Markéta Dudová & Jana Kubrická
Masaryk University Language Centre, Brno, CZ
Vocabulary acquisition is a prominent part of ESP. It is very important for learners to build a large body of terms that are specific to and frequent in their fields of study. It is due to the gradual development of this specialised vocabulary that ESP leaners can use English resources, such as scientific journals or websites, or be in contact with the international scientific community. Teaching and learning of specialized vocabulary in ESP courses, however, typically takes place in a separate domain from that of General English. As a result, students of ESP might not be fully aware of the potential their specialized vocabulary has and they tend to use it only within the narrow confines of their field. Therefore, we aim to introduce a vocabulary learning technique that integrates both ESP and General English and encourages learners to apply what they have learned in their disciplines to other domains of English in new, creative ways. We propose a set of corpora-based tasks designed to help students grasp figurative meanings of a word they have so far associated only with specific concepts from their disciplines. First, students explore authentic, contextualised examples in language corpora using sketch engine. Next, they analyse the semantic links between the literal/conventional and metaphorical meanings of selected terms and finally, they attempt to bring the new meanings of their vocabulary to life in an academic presentation. The overall goal of these tasks is to promote students' autonomy and creativity and to help them transcend the lexical and conceptual boundaries of their disciplines in speaking and writing. In this presentation we introduce the technique in the context of ESP course design, demonstrate the application of the method including examples and offer an analysis of students' work and feedback from a pilot run of the method at the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University.
Osvojování slovní zásoby představuje významnou část výuky angličtiny pro specifické účely. Odborná slovní zásoba se však zpravidla vyučuje v kontextech nesouvisejících s obecnou angličtinou a studenti si tak často nejsou vědomi potenciálního využití termínů, které ze svých odborných kurzů jazyků znají. V tomto příspěvku představujeme soubor aktivit, pomocí kterých se pokoušíme překlenout propast mezi světem odborné a obecné slovní zásoby. Tyto aktivity jsou založeny na práci s jazykovými korpusy a jejich cílem je pomoci studentům rozklíčovat přenesené významy odborných termínů, které si běžně spojují jen s jazykem vědy. Studenti nejprve pomocí aplikace „Sketch Engine" prozkoumávají autentické příklady v jazykových korpusech. Dále analyzují sémantické vazby mezi konvenčními a přenesenými významy termínů, a nakonec se pokouší využít odbornou terminologii v metaforickém významu např. ve své prezentaci. Obecnějším cílem úkolů je podpořit autonomii a kreativitu studentů v cizím jazyce.
References:
- Chirobocea-Tudor, O. (2018). Vocabulary Acquisition in ESP. Perspectives, Strategies and Resources. Studii si Cercetari Filologice: Seria Limbi Straine Aplicate. 171-180.
- Friginal, E. (2018). Corpus Linguistics for English Teachers. New York: Routledge.
- Cameron, Lynne. (2002). Metaphors in the Learning of Science: A discourse focus. British Educational Research Journal. 28. 673-688.
- Del Pilar García Mayo, M. (1998). The Development of ESP: Language Description and Its Influence on Pedagogical Materials. Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos.5/6. 205-228.
Markéta Dudová studied English Language and Religious Studies at Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University. She has a PhD in Literatures in English. Her research interests include Romantic poetry, literary theories and diet studies. In methodology, she focuses on the use of literature in foreign language teaching. She is convinced that L2 learners' exposure to literary texts in language classes can help develop their creativity, critical thinking, empathy, as well as language skills. She currently teaches ESP courses at the Language Centre Unit at the Faculty of Science.
Jana Kubrická is a teacher and researcher at the Masaryk University Language Centre. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2015 in Educational Science from Masaryk University, Faculty of Education. Her research interests range from textbook research to specific issues related to teaching English for Specific Purposes, such as course design, learning autonomy or the use of language corpora. Recently, she has also taken a keen interest in Dogme method in EFL teaching and has been experimenting with it both in her ESP and General English classes.