This case study reports on an Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange (E+VE) course at the University of Bordeaux. VE enables students to develop communication skills in an English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) environment (Helm, 2016; Kohn & Hoffstaedter, 2017). The present study reports on student language and content learning experiences through E+VE, where L2 users of English interacted with a more culturally diverse group of peers than they would likely meet in their local area. Our students’ perspectives echo the E+VE impact report (Helm & Van Der Velden, 2019) and place a particular emphasis on English language learning outcomes.
T his chapter reports on the design, implementation and evaluation of an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course for dental students at the University of Bordeaux. We give an overview of the 'English for Dental Studies' courses taught from second year through to fifth year before focussing on the fifth year course in which the students' task is to present a case treated on clinical attachment. By following the schema of Cheng's (2011) 'basic considerations', we will briefly describe the process from needs analysis and identification of learning objectives, to designing materials, learning tasks, and assessment criteria, with a focus on methodologies. Feedback from students via questionnaires is analysed in order to compare their perceived needs and expectations pre-course with their impressions after the course. Finally, we explore the gains that can be made by both ESP specialists and disciplinary teachers in the context of internationalisation in the French higher education system.
In this report about an EAP programme for undergraduate Human Sciences students at the University of Bordeaux, Laüra Hoskins offers a valuable insight into the issues at stake when designing, implementing and evaluating a blended-learning programme. The author presents the blended format as a possible solution to some of the problems mentioned in previous studies in ESP contexts, particularly in Human Sciences: institutional constraints, large numbers of students, heterogeneous levels of proficiency, low engagement, diverse needs and learning strategies. The programme combines form-focussed, topics-based online activities on a Moodle platform and face-to-face sessions. Regular speaking workshops and in-class sessions offer opportunities for language practice and group work based on the online video and text input. To take individual profiles into account, students take an initial placement test and are assigned to one of three CEF-based tracks (A1; A2-B1; B2-C1). An interesting aspect of the programme is its "learning-to-learn" approach: students are required to reflect on their learning and progress by writing a learning diary. Another strong element of the programme is the learning support provided through regular collective feedback on diaries, weekly newsletters and drop-in meetings with the course coordinator. Although the efficiency of the course in terms of language acquisition and student engagement remains to be assessed, an evaluation of students' use of the online resources and satisfaction about the programme was carried out. The results are clearly in agreement with previous studies, as they confirm some key points to consider when designing a blended-learning programme: students' engagement in online activities depends on their level of proficiency; faceto-face sessions are highly valued both by students and teachers; and students' engagement is linked to teachers' attitudes towards the necessary collaborative work blended-learning programmes entail.
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