material and has to draw on students’ knowledge of the subject matter (Dudley-Evans and St John,1998) No textbook in most ESAP courses @ CUT

15. Wikis in ESAP • Wikis: • belong to the new wave of Web 2.0 components • are often used to support online teaching and learning activities • can replace the traditional linear approach of presenting the course content with a more appropriate networked approach • Wiki is a collaborative website whose content can be edited by visitors to the site, allowing users to easily create and edit webpages collaboratively. (Chao, 2007) • Literature on the Use of Wikis in ESP at university levelKovacic, Bubas and Zlatovic (2007; 2008)

16. Integrating Wikis in ESAP University Courses • The ENG 191 wiki http://eng191coursewiki.wikispaces.com • The ENG 220 wiki http://eng220coursewiki.wikispaces.com Uses:

17. Benefits for teachers and students • Benefits for the teacher: • easy-to-use technology • ease of editing • focus • access • inspiration • expansion • ‘history’ feature • Benefits for students: • new class identity • sense of belonging to a virtual community • peer interactivity/ peer correction • new modes of submission

18. Challenges for teachers and students • Challenges for the teacher: • prevention of vandalism • inability to make content visible only to enrolled students • organisation / housekeeping • constant monitoring • Challenges for students: • familiarity with computers • posting pressure and timing time-consuming

19. Students’ Reflections • Sense of achievement - I didn’t believe that someday I could do something like this - I am excitingly proud of my creation - I was very impressed of what we did - I am the producer of this wikipage - I feel really proud of my work • Sense of belonging - I feel I belong to an online community - Now I feel part of the group; I feel part of a small society and a familiar environment. - I know how nice it is to belong to a group where you can do and learn many interesting things

20. A wiki not only takes the classroom “into the real world that the students inhabit”, but most importantly… “brings their real world into their classroom”. (Harding, 2007, p.8)

21. References Allen, R. (1998) ‘The Web: interactive and multimedia education’, Computer Networks and ISDN Systems, 30, 1717-1727. Beatty, K. & Nunan, D. (2004) ‘Computer-Mediated Collaborative Learning’, System, 32, 165-83. Bruns, A. & Humphreys, S. (2005). ‘Wikis in Teaching and Assessment: the M/Cyclpedia Project’. In: Proceedings of the 2005 International Symposium on Wikis. San Diego, CA: 25-32. Burke, L.A. & Moore, J.E. (2003). ‘A Perennial Dilemma in OB Education: Engaging the Traditional Student’. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2 (1), 37-53 Chan, C. S. C. (2009). Forging a link between research and pedagogy: a holistic framework for evaluating business English materials. English for Specific Purposes,doi:10.1016/j.esp.2008.12.001. Dudley-Evans, T. (1998). An Overview of ESP in the 1990s. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/17/06/e2.pdf (accessed: 08.08.2010) Dudley-Evans, T. & St John, M. (1998). Developments in ESP: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Elrufaie. E. & Turner, D.A. (2005). ‘A Wiki Paradigm for use in IT courses’. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Technology: Coding and Computing – ITCC’05. Las Vegas, NV: IEEE Computer Society: 770-771. Kovacic, A., Bubas, G., & Zlatovic, M. (2007). ‘Evaluation of Activities with a Wiki System in Teaching English as a Second Language’. International Conference ICT for Language Learning Proceedings 1st edition, Florence, Italy. Kovacic, A., Bubas, G., & Zlatovic, M. (2008). ‘E-tivities with a wiki: Innovative Teaching of English as a Foreign Language’. VISION IT - Visions for use of IT in higher education, 14th Congress of the European University Information Systems Organisation, EUNIS 2008 Parker, K.R, & Chao, H.T. (2007)/ ‘Wiki as a Teaching Tool’. In: Koohang, A. (ed.) Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects 3, 57-72. Quarshie-Smith, B. (2004). ‘Teaching with Technologies: A Reflexive Auto-Ethnographic Portrait’. Computers and Composition, 21 (1), 49-62. Raman, M., Ryan, T., & Olfman, L. (2005). ‘Designing Knowledge Management Systems for Teaching and Learning with Wiki Technology. Journal of Information Systems Education, 16 (3), 311-320. Smart, K. L. & Cappel, J. J. (2006). ‘Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning: A Comparative Study’. Journal of Information Technology Education, 5, 201–219. Yunus, M. (2007). ‘Malaysian ESP Teachers’ Use of ICT in their Classrooms: Expectations and Realities’. ReCALL, 19 (1):79-95