Writing at EAP and ESP

Since there is great concern as to the way professors from Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina, understand the teaching-learning process, an analysis of the content and nature of the teaching and learning concepts has been carried out based on implicit theories (Thadani, Breland, & Dewar, 2015). However, little has been said about the theories that prevail among these faculty members. The purpose of the present study is to examine the variables concepts about learning and consistency index from a descriptive standpoint. This paper is organized as follows. First, the researchers examine previous bibliography on the subject. Then, a dilemma questionnaire is completed by 100 participants and included as an appendix. Finally, the results and conclusions are presented. Reference Thadani, V., Breland, W., & Dewar, J. (2015). Implicit theories about teaching skills predict university faculty members' interest in professional learning.  Learning and individua...

Critique of The theory and Practice of Online Teaching and Learning: A Guide for Academic Professionals. The Theory and Practice of Online Teaching and Learning: A Guide for Academic Professionals is a freebook published by Routledge that compiles excerpts from different titles aimed at providing educators with the basic steps into online teaching. Even though virtual environments have become increasingly common, many professionals are still reluctant to introduce technology in their practices because they feel vulnerable in the face of this change. They could mistakenly believe that physical presence and synchronicity are critical in learning. Nonetheless, communication can be successful if the parties involved embrace this new environment enthusiastically.             In chapter 1, Ko and Rossen (2010) establish a comparison between online and conventional teaching. They offer tips to plan an online course or convert a tradition...

Warwick, L. (2016). The use of assessment criteria in classroom speaking tasks.  Research Notes: The 2015 Cambridge English/English Uk Action Research Scheme , 66, 16-21. This paper describes a two-phase study conducted with a class of nine pre-intermediate adult students at a private language school in the UK over a 7-week period. The purpose of the study was to explore the use of success criteria in relation to self-assessment and the development of speaking skills. In the first phase, learners were presented with a set of criteria after a speaking activity. In the second phase, they were given the criteria before the activity. In comparison, self-assessment ratings were closer to those of the teacher in the second phase, when students knew in advance what was expected from them. The results concluded that having a set of criteria to assess themselves before tasks improved the students’ speaking skills. The use of success criteria may have a positive effect on learni...

In 2005, Steve Jobs delivered a speech at Stanford in which he revealed three personal stories to new graduates. The purpose of this paper is to summarize his words. In the first place, he advised them to “Connect the dots” (Jobs, 2005). Even when we cannot make sense of different situations in life, we must remain confident because everything will fit together in the end. Jobs resorted to an anecdote to illustrate this idea. After dropping university, he felt lost and a disappointment to his parents. He attended a calligraphy course and although he found it fascinating, there was no clear purpose. However, this class was a great help ten years later when he designed the first Macintosh and was able to put his knowledge into practice to create beautiful typography. In his second story, Jobs encouraged them to learn from loss and to follow their hearts. He explained how he was fired from his own company, Apple, and how he came back due to perseverance, determination, and love for h...

            The purpose of this text is analyzing the in-text citations used in the paper written by Dolk and den Hertog (2008). According to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association Sixth Edition (APA Manual 6 th Edition), sources must be documented. When referring to somebody else’s words or ideas, using information from interviews, copying exact words or phrases, or reproducing charts, diagrams, etc., we should give credit.             Most of the cases in the above-mentioned paper are parenthetical citations of paraphrased material. They are either included in a signal phrase, e.g. “Doyle and Carter (2003) saw narrative knowing as an important part of teacher education.” (Dolk and den Hertog, 2008, p. 216), or other authors’ ideas are paraphrased, e.g. “While constructing the narrative the narrator has to be able to defend the meaning of the story within the story itse...

            There seems to be feelings of disconnection between teaching theory and classroom practice, especially among future teachers. Therefore, Dolk and den Hertog (2008) reported that a linkage between theory and practice was being pursued in The Netherlands through the use of reflection. Not only reflection, but also narration and construction were crucial parts in making practice meaningful (Goffree & Dolk, 1995 as cited in Dolk & den Hertog, 2008). In order to achieve this, several multimedia learning environments were created. The multimedia interactive learning environment (MILE) was an example of a computer-based environment containing videos of real primary mathematics practices that could be used to analyze the teaching-learning process.             They also defined narratives as “a meaning making process in which the narrator tries to make sense of an event using practical ...