Page 65 - LanGuide Project: Research and Professional Insights
P. 65
Mobile Learning of Language for Specific Purposes: From Course Design to User Testing
eign language, to be used for communicative professional and academic
contexts (Paltridge & Starfield, 2013; Widodo, 2016). The English language
module of the LanGuide mobile application for language learning (or m-
learning) covers four broad topical areas of e s p (Slavuj et al., 2021), as
mentioned in the previous section. In this section, we focus specifically
on the description of the approach taken in designing the e ap and ei tp
parts of the application, including the development of the language syl-
labus based on learner needs.
English for Academic Purposes and English for i t Purposes
English for Academic Purposes and English for i t can be considered sep-
arate, special genres of the English language and examples of English for
Specific Purposes (e s p). As such, they entail that the specific needs and
requirements of learners are reflected in the content to be taught (Gillet,
1989). They aim to develop a set of linguistic or other skills that a person
needs to function independently in an English-speaking academic environ-
ment (de Chazal, 2014), whether for study or work, usually in the context
of higher education (Gillet, 2011), while the latter enables the same within
the i t community. Although the focus is often only on academic writing,
a full e ap course should cover all four language skills (listening, reading,
speaking, and writing), as they are all used in a typical interaction in an
academic context. The same is true for e i t p, where i t professionals and
users communicate orally and in writing, usually within the confines of a
particular genre that is evident in the text-types employed. In addition,
the vocabularies of e a p and e i t p differ significantly from what is com-
monly referred to as ‘everyday English,’ so special attention must be paid
to vocabulary found in these contexts as well.
Developing an e sp Course as Part of the LanGuide Mobile
Application
The process of developing any e sp course, including the one offered by the
LanGuide mobile application, should be a systematic endeavour. In design-
ing the e ap and ei tp courses for the LanGuide language learning tool, we
have taken the following steps based primarily on the work of Bell (1981),
later adopted and adapted by many researchers (e.g., Frydrichova Klimova,
2015): (1) analysis of learner needs → (2) definition of course objectives →
(3) syllabus design → (4) development of course materials → (5) evaluation
of course materials → (6) implementation of materials into the tool → (7)
course delivery → (8) post-use evaluation.
The stages of the development process were executed as shown above, in
65
eign language, to be used for communicative professional and academic
contexts (Paltridge & Starfield, 2013; Widodo, 2016). The English language
module of the LanGuide mobile application for language learning (or m-
learning) covers four broad topical areas of e s p (Slavuj et al., 2021), as
mentioned in the previous section. In this section, we focus specifically
on the description of the approach taken in designing the e ap and ei tp
parts of the application, including the development of the language syl-
labus based on learner needs.
English for Academic Purposes and English for i t Purposes
English for Academic Purposes and English for i t can be considered sep-
arate, special genres of the English language and examples of English for
Specific Purposes (e s p). As such, they entail that the specific needs and
requirements of learners are reflected in the content to be taught (Gillet,
1989). They aim to develop a set of linguistic or other skills that a person
needs to function independently in an English-speaking academic environ-
ment (de Chazal, 2014), whether for study or work, usually in the context
of higher education (Gillet, 2011), while the latter enables the same within
the i t community. Although the focus is often only on academic writing,
a full e ap course should cover all four language skills (listening, reading,
speaking, and writing), as they are all used in a typical interaction in an
academic context. The same is true for e i t p, where i t professionals and
users communicate orally and in writing, usually within the confines of a
particular genre that is evident in the text-types employed. In addition,
the vocabularies of e a p and e i t p differ significantly from what is com-
monly referred to as ‘everyday English,’ so special attention must be paid
to vocabulary found in these contexts as well.
Developing an e sp Course as Part of the LanGuide Mobile
Application
The process of developing any e sp course, including the one offered by the
LanGuide mobile application, should be a systematic endeavour. In design-
ing the e ap and ei tp courses for the LanGuide language learning tool, we
have taken the following steps based primarily on the work of Bell (1981),
later adopted and adapted by many researchers (e.g., Frydrichova Klimova,
2015): (1) analysis of learner needs → (2) definition of course objectives →
(3) syllabus design → (4) development of course materials → (5) evaluation
of course materials → (6) implementation of materials into the tool → (7)
course delivery → (8) post-use evaluation.
The stages of the development process were executed as shown above, in
65
