title: Developing EFL students' communicative skills through content-based instruction: A case study of EFL teaching in an undergraduate degree program at a tertiary institution in Indonesia

authors: Eryansyah, Eryansyah

subjects: content-based instruction

abstract: This thesis reports on a mixed-methods case study, where the researcher as practitioner explored the effectiveness of a content-based instructional approach in improving the communication skills and motivation of a group of students at a tertiary education in Indonesia. The following research questions guided this study: (a) What are the attitudes of some EFL students of non-English departments towards current EFL teaching in the tertiary context? (b) Are there any differences in the intervention class EFL students’ pre-test and post-test scores measuring verbal communication performance (actual and self-reported)? (c) What factors identified in a theme-based instructional program appear to contribute to an improvement in EFL students’ communication skills? (d) Are there self-reported differences in intervention class EFL students’ motivation and attitudes following the intervention program and what reasons do they offer for this improvement?
This study used mixed-method data collection methods. It utilised a quasi-experimental design where the research participants were grouped into two groups, an intervention class (IC) and a non-intervention class (NIC). The data were collected using the following methods: questionnaires, reflective journals, video recordings, observations and various pre-test and post-test measures. The qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis and the quantitative data were analysed using the SPSS statistical program.   
In terms of the main findings, first, the results revealed that the students had developed a positive attitude towards the current EFL teaching program. Most of them considered that English was very important and disagreed with the current two-credit allocation for English. They preferred a student-centred EFL class to a teacher-centred class and they also preferred an EFL teaching approach focused on their content-subjects to one focused on general themes. 
Second, the results from the pre-test and post-test mean scores revealed that the intervention class (IC) students’ mean scores improved significantly after they were given the intervention. The non-intervention class (NIC) students’ mean scores also improved but they were not significant. 
Third, the qualitative findings from students’ self-report data revealed that there were four themes (motivation and engagement, affect, self-confidence, and a sense of improvement in EFL and content-subject learning) that emerged. Finally, the results from the questionnaire given to the IC students before and after the intervention revealed that for the most part, their attitude and motivation levels appeared to increase after they were exposed to a theme-based instructional approach. Triangulation of a number of finding strengthened the argument that the content-based instructional approach, in this case, the theme-based instructional approach was effective in improving EFL students’ verbal communicative skills and enhancing their motivation in learning the target language. 
A number of limitations were identified in relation to this study, including its non-generalisability, the short duration of the intervention, the non-utilisation of NIC students’ views, and a number of ethical issues. However, the findings were promising. On this basis, this thesis recommends further study to be undertaken to investigate the effect of CBI in EFL teaching and learning in Indonesia, which involves more groups of non-English department students from different departments and a longer duration of study which will provide more substantial data related to the effectiveness of a content-based instructional approach in EFL teaching in this context.

text: Developing EFL students' communicative skills through content-based instruction: A case study of EFL teaching in an undergraduate degree program at a tertiary institution in Indonesia This thesis reports on a mixed-methods case study, where the researcher as practitioner explored the effectiveness of a content-based instructional approach in improving the communication skills and motivation of a group of students at a tertiary education in Indonesia. The following research questions guided this study: (a) What are the attitudes of some EFL students of non-English departments towards current EFL teaching in the tertiary context? (b) Are there any differences in the intervention class EFL students’ pre-test and post-test scores measuring verbal communication performance (actual and self-reported)? (c) What factors identified in a theme-based instructional program appear to contribute to an improvement in EFL students’ communication skills? (d) Are there self-reported differences in intervention class EFL students’ motivation and attitudes following the intervention program and what reasons do they offer for this improvement?
This study used mixed-method data collection methods. It utilised a quasi-experimental design where the research participants were grouped into two groups, an intervention class (IC) and a non-intervention class (NIC). The data were collected using the following methods: questionnaires, reflective journals, video recordings, observations and various pre-test and post-test measures. The qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis and the quantitative data were analysed using the SPSS statistical program.   
In terms of the main findings, first, the results revealed that the students had developed a positive attitude towards the current EFL teaching program. Most of them considered that English was very important and disagreed with the current two-credit allocation for English. They preferred a student-centred EFL class to a teacher-centred class and they also preferred an EFL teaching approach focused on their content-subjects to one focused on general themes. 
Second, the results from the pre-test and post-test mean scores revealed that the intervention class (IC) students’ mean scores improved significantly after they were given the intervention. The non-intervention class (NIC) students’ mean scores also improved but they were not significant. 
Third, the qualitative findings from students’ self-report data revealed that there were four themes (motivation and engagement, affect, self-confidence, and a sense of improvement in EFL and content-subject learning) that emerged. Finally, the results from the questionnaire given to the IC students before and after the intervention revealed that for the most part, their attitude and motivation levels appeared to increase after they were exposed to a theme-based instructional approach. Triangulation of a number of finding strengthened the argument that the content-based instructional approach, in this case, the theme-based instructional approach was effective in improving EFL students’ verbal communicative skills and enhancing their motivation in learning the target language. 
A number of limitations were identified in relation to this study, including its non-generalisability, the short duration of the intervention, the non-utilisation of NIC students’ views, and a number of ethical issues. However, the findings were promising. On this basis, this thesis recommends further study to be undertaken to investigate the effect of CBI in EFL teaching and learning in Indonesia, which involves more groups of non-English department students from different departments and a longer duration of study which will provide more substantial data related to the effectiveness of a content-based instructional approach in EFL teaching in this context.

year: 2017

title: Hueue

authors: Soo, Chin-En Keith

subjects: animation

abstract: HUEUE aims to capture the colour story of a movie and present it in an accessible time frame of a minute. Movies at their simplest are colour, sound and motion.

HUEUE aims to distil any movie into these basic forms and generate a unique form of escapism, bring the audience on a journey into the movie itself.

HUEUE creates a tunnel effect. The effect indicates an impression of a portal. This is intended to give life to the escapism and create a more concrete feeling of the journey with the aid of sequential colours flowing from the movie. The audio is condensed creating a pitch shift, simulating the Doppler effect. All these elements create an experience that accelerate the viewer into the escapism and further into the movie.

text: Hueue HUEUE aims to capture the colour story of a movie and present it in an accessible time frame of a minute. Movies at their simplest are colour, sound and motion.

HUEUE aims to distil any movie into these basic forms and generate a unique form of escapism, bring the audience on a journey into the movie itself.

HUEUE creates a tunnel effect. The effect indicates an impression of a portal. This is intended to give life to the escapism and create a more concrete feeling of the journey with the aid of sequential colours flowing from the movie. The audio is condensed creating a pitch shift, simulating the Doppler effect. All these elements create an experience that accelerate the viewer into the escapism and further into the movie.

year: 2017

title: Wrestling with Biculturalism in Social Work Education

authors: Glubb-Smith, Kelly J.

subjects: Bicultural social work

abstract: When approached to write a piece on Donna Awatere’s (1984) book Māori Sovereignty from a social work perspective we seized the opportunity to reconsider her work. Revisiting the text after a 30-year-plus hiatus sparked a series of reflective conversations about how we wrestle with teaching biculturalism and our efficacy in preparing students for bicultural practice realities. This article draws upon our co-constructed narratives about what it means to be a social work educator in a bicultural practice landscape. Social work students graduate into an exceedingly complex practice environment fraught with tension about how to resolve inequities across the micro-to-macro continuum. The focus of this article is how Donna Awatere’s work is reflected in the tensions and responsibilities experienced when socialising students into the bicultural mission of social work practice in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

text: Wrestling with Biculturalism in Social Work Education When approached to write a piece on Donna Awatere’s (1984) book Māori Sovereignty from a social work perspective we seized the opportunity to reconsider her work. Revisiting the text after a 30-year-plus hiatus sparked a series of reflective conversations about how we wrestle with teaching biculturalism and our efficacy in preparing students for bicultural practice realities. This article draws upon our co-constructed narratives about what it means to be a social work educator in a bicultural practice landscape. Social work students graduate into an exceedingly complex practice environment fraught with tension about how to resolve inequities across the micro-to-macro continuum. The focus of this article is how Donna Awatere’s work is reflected in the tensions and responsibilities experienced when socialising students into the bicultural mission of social work practice in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

year: 2023-07-27