Page 64 - LanGuide Project: Research and Professional Insights
P. 64
ia Načinović Prskalo, Vanja Slavuj, and Marija Brkić Bakarić
tion was tested and evaluated through an extensive questionnaire, by users
who tested the application. As a result of this project, a freely accessible
language learning application was created, which, in addition to English,
includes the languages of the participating institutions – namely Croatian,
Slovenian, Spanish, and Romanian – with the addition of Italian.
The LanGuide tool provides language exercises at three levels – basic, in-
termediate, and advanced. For each level there are language exercises or
tasks created for productive language skills (speaking and writing), tasks
for receptive language skills (listening and reading), grammar exercises,
and vocabulary exercises. There are three categories of target users (or
learning personas) considered by the tool – university students, univer-
sity teachers, and administrative staff. For each category of users, the tool
provides exercises that correspond to their proficiency level and the se-
lected language skill. The tool does not focus on language learning in gen-
eral, but on specific areas, which include language for Academic Purposes,
language for Administration or Secretarial Purposes, language for Mobil-
ity Purposes, and language for i t Purposes. In this chapter, the authors
focus on the process of creating the language for specific purposes (l s p)
course related to English in English for Academic Purposes (e ap) and En-
glish for i t Purposes (e i t p), as they have been responsible for most of
the exercises that have been created in these two areas – namely e ap at all
three levels, and ei tp at the intermediate and advanced levels.
In addition to describing the approach to course development in the sec-
ond section of this chapter, the third section also describes the procedures
for creating exercises and entering exercises into the Content Management
System. The fourth section describes how the application was tested and
analyses responses to the extensive questionnaires that users completed
after testing was performed. Again, only the results related to the areas
for which the authors of this chapter were responsible – e ap and ei tp –
are processed. Final conclusions are given in the fifth section.
The LanGuide Approach to English for Specific Purposes
English for specific purposes (e sp) is an umbrella term used to cover var-
ious aspects of teaching and learning English, either as a second or a for-
the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Castilla-La Mancha
(u cl m) in Spain, the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics (de lta) at the
Faculty of Letters at the Transilvania University of Braşov (u tdb) in Romania, and two
Croatian institutions – the Department of Anglistics at the University of Zadar (u n i zd)
and the Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies (f i di t) at the University of Rijeka
(u n i ri) in Croatia.
64
tion was tested and evaluated through an extensive questionnaire, by users
who tested the application. As a result of this project, a freely accessible
language learning application was created, which, in addition to English,
includes the languages of the participating institutions – namely Croatian,
Slovenian, Spanish, and Romanian – with the addition of Italian.
The LanGuide tool provides language exercises at three levels – basic, in-
termediate, and advanced. For each level there are language exercises or
tasks created for productive language skills (speaking and writing), tasks
for receptive language skills (listening and reading), grammar exercises,
and vocabulary exercises. There are three categories of target users (or
learning personas) considered by the tool – university students, univer-
sity teachers, and administrative staff. For each category of users, the tool
provides exercises that correspond to their proficiency level and the se-
lected language skill. The tool does not focus on language learning in gen-
eral, but on specific areas, which include language for Academic Purposes,
language for Administration or Secretarial Purposes, language for Mobil-
ity Purposes, and language for i t Purposes. In this chapter, the authors
focus on the process of creating the language for specific purposes (l s p)
course related to English in English for Academic Purposes (e ap) and En-
glish for i t Purposes (e i t p), as they have been responsible for most of
the exercises that have been created in these two areas – namely e ap at all
three levels, and ei tp at the intermediate and advanced levels.
In addition to describing the approach to course development in the sec-
ond section of this chapter, the third section also describes the procedures
for creating exercises and entering exercises into the Content Management
System. The fourth section describes how the application was tested and
analyses responses to the extensive questionnaires that users completed
after testing was performed. Again, only the results related to the areas
for which the authors of this chapter were responsible – e ap and ei tp –
are processed. Final conclusions are given in the fifth section.
The LanGuide Approach to English for Specific Purposes
English for specific purposes (e sp) is an umbrella term used to cover var-
ious aspects of teaching and learning English, either as a second or a for-
the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Castilla-La Mancha
(u cl m) in Spain, the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics (de lta) at the
Faculty of Letters at the Transilvania University of Braşov (u tdb) in Romania, and two
Croatian institutions – the Department of Anglistics at the University of Zadar (u n i zd)
and the Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies (f i di t) at the University of Rijeka
(u n i ri) in Croatia.
64
