Конференция «Перспективные научные исследования»

17 - 25 февраля 2012г. Болгария

Филологические науки/Методика  преподавания языка и литературы

V. Ishchenko (PhD, Associate Professor)

Poltava University of Economics and Trade, Ukraine

Case Study Method for Teaching English for Specific Purposes

As we know that we are living in the world of globalization. English language is a common language and is spoken in many countries. It is considered as universal language. Most of the universities worldwide include English as one of their major subject. Ukraine is also competing with the other countries in terms of education and many other things. Hence, we are forced to meet global standards. English is the first and foremost criteria whether you are applying for a job or you are seeking admission in a reputed college/university/institution. Companies welcome those candidates who are fluent in English and have the relevant qualification and skill set. However, candidates with the relevant qualification without having proper knowledge of English language are being rejected. For this, everybody wants to learn business English and thus there is an increase in the demand for business English teachers. If you want to make a career in this field then you have to know the proper way of teaching business English. In this paper we are going to share our experience and we hope it will help you in this concern.

Case studies for ESL teachers can be a useful tool for developing your classroom instruction, whether you're new to teaching or a seasoned professional.

A case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit (e.g., a person, group, or event) stressing developmental factors in relation to context. Thomas offers the following definition of case study: "Case studies are analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied holistically by one or more methods. The case that is the subject of the inquiry will be an instance of a class of phenomena that provides an analytical frame — an object — within which the study is conducted and which the case illuminates and explicates."

Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The latter type is used to explore causation in order to find underlying principles. They may be prospective (in which criteria are established and cases fitting the criteria are included as they become available) or retrospective (in which criteria are established for selecting cases from historical records for inclusion in the study).

In our opinion the following two factors are as important in case study teaching as they are in any other forms of teaching, perhaps even more so, because an instructor has less control with case discussion than other forms of teaching.

First of all you need to clarify objectives, so you need to find the answers for the following questions:

• What do you want students to learn from the discussion of the case?
• What do they know already that applies to the case?
• What are the issues (central and peripheral) that may be raised in discussion?
• Can the case "carry" the discussion (Is it appropriate to your objectives)?

The next step is planning and preparation. That means you should take into account some of the issues listed below:

• how the case and discussion will be introduced
• preparation expected of students (written, submitted, papers?)
• the opening question(s)
• how much time is needed for the issues to be discussed
• concepts to be applied and/or extracted in discussion
• concluding the discussion
• evaluating the discussion (students', your own)
• evaluating the participants (grades for participation?)

To get started – select a short case study that covers the skills you want your students to practice. Read it several times and consider how it fits with your student-learning objectives for the class (you need to think about why you are teaching this case at this time).

Arrange the classroom so that students can talk face-to-face.

Prepare a set of questions for students to write out as homework before running the case in class. For class, prepare another set of questions to move students through the stages of case analysis. These questions can look like these: Who are the people in the case? Why has the situation (problem) occurred? What possibilities for action are there? How should the people in the case study proceed?

At the end conduct a teacher-led summary and conclusion discussion, assessing what your students have achieved.

The case study method provides an opportunity to develop writing competence. For instance one group of students may be asked to take the minutes of the meeting called to solve the problem or to write an agenda of the meeting. When the discussion at the meeting finishes and the final decision is taken, all students are requested to use the information in a written form. It may be a letter, a memorandum, a list of points, a mind map, an action plan, a report, an e-mail or a note – any kind of business writing which best suits the situation. To do that kind of task they need instruction from their teacher on the layout, style and appropriate tone.

The case study method gives teachers a lot of flexibility in assigning tasks, roles and functions. The teacher should not blindly follow the instructions in the teacher’s book. Helpful as they are, they are not the only directions in using a particular case. Teachers should be encouraged to experiment and use cases as input materials that are alive in class – modified, changed and exploited in various ways.

References

1. G. Thomas (2011) A typology for the case study in social science following a review of definition, discourse and structure. Qualitative Inquiry, 17, 6, 511-521

2. Davies, Paul, Pearse, Eric Success In English Teaching, Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers. – Oxford University Press, 2000. – 276 p.