Penny Ur H-INET 2019

1. Perspectives on the Transition to EPIC: Implications for classroom materials and teaching procedures Penny Ur H-INET 2019

2. This talk • EAP and English for Purposes of International Communication (EPIC) • Practical implications: Teaching of the four skills of English: materials and teaching procedures

3. A. EAP and EPIC

4. EAP: Recommendations of the International Committee • EAP courses to be credit-bearing • The concept of ‘exemption’ to be eliminated • Teachers to be academic faculty • Free-standing online courses to be discontinued • Amir/Amiram to be replaced by a multi-skill graded test based on CEFR levels • Focus on English for purposes of international communication (EPIC)

5. English for Purposes of International Communication • Needs of students in higher education: • for use in their undergraduate studies • for use in their future professions • for use in post-graduate research • All of which involve (increasing) internationalization

6. Students need to be able to: • Read texts relevant to their area of study; • Read and respond to written messages; • Understand oral input; • Discuss their area of study with colleagues and teachers; • ‘Network’ with other academics or professionals; • Make presentations; • Write papers, emails, proposals, compose powerpoint presentations.

7. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: TEACHING MATERIALS AND METHODS

8. 1. Reading comprehension Still the major focus

9. Materials Not limited to academic papers

10. Genres of written texts 1: Prose academic articles (relevant to subject?) explanations reports commentary critical reviews email correspondence instructions, directions encyclopedia entries

11. Genres of written texts 2: Information display infographics data display (graphs, flow-charts etc.) lists syllabuses itineraries bibliographies conference programs calls for papers glossaries of terminology

12. Genres of written texts 3: Short quotations proverbs short emails fables, anecdotes slogans clichés, popular sayings newspaper headings haiku street signs dictionary entries Maley, 1993

13. Teaching Procedures Two myths and three tips

14. Myth #1 Reading strategies should be taught from the earliest stages.

15. Reading strategies are… … helpful for proficient readers (B2). … useless for low-level readers (A1-B1) Even at high levels: reading strategies can help make reading more purposeful, but … … they are not a substitute for understanding the language of the text.

16. Myth #2 You don’t need to teach the vocabulary of the text because students can (and should?) look it up in a dictionary guess from context work out the meaning from word parts

17. Looking up in a dictionary … is often unreliable … takes a long time (even digital!)

18. Looking up in a dictionary in a test Doesn’t make a difference to scores… (Bensoussan, 1983) …and takes longer. (Nesi & Meara, 1991)

19. Guessing from context • Is likely to be wrong • (Nassaji, 2003) • Even if right, not worth the time investment • (Mondria, 2003)

20. Using morphological evidence Unreliable, can be misleading (Laufer, 1997)

21. Dictionary, inferencing, morphological awareness… … can help, but are not a substitute for your explanation/translation; … help most when the students already have a good vocabulary. The less they know, the less useful such strategies are.

22. Reading tip #1: Select academic reading texts with caution A lot of research papers are written in unnecessarily ‘opaque’, pompous language, using rare and difficult words where simple ones would do! (see George Orwell’s guidelines on the next slide) Choose texts which are written in clear prose style.

23. Orwell’s guidelines • Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. • Never use a long word where a short one will do. • If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. • Never use the passive where you can use the active. • Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. • Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous.

24. Reading tip 2: Don’t ask them to read aloud at first encounter When students sight-read, they focus on decoding. You want them to focus on understanding. They may not read very well: may mislead the listeners. Slow down the process of understanding. However: Reading aloud text that they are familiar with and have rehearsed – can enhance understanding.

25. First encounter with a text: mediation Pre-reading: Activating schema Key vocabulary First reading: Teacher reads, students follow (Amer, 1997) Silent reading: what did you understand?

26. Reading tip # 2: Comprehension questions: Approach with caution They may not check main gist. They may be boring. They may not check comprehension at all.

27. The text • The changksvozblungingfrewlynedeng the brudegan. Some changksvosunred, but the other changksvosunredder. They vos all polket and rather chiglop, so they did not mekle the spuler. A few were unstametick. • The comprehension questions • What were the changks doing? • How were they blunging? • Were they all unred? • Did they mekle the spuler? Why not? • Were any changksunstametick?

28. What can you do about this? • Use different wording • Ask students to answer about underlying meanings, not the actual text.

29. Example Mr Smith asked his wife for assistance, and she agreed. Bad question: Who did Mr Smith ask for assistance? Better questions: Who did Mr Smith get to help him? Was Mr Smith married?

30. Some ideas for alternative activities promoting comprehension and engagement Shortening Lengthening Changing Selection Transformation Criticism and personal response (Maley, 2011)

31. 2. Listening

32. Listening situations Listening to a lecture Attending a lesson or presentation Receiving explanations or instructions Being interviewed Watching a Youtube clip about my subject

33. Typically the speech is … Improvised, not read aloud from a written text Coming from a visible speaker Supported by surrounding visual clues Varied in accent

34. Typically the listener … Has a purpose in listening (other than just ‘understanding’) Has expectations Is responding as the speech is going on

35. So it doesn’t make sense to base listening exercises on… • … listening ‘blind’ to a recording of someone reading out a text; • …being told just to listen and understand; • …answering comprehension questions later.

36. Tip # 1: Teacher talk is good Your own speech is the major source of listening comprehension practice for students

37. Tip # 2: Invite guests Create opportunities for students to hear and interact with international guests (in English).

38. Tip # 3 If you use recordings: Use you-tube rather than podcasts

39. Tip # 4 Provide a purpose (pre-set task) e.g. Find out … X List as many … as you can What does the speaker think about …? What are the speakers arguing about?

40. 3. Writing Today for professional / academic purposes: as important as speaking

41. Text genres Prose: sequences of full paragraphs Information presentation: sequences of headings, phrases or short sentences Informal communication: Sequences of sentences, fragments, abbreviations, symbols papers abstracts / summaries critical responses bibliographies c.v.s / resumés notes and summaries ppt. slides data displays messaging informal email

42. At the earlier stages Distinction between informal and formal writing: ‘Production’ – normally formal ‘Interaction’ – normally informal To clarify: let’s compare the two productive skills of writing and speaking