Abstract
Abstract This paper analyses the learning process of students of a Master’s course in Cooperation and Development (C&D) who attend classes in English for Academic Writing at the University of Calabria, and their awareness of competences achieved. The language objectives are to expand students’ knowledge of the main elements of spoken and written discourse in English in academic contexts with focus on specialized language in the fields of C&D. The study evaluates the ability of students to improve their competences and assess their language development using the self-assessment grid of academic language competences included in the European Language Portfolio created at the Università della Calabria, Italy. Specifically, this version of the ELP focuses on academic language and contains descriptors aimed at evaluating learners’ language competences in academic contexts. A group of 25 students participated in this didactic experience, in the second semester of the academic year 2018. Students’ oral production, interaction and academic writing skills were monitored. For the written examination students were required to write a Research Proposal (RP) showing competence in text cohesion and content coherence, appropriate use of terminology and accurate use of language structures. Following on from the acceptance of the RP, students delivered an oral presentation on the topic presented, showing ability in answering questions and expressing opinions on issues presented by other students. The concepts of autonomous learning are crucial in order to monitor students’ improvement and commitment. A contrastive analysis of data from students’ first self-assessment to the final evaluation of competences achieved by the end of the academic year was conducted.
Highlights
This paper focuses on specific key concepts related to teaching experiences carried out at the University of Calabria
The European Language Portfolio (ELP) was the tool they used as a benchmark; video recordings helped them to gain self-confidence and monitor their learning process; critical thinking and feedback on language progress enabled them to focus on their learning process and overall experience
This paper has described a university class experience based on a teaching approach which gives a fundamental role to students’ learning process and has involved them in activities aimed at both raising their awareness of the variables existing in the CEFR competence levels as well as encouraging self-assessment, autonomous learning and cooperation in class
Summary
It highlights: (a) the importance of raising learners’ and teachers’ awareness and understanding of the language descriptors outlined in the Common European Framework of Reference (Council of Europe, CEFR 2001); (b) the benefits of students’ autonomous learning and capacity for self-assessment in language development; (c) the importance of cooperation among students both in the didactic and social approaches used. Cooperative learning (Gumperz 1982; Hornberger and McKay 2010; Loveday 1982) is a teaching and learning approach where students are active agents in their learning process This approach is likely to increase students’ academic learning as well as personal growth because it reduces learning anxiety, encourages students’ participation and talk in the target language, and builds a supportive learning environment. The following section will describe learning activities carried out with a group of Cooperation and Development students who were offered the opportunity to experience teaching actions which integrated the three pedagogical concepts briefly discussed above
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