Ivana Cechova, Daniela Skybova and Radka Koukalova University of Defence, Brno, Czech Republic
5. Discussion Club
In order to transfer a part of the study load to students themselves, an initiative called the Discussion Club (DC) was created, which is an additional way to learn English systematically and to prepare for passing the exam according to STANAG 6001 SLP 2. The activity in this club is focused on practicing speaking skills, and the role of lecturers is provided by students who have passed the exam according to STANAG SLP 3333, which corresponds to C1 level of the European Reference Framework. Students/lecturers studied at universities abroad under the Erasmus programme, participated as interpreters in the Winter Survival International Exercise, and also have further experience with using English in an international environment. All students/lecturers were acquainted with STANAG 6001 SLP 2 test descriptors, teachers provided them with handouts and study materials and the rest were then created by students themselves. The students consulted all their activities with their tutor.
The primary goal of DC was to provide students with the opportunity to practice their speaking skills in a familiar environment, in student clubs, which are directly at their accommodation facilities, and to stress the informal aspect of this activity by the fact that the teachers do not take part in the activities, and act only as advisors. The interest was enormous. In the winter term, students met 2-3 times a week, in the summer term they met every day.
And what do students themselves say about this initiative? In order to find out their opinions, we randomly chose 5 students from each year, module and specialization, and completed semi-structured interviews with them. The selection of students was random and there were 19 interviews altogether. In our research we worked on a following assumption:
Whether and how DC helps students prepare for the STANAG SLP2 exam in speaking.
We created a set of basic questions which we modified according to the individual interviews. All the interviews were recorded and analysed. Students' feedback was positive, and we also appreciated their suggestions and
Ivana Cechova, Daniela Skybova and Radka Koukalova
comments. The interviews have shown that DC is a good initiative and makes a great deal of sense, as all respondents evaluated DC positively from the point of view of a success in the STANAG exam. The scope of the article does not allow us to include all the interesting points of view, so we will only mention some reactions:
"Excellent flexibility, help at any time, detailed feedback, grammar help, the explanation of difficult vocabulary, grammar, etc., extremely close to the exam itself, a great choice of time to come to have a chat."
"It certainly makes sense to me, it helped me to talk, the initiative and the quality of all the speakers is on a high level, but I would add more time for each student because 15 minutes were not sufficient for me."
"Seems good to me. Alexander is a good speaker and it was not a problem to arrange the DC for 30min +. It definitely helped me to succeed in the speaking skill."
"I consider Karolína to be the best, I got level 2 from speaking thanks to her. I also think it´s organized in a good way, it's great to talk and listen to other people."
"It certainly helped me a lot. Lukáš and Alexander helped me to achieve level 2 from speaking. "
"Radek helped me to talk and not to be afraid to talk. I like it and I think it would be great to extend it somehow."
"I found out where my weaknesses are and that I have to study more. It's not easy, but it's good to hear not only from the teachers where my weak points are. Now I speak English almost every day and I think I have a great chance to succeed in speaking."
Students evaluated positively:
Informal aspect: environment, time, lecturers;
Information aspect: learning from one another;
Increase in mutual cooperation and coherence;
Possibility to choose the topic, the method, to influence the pace and time spent on individual activities;
Taking responsibility for their learning.
The interviews have shown that DC is a good initiative because it helps students gain the necessary self- confidence in communication and it also appeared to be a significant extra activity together with other initiatives, such as voluntary English lessons (Preparation for STANAG) taught by teachers and the previously mentioned APA e-course. The increasing sense of responsibility for students´ learning was an unexpected bonus and a confirmation that this method is quite effective.
In the near future, we are planning to have regular meetings with foreign students currently studying under the ERASMUS programme at the University of Defence, and we also want to hold discussions with English teaching students from the Univezidad Andres Bello of Santiago de Chile using Skype under the supervision of a Canadian lecturer.
6. Conclusion
The authors in their work continue in research done at the UoD by e.g. Ullrich et al who describe in their work skills and abilities for military professionals necessary to perform the activities and functions in challenging conditions in military environment, especially at the University of Defence (Ullrich, 2017). Cechova and Saliger focused on academic workers skills in their research from pedagogical and language point of view (Cechova, 2016). Charbonneau Gowdy concentrates in her research on using technologies in a language training and especially on its social aspects (Charbonneau-Gowdy, 2017). In her work, she has cooperated on projects enhancing ICT implementation in the language training, especially web-conferencing with the UoD.
There is no doubt that blended learning came to prevalence because of its mixing of different platforms of learning – typically virtual and physical – in order to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of a learning experience (Bonk et al, 2005). Blended learning has many benefits, but it also presents a challenge: the reduction, or elimination, of face-to-face contact. However, communication, either face-to face or via e-media (e.g. Skype) is crucial in language lessons and DC shows that interaction between speakers can be kept or even enhanced. Above all, students themselves were involved in the role of teachers, and they accepted that role
Ivana Cechova, Daniela Skybova and Radka Koukalova
with full responsibility. Other students were motivated via those who were able not only to achieve a higher level in English but also to teach them in very informal settings. Students also found that the overall structure of English lessons, including face-to-face lessons, the APA, Discussion Club, is integrated well and they appreciated a good balance between face-to-face lessons and online lessons. Students might also bring specific and problematic issues from APA and DC to consult and discuss with a teacher in a class, which makes learning even more relevant and personalised. The traditional lecture is considered as effective and efficient by many students (31%) in order to grasp concepts and principles. However, they prefer to have an online course as a supplement to face-to-face lectures. The majority of students (78 %) think that tests are the best part of APA as they can practise them whenever and wherever they wish, and they consider familiarization with the test format as crucial. However, the authors want to put the main emphasis onto the social role of this tool, and in the near future will strive to extend DC and involve foreign students under the ERASMUS programme in their regular meetings, both formal and informal. The DC might be completed with English teaching students from the Univezidad Andres Bello of Santiago de Chile using SKYPE under the supervision of a Canadian lecturer, which is another significant motivating factor. Bound et al write in their book that peer learning promotes certain types of learning outcomes that include learning with others, self and peer assessment, communication, articulation of knowledge, understanding and skills (Bound et al, 2014). The authors strongly believe that DC with Erasmus students or students from the Chilean university will be more natural, which will represent a practical step towards acquiring a foreign language and building cultural awareness.
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