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Language Learning in Higher Education

Journal of the European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education (CercleS)

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An intensive presentations course in English for aeronautical engineering students using cyclic video recordings

Dietmar Tatzl
Published Online: 2017-10-07 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2017-0011

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Abstract

This article presents the design and evaluation of an intensive presentations course for aeronautical engineering students based on cyclic video recordings. The target group of this course in English for specific purposes (ESP) were undergraduate final-year students who needed to improve their presentation and foreign language skills to prepare for graduation and the workplace or further studies. This evaluative practitioner case study employed a mixed-methods design relying on a tailored paper questionnaire survey, teacher-assessed final presentations and teacher observation in class. Respondents were asked to rate course-related statements on language learning and presentation skills development on a 5-point Likert scale. With two student year groups in consecutive years, attendance at and engagement in the course were high, and student evaluations (N=41) suggested that the course had met its targets. Both the questionnaire ratings and the free verbal survey feedback were overwhelmingly positive and accorded with teacher-assessed student performance in the final presentations. The interactive, practice-oriented and video-backed design features, therefore, enabled students to develop their language as well as presentation skills through aviation-related contents. Even though the setting presented involves aeronautical engineering students, instructors in similar Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and other academic contexts will be able to adapt the concept behind this course to their own specific teaching situations.

Keywords: content; language; aeronautics; engineering; English; video; presentation; multimodality

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About the article

Dietmar Tatzl

Dietmar Tatzl is a faculty member of the Institute of Aviation, where he has taught English language courses to aeronautical engineering students for 15 years. He received his doctorate in English Studies from the University of Graz, Austria. His research interests include English for specific purposes, English for science and technology, engineering education and technical communication.

Published Online: 2017-10-07

Published in Print: 2017-10-26

Citation Information: Language Learning in Higher Education, Volume 7, Issue 2, Pages 275–309, ISSN (Online) 2191-6128, ISSN (Print) 2191-611X, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2017-0011.

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