InterSedes, Revista electrónica de las sedes regionales de la Universidad de Costa Rica,
ISSN 2215-2458, Vol XXI, Número 43, Enero – Julio, 2020.
10.15517/isucr.v21i43.41979 | intersedes.ucr.ac.cr | intersedes@ucr.ac.cr
78
GEAR UP: DESIGNING AN ESP COURSE FOR MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING STUDENTS
DISEÑO DE UN CURSO ESP PARA ESTUDIANTES DE INGENIERÍA
MECÁNICA
Jose Fabián Elizondo González
1
Yannick Pilgrim
2
Andrea Sánchez Víquez
3
Recibido: 02.04.19 Aprobado: 30.04.20
DOI: 10.15517/isucr.v21i43.41979
Abstract
This article presents the design of the course Gear Up, an ESP course addressed to Mechanical
Engineering students at the University of Costa Rica. To gather the necessary data, a needs analysis
and a diagnostic test were conducted to determine the contents, macro-skills, and evaluated
activities to be included in the course. This article presents the findings of these two major initial
activities and the subsequent course design proposal to satisfy the needs, wants, and lacks of both
the students and stakeholders that participated in the process. Consequently, Gear Up was created
as a 16-week course in which the Task-Based Language Teaching approach would guide both the
content and performance-based, assessed activities throughout the course.
Keywords: English for Specific Purposes; needs analysis; course design; Task-Based Language
Teaching; performance assessment.
Resumen
Este artículo presenta el diseño del curso Gear Up, un curso de inglés para propósitos específicos
dirigido a estudiantes del Bachillerato y Licenciatura en Ingeniería Mecánica en la Universidad de
Costa Rica. Para recolectar los datos, se realizaron un análisis de necesidades y un examen de
diagnóstico, esto con el fin de determinar los contenidos, las macro destrezas y las actividades
evaluadas a incluir en el curso. Este artículo presenta los hallazgos de estas dos principales
actividades iniciales; así como la propuesta del diseño de curso para satisfacer las necesidades de
los estudiantes y los depositarios que participaron en el proceso. De esta forma, Gear Up se crea
como un curso de dieciséis semanas en el cual el enfoque basado en tareas sería la guía tanto para
¹ Docente de Inglés, Escuela de Lenguas Modernas, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica.
Email: josefabianelizondo@gmail.com
² Máster en la Enseñanza del Inglés como Lengua Extranjera de la Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Docente de Inglés, Kamuk School, Tibás, San José, Costa Rica. Email: yanloupilg@gmail.com
³ Docente de inglés del Programa Cursos de Conversación e Inglés por Áreas, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro,
San José, Costa Rica. Email: andreasanchezcr@gmail.com
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los contenidos del curso como para las actividades evaluadas en él, siguiendo los parámetros de la
evaluación basada en el rendimiento.
Palabras clave: Inglés para fines específicos; análisis de necesidades; diseño de cursos; enfoque
basado en tareas; evaluación basada en el rendimiento.
Abstract
In the last few decades, the non-stop technological innovations have sped up life's pace in general.
Language teaching has changed as well, and the field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has
met the need of providing particular populations with customized language courses that are
designed to meet their needs, wants, and lacks, no matter how innovative or challenging these new
fields might be. The Master’s in Teaching English as a Foreign Language program at the
University of Costa Rica (UCR) establishes as a requisite for graduation the creation,
implementation, and evaluation of an ESP course during the second year of the program. The
objective behind this is two-fold. On the one hand, it gives student-teachers in training the
opportunity to conduct a needs analysis study to later design a course specifically suited for the
needs of a specific student population, using the Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach.
On the other hand, UCR students are given the chance of taking an English course that focuses on
their immediate or delayed needs, which can be regarded as a very attractive feature, especially for
young adults who have limited time to learn a second language. The population for this course
design will be Mechanical Engineering students from Bachelor’s and Licentiate degree from the
University of Costa Rica.
In this document, we present two major sections. The first one deals with the needs analysis
conducted at the beginning of the process. This initial section describes specific features of the ESP
population, the students’ English proficiency levels, as well as an analysis of their needs, wants,
and lacks. The second section develops the rationale behind the course syllabus designed. More
specifically, it details the course description, the goals to be achieved, and the methodology and
assessment criteria to be used.
Literature Review
Task-based language teaching
Task-Based Language Teaching, or TBLT, promotes an approach to teaching that focuses
on the processes required for students to achieve one specific outcome, rather than focusing on the
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mastery of grammar structures or pronunciation features. As explained by Skehan (1998), “in TBI
[Task-Based Instruction], meaning is primary… the assessment of the task is in terms of outcome”
and task-based instruction is not “concerned with language display” (p. 88). Due to the nature of
this approach, curricula will be designed with a heavy emphasis on the completion of tasks. This
does not mean that grammar and pronunciation are not important elements under this approach;
what it entails is that these two latter features are acquired as byproducts, resulting from the
interaction among students during a task.
Contrary to what some instructors believe, TBLT also proposes that learners have spaces to
be given feedback on their language production during class. As described by Richards and
Rodgers (2001), it is in the planning stage of the TBLT cycle that [the teacher] “goes around to
advise students on language, suggesting phrases and helping Ss to polish and correct their language.
The emphasis is on clarity, organization, and accuracy… Individual students often take this chance
to ask questions about specific language items” (p. 239). Hence, learners can verify whether they
have been using language to complete the tasks appropriately or not.
Assessment of an ESP Course
Formative, summative, and authentic assessment
Assessment, just like English teaching, has evolved over the last few decades. Since
teaching is an interactive two-way performance, there is a constant need to prove that students have
actually learned. Assessing is not an extra duty; instead, it becomes part of teaching itself. It is the
way to determine if the teaching and the learning are effective on both ends. Huba and Freed (2000)
propose a well-integrated assessment definition:
Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from
multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding
of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as
a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when
assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning (p.15).
Huba and Freed's (2000) definition is pertinent to the student-teachers as it embodies an
approach that uses a variety of authentic tasks to assess students in a way that guides learners
toward the knowledge they need to perform these tasks efficiently. Assessing involves several key
concepts that are often mixed up. For instance, terms such as tests, assessment, and evaluation are
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usually confused and even used as synonyms. Assessment also has several characteristics that
define it, such as being an on-going process and having feedback as its main resource to enhance
student learning (Wiggins, 1993).
Informal assessment
As described in Brown, H.D. (2004), "informal assessment can take a number of forms,
starting with incidental, unplanned comments and responses, along with coaching and other
impromptu feedback to the student" (p. 5) and for the student-teachers, this means that informal
assessment is paramount to the development of the curriculum, as much of the interaction resulting
from students' negotiation of meaning is spontaneous and unpredictable. Hence, the student-
teachers must be ready to use informal assessment in classroom tasks "designed to elicit
performance without recording results and making fixed judgments about a student's performance;
[for example, by giving] suggestions for a strategy for compensating for a reading difficulty"
(Brown, 2004, p.6). This description of informal assessment goes hand in hand with the principles
for formative assessment. Brown (2004) elaborated on this by explaining that formative assessment
it is characterized by:
Evaluating students in the process of forming their competencies and skills
with the goal of helping them to continue that growth process. The key to
such formation is the delivery… and internalization… of appropriate
feedback on performance, with an eye toward the future continuation (or
formation) of learning (p. 6).
Hence, formative assessment has a clear goal to improve the students’ use of the language
through feedback. Informal, formative assessment, then, is considered by the student-teachers as
the core of a language curriculum.
Formal assessment
This type of assessment is defined as "exercises or procedures specifically designed to tap
into a storehouse of skills and knowledge. They are systematic, planned sampling techniques
constructed to give teacher and student an appraisal on student achievement" (Brown, 2004, p. 6).
Summative assessment is more related to the formal assessment of students: through numbers that
assign the “knowledge” acquired a value. It is called summative precisely because it measures, or
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adds, the results of formal evaluations in order to come up with a final grade. Tests in general,
quizzes, midterms and others are examples of summative assessment. Another characteristic of
summative assessment is that it determines specific knowledge in a specific time during the course
or program, but it does not provide feedback or remedial plans for the results (Brown, 2004).
Needs Analysis
Procedures and instruments
Interview with the stakeholders
The course design process started by getting to know the stakeholders, in this case, the
Director of the Mechanical Engineering School and the president of the Mechanical Engineering
Students’ Association. The communication with the Director has been limited to emails. The
president of the Students’ Association agreed on a virtual interview with the three student-teachers
and he has been very effective on answering inquiries by email. He has also provided very
important information about what the expectations for the course are, students’ academic needs,
and the characteristics of the work market that Mechanical Engineering students will eventually
face.
Initial questionnaire for learners
An informative initial email was sent to the list of learners that a School of Mechanical
Engineering provided. The email contained a brief description of the course, and it included a link
to an online questionnaire. This questionnaire included items about personal information, learning
preferences, proficiency perception, current academic needs and future work needs. The email was
sent to 52 students, but only 31 of them completed the initial questionnaire. As the students were
not required to take this course as part of their curriculum, the School of Mechanical Engineering
did not ask them to participate mandatorily once the initial list was sent.
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Diagnostic Test
Once the initial information was collected, a second email was sent in order to convene the
students to a Diagnostic Test (DT). The DT was applied at the language laboratories in the School
of Modern Languages, and the learners were given three schedule options to take it. The DT had
four parts: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. The DT invitation was sent to 31 students out
of which 28 took the written test. The speaking component was evaluated through an individual
conversation with one of the student-teachers via Skype. The learners were given the student-
teachers’ contact information and were contacted via Skype or phone on the scheduled date. Each
learner talked with one of the student-teachers for about 15 to 20 minutes. Out of the 28 learners
that took the written DT, only 20 contacted the student-teachers and completed the speaking part
of the test.
The diagnostic test consisted of two parts, one written section and one oral section. The listening,
reading, and writing macro skills were assessed in the written section, which in total accounted for
47% of students’ final grade. The students were given one hour and a half to finish this part of the
test.
The second part of the diagnostic test was mostly conducted over Skype. As some students
could not install the program or reported to have connection problems, some of the interviews were
conducted over the phone. This part of the test consisted of a conversation with one of the student-
teachers to assess the speaking macro skill. Out of the students who took the written test, 87%
contacted the student-teachers for the oral section. The other 13% students were contacted via e-
mail, but the researchers obtained no answers. This interview consisted of three warm-up questions
and a role-play situation. Following Coombe, Folse, and Hubbley’s (2007) recommendations, the
student-teachers designed an interview in which they would allow time for a warm-up, which
would probably improve results, as it helps to put students at ease (p. 129), to get to know the
students better, and to obtain some data on students’ general oral proficiency. At the end of the
conversation, there was one productive response item: an ESP-focused role-play situation. The
student-teachers had the chance to choose amongst one of the three different role-play situations to
assess each student. The role-play situation to be performed was selected by the student-teacher
based on the students’ areas of interest, brought up in the warm-up questions. The constructs taken
into consideration were task completion, grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and fluency.
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To identify whether the students are beginners, intermediate, or advanced, the student-
teachers included in each block of items different proficiency indicators for each major macro skill,
adapting as guides the NCSSFL-ACFTL Can-Do Statements (American Council, 2015) and the
ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Tester Training Manual (American Council, 2012). The
student-teachers determined that the ACFTL proficiency guidelines would help them achieve this
task better as “unlike the ACTFFL Proficiency Guidelines, the CEFR was not intended to serve as
a framework for assessment [while]… the [ACTFL] guidelines are intended to be used for global
assessment in academic and workplace settings” (American Council, 2012, p. ii).
General description of the Mechanical Engineering program and field of work
The School of Mechanical Engineering at the UCR was established in 1964 after the
administration made the decision to separate the program from the electromechanical program.
According to the Mechanical Engineering School’s website, the creation of the Mechanical
Engineering program emerged in response to the country’s need for specialized engineers. The
mission of the School of Mechanical Engineering is “to be recognized, on a national and regional
level, as a producer of professionals in the area of Mechanical Engineering with high moral values,
knowledge, and an investigative talent to promote technological, industrial, economic, and cultural
development” (para. 1)
4
. The vision of the university with respect to the program’s graduates runs
in the same vein. A graduate of the program is expected to be “a high performing professional able
to produce recognized knowledge in Costa Rica and Central America” (para. 2)
5
. The vision goes
on to explain that the graduate will have “outstanding self-management skills along with the ability
to work in interdisciplinary teams” (para. 2).
6
The university’s mission and vision mentioned in the previous section provide an insight into
the roles and expectations for the mechanical engineer. The methodology used by the university is
one of group work and projects. This reflects real-life scenarios that engineers find themselves in
on a day to day basis. Engineers are always tasked with identifying and resolving problems as a
team. An interview with Diego Morales, a service engineer with Nutricare S.A., provided some
insight into what engineers do and how they work in conjunction with others.
4
Own translation
5
Idem
6
Idem
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Morales elaborated on the importance of reports and their role in the process of requesting
parts. He claimed that if his company did not have the necessary parts in stock, he would have to
write emails to request replacements. In situations in which Morales had to order replacement parts,
he said that the inclusion of a justification was essential for accounting purposes to show
transparency to his company and its clients. Morales’s account reveals that the duties and
responsibilities of an engineer extend further than implementing theory. According to him, an
engineer’s ability to be a team player is also extremely critical.
Interests of primary stakeholders
Alejandro Jiménez, president of the Mechanical Engineering Students’ Association, shed
some light on what the university’s expectations were of an English course designed for
Mechanical Engineering students. After getting general information about the major and what it
encompasses, Jiménez explained that the Mechanical Engineering program does not ask much of
students with respect to their productive skills in English. However, from time to time students are
required to use their receptive skills to gather information presented in English. He stated that
professors recommend readings that complement the theories being studied, and students also have
to listen to video tutorials in English to see these theories come to life. Jiménez further iterated that
most of the software information and instructions are in English, suggesting that students need to
possess the ability to read and understand this genre of writing.
Jiménez offered some insight into students’ expectations after graduating in the field of
Mechanical Engineering. He explained that most graduates aspire to work for industrial companies,
and because of Mechanical Engineering’s close relationship to biomedical engineering, students
explore the opportunities of potentially working with the production of medical equipment. He
stated that popular employers ranged from RECOPE to Boston Scientific and many more related
to the Zona Franca in Costa Rica. Although Jiménez himself is still a student, he was able to provide
some potential situations in which mechanical engineers would have to use English in occupational
settings.
With respect to reading and writing in English, he stated that Mechanical Engineering jobs
consist of e-mail correspondence, reading and creation of software, and reading and creation of
designs. For speaking and listening, he mentioned situations such as conferences, listening to and
defending design proposals, and job interviews.
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Results and discussion
Group Profile
Students’ educational background
The group consists of 31 mechanical engineering students currently enrolled at UCR. A
large percentage of the population, 68% to be exact, are between the ages of 21 and 26. A 58%
majority of this population is in its second or third year of the Mechanical Engineering program as
seen in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Students’ enrollment according to year of study.
Description of the students’ needs
The needs for this population are clearly differentiated between academic and occupational. In
their academic life, Mechanical Engineering students are sometimes asked to manage receptive
skills: reading and listening. There was no evidence that these students need productive skills like
speaking or writing. Due to UCR’s regulations, none of the materials in a foreign language can be
evaluated; therefore, not all teachers use materials in English.
Once the students graduate and join the working force, the situation changes drastically. Costa
Rica has particular economic, political, and social conditions that make the country very attractive
for foreign investment. Most potential employers for the Mechanical Engineering students are
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international companies which use English as a lingua franca. Moreover, coworkers, business
partners, and possible clients are also international and use English as their official language.
Occupationally, these students will be required to speak and write in English very often. This
represents a design challenge as there seems to be a divorce between their academic and
occupational needs. Mechanical Engineering students do not ignore this reality, and their perceived
needs focus on future work-related needs as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Perceived needs by Mechanical Engineering students.
This figure illustrates the percentage of students that indicated the above tasks as important.
When asked openly which three activities would require students to use English the most—without
giving them any prompt—, they replied in a fashion in which certain categories reflected common
needs and interests, as shown in Figure 2. Consequently, this information was considered of
paramount importance for the student-teachers when designing the goals and the contents of the
course.
Description of the students’ wants
Most students are aware of their future occupational needs in English and they want to
improve their proficiency level. According to the initial questionnaire, most students would like to
work on their speaking and writing skills. For instance, 87% of the population believes that
Dealing with
foreigners
Reading
reports,
manuals,
books, articles
Attending
training
workshops or
conferences
Using English
at the
workplace
Oral
presentations
51%
41%
32%
22%
16%
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speaking will be extremely necessary in their future work environment, and 77% considers that
writing will be extremely necessary as well. More than 85% of the students mentioned varied ways
of oral communication in English with supervisors, colleagues, or coworkers when asked for three
activities that they will perform in their future work place. As part of their class dynamics
preferences, 71% of students stated that they would like to work in pairs or groups and the same
percentage would like to be asked to write in class. Also, 84% would like to participate in class
orally. Open class discussions (64%) and reading in class (68%) were also mentioned by students.
Regarding the topics that students would like to cover in an ESP course, they could choose
from several options, which were taken out their major syllabus. Students mentioned mechanical
design (93%), electro mechanics (77%) and fluid mechanics (77%) as the top three. When asked
about their course expectations, specifically what they would like to learn, more than 80% of the
students expressed that they would like to learn more technical vocabulary; more than 70%
indicated that they would expect to improve their speaking skills, and approximately 40% explicitly
mentioned that they would like to be able to explain the functioning of a machine.
Description of the students’ lacks
As mentioned before, the syllabus for the Bachelor’s and Licentiate Mechanical
Engineering degree at UCR does not include any English course throughout the entire major. This
is a very significant lack since the work market for these students seems to require English as a
foreign language most of the times. Moreover, the students’ previous training in English as a
foreign language may vary considerably from subject to subject.
The lack of English training in the Costa Rican public educational system has been explored
by the media since it represents one of the main complaints from employers (Brenes, 2012).
Newspaper El Financiero has published several articles exploring the fact that the lack of English
as a second language can make a difference between getting a well-paid job or not. The Commercial
Director of Manpower Group commented for the newspaper: “Costa Rica has made important
efforts to increase the technical training [...] but it’s being left behind in English coverage”
(Montero, 2015, para. 6)
7
. Mechanical Engineering students are well aware of this reality. They
were asked to categorize the four macro skills on a difficulty scale, including very difficult, difficult,
easy and very easy. For 61% of them, speaking is difficult. For 48% of the students, writing and
7
Own translation
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listening were also described as difficult. When talking to the students before applying the DT, they
also shared some personal anecdotes with each student teacher. They mostly talked about how their
lack of English knowledge would have an impact on their professional lives since they felt that
they would not be able to find a good job if they continued using the basic English knowledge they
had from high school years, which supports Montero’s claim.
Test results analysis
The diagnostic test is an instrument purposely designed to collect data that will not only
indicate what proficiency level each student belongs to but also assist the student-teachers in
finding an equilibrium between the identified needs, lacks, and wants of the target population.
According to the overall rating scale used in the DT, out of 20 Mechanical Engineering
students, three are rated as beginner; eleven are rated as intermediate, and six as advanced. Figure
3 shows the percentages of the overall ratings of said students.
Figure 3: Diagnostic test overall rating scale results.
The figure illustrates the percentages of students rated as beginner, intermediate, and
advanced. Of the students rated as beginners, one is taking fourth year courses and the other two
are in their second year. Working with a majority of intermediate and advanced students, which
represents 85% of the population, may favor certain types of tasks and assessment in the ESP
course. On the other hand, the challenge with first year students is that even though they may have
the English proficiency level, they lack experience with Mechanical Engineering concepts that may
Beginner
15%
Intermediate
55%
Advanced
30%
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
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be key for future tasks in the course syllabus. The four macro skills analyzed individually displayed
interesting results. Table 1 shows the summary of the rating scales by skill.
Table 1: Diagnostic Test rating scale per skill.
Level
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
No. of Beginners
1
6
0
2
No. of Intermediate
6
12
2
7
No. of Advanced
13
2
18
11
Source: Diagnostic Test
As stated before, receptive skills are the ones currently used actively by these students in
the Mechanical Engineering program. Accordingly, the listening and reading skills show a higher
number of students rated as advanced and a lower number rated as beginner. Contrastingly, the
productive skills—speaking and writing—have the higher number of beginners of the four macro
skills. Speaking in particular holds a very low number of students rated as advanced. These data,
together with the wants and needs analyzed in the first part of this report, support the fact that
speaking tasks should be the main focus of the syllabus design. In previous interviews, one of the
stakeholders had mentioned the “survival ability” of Mechanical Engineering students. This
perception is reflected in the results for the reading skill. There are no students rated as beginner
and it holds the highest number of students rated as advanced. It can be speculated that, taking into
account the age range of the target population (97% of them are in their twenties), reading in
English has become an everyday task. Extra academic material, but also social media in its different
forms, may seem to create an invisible but strong pressure to be able to understand English texts.
Listening was identified as one of their current academic needs. The DT results show that
65% of the students are very proficient when it comes to listening comprehension, as seen in Figure
4. This distribution indicates that listening tasks should have a fairly high level of difficulty. The
one student who scored as a beginner will receive special assistance from one of the student-
teachers in class in order to compensate for his/her low proficiency level.
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Figure 3: Diagnostic test overall listening rating
Speaking was identified as one of the future occupational needs. Mechanical Engineering students
seem to be aware of their future prospects, and this is probably why 90% of them stated that
speaking will be “extremely necessary” in their work in the first part of the Needs Analysis. This
skill has the highest beginner rate of all, with 30%, as seen in Figure 5. Only 10% of the population
was rated as advanced in speaking.
Figure 5: Diagnostic test overall speaking rating.
This suggests that future syllabus tasks should include several speaking-related activities
and assessments to satisfy both the students’ speaking needs and lacks. Based on this evidence, the
students-teachers decided to pitch the level of the course and the tasks in general at the intermediate
level, since 70% of the students would perform well at this level or above.
Reading was identified by the students as a current academic need. This was probably the
biggest surprise of the DT’s results since there are no beginner readers. In fact, 90% of the
population was rated as advanced and only 10% as intermediate, as shown in Figure 6. This is a
very valuable piece of information for the future syllabus design. The student-teachers can target
academic needs by focusing more on listening tasks since, according to these data, Mechanical
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED
5% Beginner
30%
Intermediate
65%
Advanced
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED
30% Beginner
60%
Intermediate
10%
Advanced
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Engineering students manage reading comprehension very well. This does not mean that reading
tasks will be left aside, as this skill was already identified as part of the academic needs. However,
the rates shown by the DT allow a lighter emphasis on the reading comprehension tasks.
Figure 6: Diagnostic test overall reading rating.
Writing was identified as a future occupational need as well. This is the skill that holds
more heterogeneous results because 11 out of 20 students were identified as advanced, seven as
intermediate and two as beginner, as shown in Figure 7. This information admits a wide variety of
difficulty levels in syllabus tasks which could be used in pre, post, and main tasks.
Figure 6: Diagnostic test overall writing rating
Course Design
As the outcome of the aforementioned results, the researchers elaborated the following
course syllabus to meet the needs, wants, and lacks pointed out by both the students and the
stakeholders. A student-friendly version of the course syllabus has been attached as Appendix A.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED
0% Beginner
10%
Intermediate
90% Advanced
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED
10% Beginner
35%
Intermediate
55% Advanced
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The objectives, assessed activities, methodology, and the class calendar are part of this version of
the course syllabus.
Course Description
This is an ESP course intended for Mechanical Engineering students at UCR. By the end of
the course, the students will be able to comprehend texts associated with Mechanical Engineering
and to communicate both orally and in written form at an intermediate English level within their
field for academic and work-related purposes.
The class will be team-taught by three student-teachers who are language instructors. They will
develop a task-based methodology throughout the course. This class will meet twice a week, two
hours per day in room 114 at the School of Engineering (on Mondays) and in room 259 at the
School of Modern Languages (on Wednesdays) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Statement of goals and objectives
Goal 1 (Unit 1- Getting it right)
By the end of this unit, the students will be able to use cognitive strategies and metacognitive
strategies to improve their comprehension of both written and aural texts related to the fields of
fluid mechanics and mechanical design.
General objectives:
a) By the end of the week, students will be able to guess meaning from written texts in the field
of fluid mechanics while monitoring their learning progress.
b) By the end of the week, students will be able to identify the main idea from aural texts in the
field of fluid mechanics by watching videos used as supplemental materials in class
successfully.
c) By the end of the week, students will be able to guess meaning from context in the field of
mechanical design by following written instructions on how to assemble a machine correctly.
d) By the end of the week, students will be able to identify the main idea from aural texts in the
field of mechanical design by explaining how a machine works accurately.
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Goal 2 (Unit 2 - Job, here I come!)
By the end of this unit, Mechanical Engineering students will be capable of effectively briefing
their information for a specific job position and participating actively in a job interview.
General objectives:
a) By the end of the week, the students will write their own résumé by analyzing samples and
reviewing international format standards.
b) By the end of the week, the students will participate proactively in a job interview
simulation by displaying cultural sensibility and knowledge of their own skills.
c) By the end of the week, the students will be capable of advocating for a
specific proposal for a hypothetical work problem.
Goal 3 (Unit 3: Going International)
By the end of this unit, the students will be able to write e-mails to request information,
order machine parts, and coordinate site visits, as well as successfully participate in meetings and
conferences related to project presentations and updates.
General objectives:
a) By the end of the week, the students will be able to conduct machine related transactions
via e-mail by using appropriate format, register, and functional language to request prices
and information about machinery and parts.
b) By the end of the week, the students will be able to provide rationale for site visits by
giving explanations via e-mail using appropriate format, register, and functional language.
c) By the end of the week, the students will be able to present new projects as well as project
updates about advancements using appropriate structures and functional language.
d) By the end of the week, the students will be able to take part in meetings by effectively
using strategies for interrupting and taking turns.
Methodology
As described by Willis (1996) and by Pica, Kanagy, and Falodun (2009) in Richard and
Rodgers (2001), to obtain the results desired in TBLT, task types, such as listing, ordering,
comparing, problem solving, jigsaws, info-gaps, decision-making, and opinion-gaps activities can
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work in benefit of the learners to maximize their experience using this method (p. 234). By
following what has been proposed in the TBLT approach, learners are said to be more engaged;
hence, tasks seem to be more interactive. These can be pedagogical or real-world tasks, but the idea
is that in the end both types have the same function: to simulate real-life features that learners will
perform at some point outside of the class.
Learners who are part of a process in which this method is applied should perform three
main roles (defined in Richard and Rodgers, 2001, p. 235). Initially, they must know they will be
group participants. This means that they will often be asked to work in pairs or groups. They will
develop speaking strategies so that they can communicate effectively with their classmates.
Another role is to work as monitors. Learners should be able to monitor their own production and
apply strategies to repair their speech when facing linguistic breakdown. Finally, learners are
motivated to take risks. They need to know that when participating in tasks they should not worry
about making mistakes. They are told that making mistakes is part of the learning process and that
they need to focus on delivering a message, not on working on perfect grammar.
Richard and Rodgers (2001) also mention that teachers using the TBLT method should
perform three main roles (p. 236). The first one is selecting and sequencing tasks. Teachers must
pay attention to the order in which they place their tasks to address specific functions. For example,
placing a warm-up activity clearly at the beginning must be done to activate schemata. Secondly,
teachers should prepare learners for tasks. Teachers should not start a class with the main task
because, most probably, students will not be able to successfully perform it without preparation.
Finally, as mentioned before, teachers should help students “focus on form” (Richard and Rodgers,
2001, p. 236), which implies raising consciousness in students through pre-tasks and guided tasks
so that students can “notice critical features of the language they use and hear” (Richard and
Rodgers, 2001, p. 236).
Assessment
As the present course is ESP focused and is framed under a task-based approach, all of the
formal assessment activities will focus on having students performing tasks, which can also be
considered as part of performance-based assessment (Brown, 2004, p. 10). This approach proves
relevant for the student-teachers as, under this type of assessment, "students are assessed as they
perform actual or simulated real-world tasks" (Brown, 2004, p.10). The student-teachers firmly
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believe that such assessment is the most beneficial for their students as they will be ensuring high
content validity, which is achieved "because learners are measured in the process of performing
the targeted linguistic acts" (Brown, 2004, p. 11). Additionally, by formally and carefully crafting
these types of interactive tasks, the student-teachers can make sure that said tasks "can approach
the authenticity of real-life language use" (Brown, 2004, p.11). Powered by the Task Based
Approach, the term authentic assessment gained relevance in the academic world. This kind of
assessment focuses on meaningful real-life tasks in order to determine how much students have
learned. One of the main characteristics of authentic assessing is that it uses “engaging and worthy
problems …, in which students must use knowledge to fashion performances effectively and
creatively.
The tasks are either replicas of or analogous to the kinds of problems faced by … professionals
in the field” (Wiggins, 1993, p.40). This type of assessment emphasizes what the students can do,
and not what they know, although they are intrinsically related. Thus, teachers can direct the
assessing instruments to these principles and evaluate the actual proficiency level of the students
when performing specific real-life tasks.
Table 2 shows the types of assessment to be used by the student-teachers during the course,
and all the assessments in it will be administered in the chronological order presented in the table.
This order runs parallel to the units presented in the course so that each assessment will be related
to the material covered. For the purpose of the course, the students will be evaluated based on their
performance in five different assessments as detailed in Table 2.
Table 2: Evaluated activities during the second semester.
Type of assessment
Percentage
1. Academic task (integrating reading and listening)
20%
2. Oral Presentation I (defending a project proposal)
20%
3. Written mini projects (writing an e-mail and a résumé)
15%
4. Job interview simulation
20%
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5. Final Speaking Project (participating in meetings and conferences; specific
tasks coordinating site visits, updates, ordering machine parts)
25%
As previously mentioned, the bulk of evaluation falls under the category of performance-
based assessment. The first assessment is an academic performance task which focuses on reading
and listening. The types of authentic materials for the academic performance task will be similar
to that of the diagnostic test; however, for the academic performance task student-teachers
anticipate that students will employ the cognitive and metacognitive strategies learned during the
first unit. The students will be asked to watch authentic videos and read authentic written texts to
build a two-stage balloon rocket in class.
The objective of this assessment is to help students become more proficient readers and
listeners to tackle their immediate academic needs, since, as explained in previous sections,
Mechanical Engineering students are exposed to written and aural texts in class, but they do not
have the necessary tools to deal with these texts. The academic performance task will have a 20
percent influence on the students’ final grade due to its immediate importance.
The second assessment is an oral presentation in which students have to defend a project proposal.
This assessment is another authentic task that encourages students to use the vocabulary and
grammatical structures presented in the second unit. This project proposal is not unlike the project
presentation that students had to do for the diagnostic test; however, students should be better
equipped with strategies and new vocabulary learned in the course for this assessment. This first
oral presentation will have a 20 percent influence on the students’ final grade because of the
importance and relevance of this task in a job setting.
The diagnostic test also revealed that 90 percent of students were at the intermediate or
beginner level for speaking, suggesting that speaking is a skill that requires more polishing than
the other macro-skills. The third assessment contains two written mini projects that entail the
reading and writing of work-related e-mails and the creation of a résumé. This assessment reflects
an authentic task faced by mechanical engineers on a day to day basis. Also, the development of
the résumé will be carefully guided by the student-teachers to aid students in the formation of a
well-designed and accurate description of themselves. The written mini projects will have a fifteen
percent influence on the students’ final grade. The student-teachers agreed on this percentage
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because the results of the diagnostic test revealed that 90 percent of the students were intermediate
or advanced writers, proving that writing was not as challenging as some of the other skills.
The fourth assessment is the job interview simulation. As previously mentioned, the
assessments run parallel to the course. The job interview simulation will be evaluated after the
completion of Unit 2: Job, here I come! This assessment intends to replicate a real-life situation
for students, especially for those in their final year. The job interview will have a 20 percent
influence on the students’ final grade mainly because of the great deal of material it covers.
The fifth and last assessment is the final oral presentation. This assessment aims to evaluate
the students’ ability to participate in meetings. According to stakeholders, mechanical engineers
have to work as a team to resolve problems. This being the most difficult assessment, the student-
teachers decided to include it as the final assessment. This would allow students to use all the
language and strategies acquired throughout the course to successfully complete the task. The final
oral presentation will have a 25 percent influence on the students’ final grade, the highest
percentage of all the assessments. This is due to its difficulty and importance as stated by the
stakeholders.
One of the main characteristics of assessment is that it is an on-going process (Brown,
2004). Having only a final course evaluation may prevent teachers from correcting anything that
may not be working really well on the course. Students’ opinion throughout the course is a great
source of input to modify class planning for the future. As stated previously, the course Gear Up
has three units. At the end of each unit, students will be given a questionnaire that will explore their
preferences and opinions about the contents, difficulty, and organization of each specific unit and
assessed activity. This will allow student-teachers to make the necessary adjustments for the
following units. Most of the items use a perception scale that is described at the beginning of the
questionnaire. This kind of scale is meant to make the questionnaire user friendly. Also, there are
some open-ended questions so that students can express their opinions freely and provide
suggestions, comments, or complaints.
The items assessed in the questionnaire are related to the course objectives in general but
also to the teaching approach, in this case, TBLT. This instrument will be administered online. In
an ESP course, students are the final clients. Their needs, lacks, and wants were explored in the
previous Needs Analysis and the entire course was designed based on them. However, as in any
other corporate relationship, the clients should have the option to evaluate their providers, in this
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case, the student-teachers on a regular basis. Just like the previous assessing instrument, the
student-teachers decided to create one more instrument in which the teachers’ performance is the
one being evaluated, not the entire course or unit. The items evaluated also go along with ESP,
TBLT principles, and performance-based assessment; for example, teaching talking time, class
materials, or feedback. There are also some open-ended questions so students can refer to a specific
student-teacher or situation in general. This instrument will also be administered online.
Conclusions
Gear Up is designed to provide students—with an intermediate or advanced level of English—
with the stepping stones required to communicate efficiently within the field of Mechanical
Engineering at work in national and multinational-related settings. The inclusion of authentic
academic and occupational tasks addresses immediate and long-term needs of the population, as
the course promises to fill the language void expressed by Mechanical Engineering students. In
addition to presenting rich and relevant content, Gear Up strives to meet students’ expectations
regarding its overall enjoyment by including topics they deemed as relevant and motivating, such
as electro mechanics, fluid mechanics, and mechanical design within the three units to be
developed. The course is filled with a variety of dynamic tasks to ensure that students have an
enriching experience. Due to Gear Up’s emphasis on communication strategies, the student-
teachers anticipate that it will be an invaluable asset to the professional development of the course’s
participants.
References
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (2015). “NCSSFL- ACFTL Can-Do
Statements: Progress Indicators for Language Learners” Retrieved from:
https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Can- Do_Statements_2015.pdf
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (2012). Oral Proficiency Interview
Tester Training Manual. Swender, E. & Vicars, R. (Eds.). Buffalo, NY: ACTFL.
Brenes, C. (2012). Talento Escaso Reta A Zonas Francas. El Financiero.Retrieved from
http://wvw.elfinancierocr.com/ef_archivo/2012/junio/10/negocios3190319.html
Brown, H.D. (2004). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. White Plains,
NY: Pearson Education.
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Coombe, C., Folse, K., & Hubbley, N. (2007). A practical guide to assessing language learners.
Michigan: The University of Michigan Press.
Huba, M. E., & Freed, J. E. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college campuses: shifting
the focus from teaching to learning. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Ingeniería Mecánica. (n.d.). UCR. Retrieved from http://www.eim.ucr.ac.cr/
Montero, J. (2015). Escasez de talento aumento en Costa Rica. El Financiero. Retrieved from
http://www.elfinancierocr.com/economia-y-politica/Escasez- talento-
aumento_0_556144391.html
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second
Edition. NY: Cambridge University Press.
Skehan, P. (1998). Task-Based Instruction. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 18, 268-286.
doi:10.1017/s0267190500003585
Wiggins, G. P. (1993). Assessing student performance. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass Publishers.
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Appendix A
Student Syllabus
Universidad de Costa Rica
Maestría en la Enseñanza del Inglés como Lengua Extranjera
Gear Up – English for Mechanical Engineering Students
Instructors: Elizondo, J., Pilgrim, Y., & Sánchez, A.
Mondays & Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.
I. Course Description
This is an ESP course intended for Mechanical Engineering students at UCR. By the end of
the course, the students will be able to comprehend texts associated with Mechanical
Engineering and to communicate both orally and in written form at an intermediate English
level within their field for academic and work-related purposes. The class will be team-
taught by three student-teachers who are language instructors. They will develop a task-based
methodology throughout the course. This class will meet twice a week, two hours per day in
room (TBA). Attendance is not mandatory or assessed; however, any student with more than
3 absences will not qualify to obtain the university’s certification for the course.
II. Goals and Objectives
Unit 1- Getting it right
By the end of this unit, the students will be able to use cognitive strategies and
metacognitive strategies to improve their comprehension of both written and aural texts
related to the fields of fluids and mechanical design.
Unit 2 - Job, here I come!
By the end of this unit, mechanical engineering students will be capable of effectively
briefing their information for a specific job position and participating actively in a job
interview.
Unit 3: Going International
By the end of this unit, the students will be able to write e-mails to request information,
order machine parts, and coordinate site visits, as well as successfully participate in
meetings and conferences related to project presentations and updates.
III. Methodology
The course is divided into three units. The students will carry out tasks in class strictly
related to their reality as Mechanical Engineering students and future professional
Mechanical Engineers. These tasks will integrate the four macro skills: speaking, listening,
reading, and writing. The tasks will be done individually, in pairs, or groups. They will
include class presentations, debates, role-plays, reading and listening comprehension
activities, writing, among others.
IV. Assessment
Each of the units will be assessed according to the goals established.
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Task
Percentage
• Academic task
(reading and listening academic task)
20%
• Oral Presentation I
(presentation of a previous academic project)
20%
• Job interview simulation
20%
• Written mini projects (e-mail and resume)
15%
• Oral Presentation II
(participation in meetings and conferences; specific tasks
coordinating site visits, updates, ordering machine parts)
25%
I. Class information
✓ The students are not required to bring a dictionary to class; however, having one, either
physically or electronically, can be useful.
✓ The students are not to pay for any of the material or the certificate at the end of the
course.
✓ Punctuality and class participation are expected of all students.
II. Course Calendar
Week
Unit
Contents/Activities
Assessment
Week 1
Unit 1
Reading about fluids
Week 2
Unit 1
Listening about fluids
Week 3
Unit 1
Assembling a machine in class
and watching videos about
mechanical design issues
Week 4
Unit 1
Practicing for academic task
Academic task
Week 5
Unit 2
Writing a résumé
Week 6
Unit 2
Defending a proposal
Hand in resume
Week 7
Unit 2
Presenting previous academic
project
OP#1
Week 8
Unit 2
Participating job interviews
Week 9
Unit 2
Practicing job interview
simulations
Job interview
simulation
Week 10
Unit 3
Writing e-mails
Week 11
Unit 3
Writing e-mails
Sending an e-mail
Week 12
Unit 3
Presenting a project
Week 13
Unit 3
Participating in meetings
Week 14
Unit 3
Participating in meetings
Week 15
Review
Week 16
OP#2
