Interdisciplinary Terminology Framework for Teaching and Research in Learning Factories

Abstract

New technologies and ever-shifting demands on educational institutions call for innovative and interdisciplinary methods of language and content instruction. The aim of the paper is to present an interdisciplinary terminology framework and its practical implementation for teaching and research in the learning factory Smart Production Lab at the Institute of Industrial Management of FH Joanneum. In developing the proposed framework, the methodology was in alignment with content-based language instruction approaches, that have become good-practice in technical faculties around the world. In the first phase, posters and labels of technical content (components, processes, properties) were translated from German into English and used as a basis for assignments, role-play exercises and exam questions in both subjects. However, as this material was essentially analogue and not readily available, the institute needed a more extensive resource for both students and lecturers to draw upon for teaching purposes, projects, publications and student assignments. In the ensuing period, a Smart Production Lab has successfully entered operation, and hence, as an adjunct, a database of technical terminology, complete with pictures was collated by students as part of an internal research project. The goal was to make learning specialised English terminology in production technology and engineering more accessible for students, whilst also incorporating a new subject matter (i.e. Automation, 3D-printing) that is relevant to the work being conducted in the lab. The compiled data was transferred to a MySQL database, comprising over 1,000 entries. The database has a web-interface hosted on a free server, so that it can be accessed easily and also externally by students, researchers and teaching staff. The tool has the potential to grow into a large knowledge database over the coming