TY - GEN
T1 - English curriculum innovation for computer science majors in the Japanese EFL context
T2 - 2018 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference, ProComm 2018
AU - Kaneko, Emiko
AU - Park, Moonyoung
AU - Wilson, Ian
AU - Heo, Younghyon
AU - Roy, Debopriyo
AU - Yasuta, Takako
AU - Nicholas, Allan
AU - Blake, John
PY - 2018/9/28
Y1 - 2018/9/28
N2 - Task-based language teaching has been claimed to be an effective way to promote second language acquisition. This paper reports on the process of developing a task-based English-as-a-Foreign-Language curriculum in a Japanese computer science university. 38 tasks, which language education experts perceived as important, were re-evaluated by computer science experts via an online needs analysis survey with the goal of selecting target tasks for first-A nd second-year English courses. The results indicate that there are both similarities and discrepancies in the perception of task importance between English and computer science faculty members. A qualitative analysis of comments from computer science professors illuminates the logic behind their judgements about the needs of teaching particular tasks. The cooperation between language and content experts is indispensable in the development of the curriculum of English for science and technology; it allows for synthesis of a variety of viewpoints and development of a stronger English curriculum.
AB - Task-based language teaching has been claimed to be an effective way to promote second language acquisition. This paper reports on the process of developing a task-based English-as-a-Foreign-Language curriculum in a Japanese computer science university. 38 tasks, which language education experts perceived as important, were re-evaluated by computer science experts via an online needs analysis survey with the goal of selecting target tasks for first-A nd second-year English courses. The results indicate that there are both similarities and discrepancies in the perception of task importance between English and computer science faculty members. A qualitative analysis of comments from computer science professors illuminates the logic behind their judgements about the needs of teaching particular tasks. The cooperation between language and content experts is indispensable in the development of the curriculum of English for science and technology; it allows for synthesis of a variety of viewpoints and development of a stronger English curriculum.
KW - EFL needs analysis
KW - English as a medium of instruction
KW - English curriculum innovation
KW - Task-based language teaching
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055791936&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8476835
U2 - 10.1109/ProComm.2018.00028
DO - 10.1109/ProComm.2018.00028
M3 - Conference publication
AN - SCOPUS:85055791936
VL - 2018-July
T3 - 2018 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm)
SP - 84
EP - 89
BT - Proceedings - 2018 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference, ProComm 2018
PB - IEEE
Y2 - 22 July 2018 through 25 July 2018
ER -