Impacts of Textual Materials
How Do CLIL Course Gains Compare to Content Gains in Regular L1 Courses?: Advanced Pharmaceutical Sciences in English or Thai
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Malcolm H. Field, Tsutomu Kitajima, Yaowared Chulikhit
The goal of the research was to establish whether students undertaking a content-based course that is taught in a second language, namely English, which are known as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) courses, are achieving equivalent gains in the acquisition of the content being studied as those students who are learning the same content through an equivalent course that is taught in their first language, which in this study was Thai. The students were enrolled in an advanced Pharmaceutical Science course at one of Thailand's best universities. The course is offered in either Thai or English, with the latter being promoted as advantageous for the students' futures. Contents, pedagogy and assessment requirements were as much as possible the same. Both cohorts were tested for pre-entry knowledge of the course material, mid-semester and exit knowledge. An attempt to compare second language proficiency gains was also considered. The results presented are from the first trial with some unforeseen results arising.
Decolonising the English Textbook: A Venture from Critical Interculturality
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Astrid Núñez-Pardo
This qualitative documentary research aims at stating the ontological, epistemological and power criteria, grounded on critical interculturality as a decolonial alternative, which will orient the development of a contextualised English textbook, to resist its uncritical development from the voices of Colombian teachers, authors and experts. Eight English textbooks will be analysed, eight authors and teachers, and three experts will be interviewed. Content analysis as a research method, supported by the socio critical approach will be used to articulate the analysis of the information. Such criteria are expected to overcome the instrumental, homogenised and colonised textbook and to build a desirable one, decolonised and sensitive to universal diversity.
Unre”Lie”able Sources of “Fake News” : Critical Explorations of ‘Alternative Facts and Multiple Truths’ Online
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elaine Correa, Andrea Anderson
Where is the starting point for discussions on truth? What strategies do educators employ to strategically discuss ‘objectivity’ from their own subjective positions in the classroom or online? How can faculty assist and equip students to become more ‘critical consumers’ of the information they receive online? What are the differences in ‘information’ versus ‘knowledge’ and how can students ‘unpack’ the types of ‘information’ and or ‘knowledge’ they encounter in multiple social media sites? These are some of the questions that are critically explored as faculty challenge and are confronted by contemporary versions of re’lie’able sources of ‘fake news. In a culture of alternative facts and multiple truths in the public sphere that is mirrored in classroom debates, how should faculty address what is truth?
