130 / 2018-06-20 21:43:19

Interdisciplinarity in English-Medium Technical English Courses: A Hong Kong Perspective

disciplinary literacy, interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary teaching, English-medium

全体主题 > ESP 研究与教学创新

Discipline, at the tertiary education, reflects epistemological discrepancies that underlie distinct academic identities and corresponding educational practices. It is accordingly recognized that language practitioners induct discipline-specific instruction to enhance students' professional communication beyond disciplinary boundaries. Whilst considerable ESP literature touches upon students' interdisciplinary learning within hard science disciplines, there is still a paucity of discussions on the cross-discipline collaboration and the inclusion of disciplinary literacy, particularly from the perspectives of language practitioners.
This qualitative study, aiming to explore how ESP practitioners enhance their own discipline-specific knowledge and incorporate discipline-specific literacy in their instruction, is contextualized in Technical English courses in a Hong Kong university. Five instructors, two of whom concurrently play the role of program coordinator, are interviewed about their teaching practices, assessment emphases, assignment feedback, and pedagogical challenges. The study corroborates the previous literature that bolsters the incorporation of technical writing skills and professional presentations into the instruction for the hard science disciplines. Pedagogical implications are also proposed to substantiate interdisciplinary teaching such as strengthening students' transferable capabilities for relevant disciplines and increasing cross-discipline interactivity with the subject specialists.