Intensive English Courses? KMUTT

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Intensive English Courses? KMUTTs Innovative
English Programme

• Wichai Kritprayoch
• Saowaluck Tepsuriwong
• School of Liberal Arts
• King Mongkuts University of Technology
  Thonburi

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Outline

• What Why Intensive English Courses
• KMUTTs Intensive English Courses
• Research Studies
• Programme evaluation by using questionnaires
• Students
• Teachers
• Findings Discussion
• Conclusion Suggestions

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What is an intensive course?

• Intensive (adjective)
• involving a lot of activity, effort, or careful
  attention in a short period of time
• e.g. a one-week intensive course in English
• (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

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Why Intensive English?

• Learning English is like the practice / art of
  boiling water!
• We need to keep heating the water until it
  reaches the required temperature.

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Why Intensive English?

• Traditional system
• two 15-week semesters
• English 1-3 credits / course
• 1 session 45-60 minutes
• 1 week 1-2 sessions
• Drip-feed method of learning
• (Lightbown and Spada, 1989)

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Why Intensive English?

• Problems occurred in a traditional system
• - Insufficient time for activities
• - Not enough time to use the language
• - Learning time is reduced to sacrifice for a
  review.
• - A lesson is hardly begun when it is time to
  end.
• (Netten Germain, 2004)

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Why Intensive English?

• Students need a concentrated period of second
  language study to be able to use the language
  spontaneously and with ease.
• (Netten and Germain, 2004)

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Why Intensive English?

• Advantages
• - allow a concentrated period of time for
  second language study
• - maintain students focus on English
• - enrich student-student student- teacher
  relationships
• - school-designed course can be tailored to
  suit target students and curriculum needs

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KMUTTs Situation

• Top-down initiation
• Committee for improving students English
  proficiency
• Belief in language learning
• Time learning condition / environment
• Tight schedule of 1st year students
• Not enough time for adjustment / preparation

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KMUTTs Intensive Module

• Course concepts
• Foundation course / 3 credits
• 12 consecutive days 60 periods (5 periods a
  day)
• English-speaking environment
• Friendly atmosphere
• Learning atmosphere
• Creating positive attitudes
• A5 Learning Stations in a Module

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What are in the module?
(A5 Stations)
A Importance of English (1 Day) Just
English / Nice to meet you (1 Day)
B English for survival and
speaking with confidence C Self-access
learning D Read, read, read and vocabulary
expansion E Writing for fun and English in
contexts F Active listening how to listen
effectively
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KMUTTs SituationWhat and who are involved?

• Students 2,800 1st year undergrad enrolled in
  LNG 101 / LNG 102
• Classrooms 70 classes
• Assembly hall e.g. a gymnasium
• Computer / self-access facilities
• Teaching assistants

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KMUTTs Situation PreparationWhat and who are
involved?

• Design new materials evaluation schemes
• Recruit teaching staff native non-native
• Ask for co-operation from other sectors
• - Budget
• - Staff (70 teachers 32 TAs Admin.)
• - Student grouping (40 ss/class 70 classes
  2,800 ss 14 modules)
• - Assembly hall / Computer rooms / SALC /
  Classrooms
• - O-net scores / Placement test
• - Facilities e.g. OHT, LCD, N/B, Multimedia
  Classrooms
• - Stationary / Posters
• - Delay term-time

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Intensive English Courses
Conclusion LNG 101 Module (10) LNG 102 Module
(4) 1 Module 200 students Students from
different departments are mixed in 14
modules. Students rotate to A5 stations in the
module. A teacher teaches in a fixed
station. Every student meets a native speaker in
one station. Evaluation is based on a task or a
quiz in each station class attendance, no final
exam.
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Research Studies

• Programme evaluated by using questionnaires
  (about attitudes and perceptions on language
  improvement)
• 158 Students (Enrolled either in LNG 101 or 102)
• 53 Teachers (21 KMUTT Staff and 32 Non-KMUTT
  Part-time Teachers)

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Questionnaireon KMUTT Students' Attitudes
towards the Intensive English Courses

1. Students perception on English language skill
   improvement
2. Students perception on overall English
   proficiency
3. Effects of intensive English courses on students
   attitudes towards English language learning
4. Three most important factors which affect
   students learning in class

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(5 Excellent 4 Good 3 Average 2
Rather poor 1 Poor)
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(No Transcript)
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• How much could the intensive English course help
  develop students English proficiency?
• 3.79 Good
• Scale Interpretation
• 1.00-1.80 Poor
• 1.81-2.60 Rather poor
• 2.61-3.40 Average
• 3.41-4.20 Good
• 4.21-5.00 Excellent

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Did the intensive English course positively
change students attitudes towards English
language learning?
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Yes, because

• They prefer learning English more than before.
• They think that English is an enjoyable subject
  because of good teaching techniques and a variety
  of activities conducted in class.
• They feel that English is not so difficult as
  they thought.

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No, because

• They have already had a positive attitude towards
  English language learning, so this was still the
  same.
• They do not like learning English as usual.

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What were the three most important factors which
made students be more active in learning in
class?

• Teachers
• Classmates
• Grade

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Questions for Teaching Staff

1. Whether the intensive courses can replace normal
   English courses
2. Teachers expectations on the programme
3. Teachers attitudes towards the intensive English
   courses
4. Factors affected quality of teaching in the
   intensive English courses

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Question 1

• In previous years, we have taught LNG101 or
  LNG102 in the first semester. This year, these
  courses have been replaced by the intensive
  course. Do you think the intensive course is an
  appropriate replacement for the traditional
  LNG101 or LNG102? Give reasons for your opinion.
• Subjects 21 KMUTT staff

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Findings
A lot of teachers still wonder whether the
intensive course is an appropriate
replacement for the traditional courses.
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Main factors / reasons

• 10-day time
• Better-preparation for learners
• Teachers and students devotion

• Time for consolidation
• Time for regular / continuous practice
• Teachers and students devotion
• Evaluation

Research
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Teachers comments Yes, because

• I agree with the replacement. Before that we
  taught LNG 101 in a large class. It was
  ineffective!!! This time I was happy and
  satisfied with a small class (not more than 30
  students). S11
• This intensive is long and is planned to
  prepare students to have confidence, good
  attitudes and be well-prepared for the next
  courses, and after I see how both teachers and
  many students devoted to it, I think it can be a
  replacement for 101. S12
• Students with poor background are being taught
  better. They are better prepared and can handle
  more in shorter amount of time. S5
• Actually its a good alternative for teachers
  because we can finish the whole course within 10
  days and we just prepared 1 skill. S14

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Teachers comments No, because

• No! The intensive is an immersion experience,
  and probably very good for students, but it
  should be a supplement, not a replacement. They
  have no time to consolidate their learning they
  have no homework,.. That is not a bad thing, but
  it is not sufficient. S1
• The main problem is the short-term nature of
  learning. While students may have learnt a lot
  quickly, they may also forget quickly. With no
  continuation of English learning! This is a
  potential worry. S6
• Im afraid that during the semester, they wont
  have any English at all, so they dont have
  continuity in learning and later forget what
  theyve got from the intensive course. Hopefully,
  they keep learning by self-access and e-learning
  on their own if the session on Good language
  learner and e-learning has been successfully
  established. S9

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Teachers comments No, because

• Absolutely not! English is not a program that
  can be downloaded to students. It needs time to
  practice. If it is a normal class, teachers can
  assign students to do their self-study e.g.
  reading graded readers but its impossible in an
  intensive course like this S15
• its very short time to evaluate them. Some
  students may think its unfair because they hurry
  to learn and hurry to test S16
• Its too rush. Students didnt have time to
  digest what they learned. Furthermore, teachers
  worked very hard. S21

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Teachers comments Not sure, because

• I think we would have to compare groups of
  students who had taken the intensive to students
  who had taken the conventional 101/102 before we
  can say which is better. S3
• I dont know yet, may be after the result of
  intensive research. S13
• Im not sureThere should be a study to find out
  whether students have any difficulty with English
  for their study and for the English course in the
  second semester S20
• Learning English generally happens gradually and
  continuouslybut the intensive course is good in
  that the students have more attention S8

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Question 2

• What expectations did you have (negative and/or
  positive) before the intensive course started? In
  what ways were these expectations met or not met?
• Subjects 21 KMUTT staff

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Findings
More than half of KMUTT staff have negative
expectations on the intensive course.
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What do they expect?

• Hard work in both preparation and teaching
• Worry about students learning no
  continuation
• Worry about students level of English whether
  students can cope with totally English
  environment
• Uncertainty about results of learning
• Boring teaching the same things every 2 days
  for 5 times
• Fun / interesting / challenging

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In what ways were these expectations met or not
met?
Before After
Hard work Yes Its really hard.
Worry about continuation of students learning Still worry No English course that term
Whether students can cope with totally English environment Students could cope with the course
Uncertainty about results of learning Wait and see
Boring teaching the same things Not too bad / not that bad
Fun / interesting / challenging Fun / interesting / challenging
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Teachers comments

• I thought it would be hard work it was!
• I thought it would be fun it was! The
  students seemed to enjoy (most of) it also.
• I thought it would be boring towards the end,
  but it wasnt S1
• First, I thought both teachers and students
  would be tired and it is true. Next, I was not
  sure that the intensive course could increase
  students good attitude or English skills.
  Anyway, I cant check it right now. I think, the
  teachers of the next courses will know whether
  this expectation is met or not
• S14

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Teachers comments

• I had negative expectations whereas the reality
  for me wasnt quite bad. S7
• I was rather negative because I knew that it
  meant a lot of work and vast investment in terms
  of money, staff and management. But nobody know
  its result whether its worth the investment and
  devotion. During the intensive course, I
  experienced hard work that I expected positive
  thinking from many students and negative
  responses from some of them a lot for management
  problems e.g. late coming teachers teachers who
  were not available on some days students who did
  not realize that this is a course and they could
  not miss it, etc. I still cannot answer anyway
  whether the result is better than the former
  courses. S12

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Teachers comments

• Before teaching, I imagined that it must be very
  busy during the course and there might be million
  administration problems. However, it wasnt like
  my imagination. Everything was smoother than
  expected. S13
• Before the course started, I was worried about
  being bored with teaching and not having time to
  build a relationship with students. Surprisingly,
  neither of these happened although I still dont
  know any student names. S5
• I expected students to have good attitude
  towards English. For this point, its o.k.
  because most students liked this course. S21

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Question 3

• What do you think and how do you feel about the
  intensive English courses? Please feel free to
  mention anything, such as your attitudes,
  students' reactions, workload, organisational
  issues, motivational issues etc.
• 53 Subjects

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Teachers Thinking about the Intensive English
Courses
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Positive

• The good part is that once you decide on your
  plan for the two days, you don't have to worry
  about that part every night. Plus, in our section
  we did not have the additional burden of testing
  and marking.
• Before teaching, I was worried about being able
  to motivate myself, but this has proved easier
  than I expected. However, I think 5 times is the
  maximum. For students, I think changing teachers
  regularly may be more interesting although it
  reduces continuity. For workload, teaching the
  same thing 5 times reduces the need for planning
  which is helpful.

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Positive

• I think it's OK for the students. They may get
  things intensively. The students still pay
  attention in my class, even though it is their
  fifth class. As a whole, I like to do this
  although I get bored sometimes. I have to control
  myself not to teach fast in the later group. I
  can remember things in the materials.
• I enjoyed it overall and think it was
  well-organised considering the number of students
  involved. I couldn't imagine doing it another
  way.

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Negative

• The course is very intensive. However, there was
  no rapport between teacher and students. This may
  decrease students' motivation. Teacher could not
  see the students' development/improvement within
  2 days of teaching. Teaching 5 hrs/day for 6
  days/week was too exhausted, especially in the
  last two groups. Both teacher and students were
  too exhausted. It was difficult to encourage
  students to work. Students seemed to have
  difficulty adjusting to different styles of
  teacher's teaching.

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Negative

• As I was responsible for writing course, I think
  it is too short to make student good at writing
  in two days. Writing is a hard skill and writing
  workload takes time. Anyway, the course
  organization or skill division is OK as students
  would be made focus on each skill particularly.
  My students appeared that they needed more time
  to practice writing or to rewrite until they felt
  their English improved as the course is entitled
  'writing'. And they needed that I corrected their
  works thoroughly. This is really a hard job to
  complete within two days.

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Both Positive and Negative

• I think it's good for the students. They can
  meet with more than 1 teacher but this system is
  good for the station-based program only. As for
  me myself, I think my relationship with the
  students is very surface. I couldn't bother to
  remember any name. Marking students' writing
  every 2 days is also laborious. I felt very tired
  at the end of the day and it's difficult to find
  time to adjust the material or prepare for the
  next class when finding that the material is not
  that suitable for students' level.

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Both Positive and Negative

• If we focus only on the teaching part, I think
  this system is quite good because the teachers
  can improve their own teaching every 2 days. This
  is a good chance to learn from mistakes and try
  new things in class. However, it is a bit boring
  during the end of the course, especially the last
  2 days.
• Teachers don't have to spend too much time on
  preparing, and if anything goes wrong in the
  first or second time, teachers can improve their
  teaching techniques in the other groups. To
  repeat the same things 5 times might be boring,
  esp. the students in the last 3-5 groups are less
  motivated.

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Both Positive and Negative

• I was so tired, teaching consecutively for ten
  days. I think students seemed to be tired as
  well. However, some students have got positive
  attitudes towards English (for those who can
  understand how to be a good language learner and
  e-learning). Some students speak more and try to
  communicate in English.
• It's a bit boring to teach the same thing 5
  times, but it's a very good way to reduce
  teacher's workload, including teaching
  preparation. The teaching became routine and it
  is no need to prepare new materials. Although it
  was tough during the 10 days, it's acceptable as
  we have fewer courses during the first semester.

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Question 4

• Could you please give any reasons which affected
  the quality of your teaching in the intensive
  English courses?
• 53 Subjects

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Factors Affecting the Teaching Quality Frequency
1. Teaching Learning the Same Things 5 Times 13 24.53
2. Students English Proficiency / Competency 9 16.98
3. Students Motivation Behavior 9 16.98
4. Teaching Materials 7 13.21
5. Students and Teachers Enthusiasm 5 9.43
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Summary of findings

• 1. Most students had positive attitudes towards
  English and learning.
• 2. Most students felt that the intensive courses
  helped improve their language and learning
  skills, especially the productive ones.
• 3. Most teachers still wonder whether the
  intensive courses can be a replacement for the
  traditional courses.

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Summary of findings

• 4. It seems that most teachers are still
  pondering and trying to balance both the positive
  and negative aspects concerning the intensive
  programme.
• 5. The most important factors that affect
  learning, from both teachers and students views
  seem to be teachers and students themselves.

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Implication Suggestions

• Students positive attitudes and what they have
  learnt from the intensive courses need to be
  reinforced to make the results of the intensive
  programme more fruitful. E.g. At least a normal
  English course should be provided in the
  consecutive term. English should be integrated
  into / or encouraged in other courses.
• The alternative for replacing the traditional
  course by the intensive programme might be an
  additional non-credited pre-sessional intensive
  programme.
• More longitudinal research is needed to see
  clearer results in terms of learning.

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Conclusion

• The intensive course is regarded as an
  innovative English programme. KMUTT has
  experienced difficulties and hard work in
  managing this innovation. However, the results
  are quite satisfactory in terms of students
  attitudes and perceptions on their language
  improvement especially on productive skills.
  Issues on whether it could replace the
  conventional course are still controversial. The
  programme is, thus, challenging and worth further
  investigation.

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Thank You