Case meetings for teaching English for specific academic purposes in a tertiary aeronautical engineering programme

Abstract

This article presents an innovative adaptation of the case method to teaching English for specific academic purposes. Widespread in its traditional form in various content disciplines, the case method bears the potential for truly student-centred language instruction. The current application transforms learners from case analysts to case authors and directors, thus strengthening their personal proactive engagement with authentic industry experiences. In the academic years of 2012 and 2013, two student year groups (N = 45) delivered a total of 23 case meetings based on or remotely derived from real-life meetings they were faced with during their industrial internships in aeronautics. The author evaluated the case teaching scenarios through a questionnaire, students' case study records (CSRs) and in-class observations of the case meetings. In the questionnaire survey, students perceived a noticeable impact on their spoken interaction skills from the case meetings and subject-specific vocabulary learning from the preparation of the written CSRs. Students were able to transfer learning gains from their participation in case study meetings to their personal development of meeting skills and to improve their subject-specific communication skills. Authenticity and the workload involved in preparing the meetings were identified as controversial elements in this application of the case study method.