Twelfth International Conference on e-Learning & Innovative Pedagogies

Abstract

The purpose of this workshop is to discuss experiences teaching English as a foreign language, in required courses, to Journalism and Public Relations undergraduates in Brazil. As a practitioner-researcher with a robust background in language awareness work, I have been looking at how these students (first-language speakers of Brazilian Portuguese) respond to informative texts in English on professional communication, education and social challenges in Brazil. Language awareness is committed to promoting interest in, curiosity about, attention to and reflection about how language is used. Content-based instruction (CBI), on the other hand, refers to an approach to teaching in which themes and texts that are relevant and appealing to students are explored to afford special contact with the target language. A lot of studies show the positive effects of CBI on learner motivation, but the specialized literature often raises questions about the gains in language learning. By sharing samples of texts used in class and feedback from my students, I will engage the participants in this workshop in a discussion of how content-based instruction and language awareness may impact on communicative skills and media literacies, especially when different languages-cultures are at play. I expect to gain valuable insights from the interaction with communication and media scholars and professionals.