Science Challenge - A Novel Language Learning Project at Kochi National College of Technology

S C I E N C E
C H A L L E N G E
A N O V E L L A N G U A G E L E A R N I N G
P R O J E C T A T K O C H I N A T I O N A L
C O L L E G E O F T E C H N O L O G Y
Mike Sharpe

• Contextual background
• Rationales, planning and design
• Classroom schedule
• Outcomes - feedback, preliminary course
evaluation and issues
• Proposed modifications for 2014
• Conclusions
• Q & A
O U T L I N E

C O L L E G E S O F T E C H N O L O G Y
( 高等専門学校 , K O U T O S E N M O N G A K K O )
• Established from 1962 to provide general and professional education for
students from age 15 - 20
• 63 Colleges
National (55)
Public (5)
Private (3)
• 58 engineering schools, 5 mercantile marine studies schools
• (2013) ~ 60,000 students (including 3000 advanced course students)
• Curriculum that emphasizes scientific experiments, workshop training and
practical manufacturing skills.
Institute of National Colleges of Technology mission statement
“to foster practical and creative engineers.”
Hidefumi Kobatake, President

Doctoral course
Masters course
2 year advanced course at kosen
or transfer to university to complete
undergraduate degree (40%) or
employment (60%)
5 year regular course
C O U R S E O F
S T U D I E S

Est: April 1963
No. of pupils: 1,400
Departments:
• Mechanical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering and
Information Science
• Materials Science and Engineering
• Environmental, Civil Engineering
and Architecture
• Intergrated Arts and Sciences
• Advanced Course (established
April 2000)
KCT mission statement - “to cultivate practical engineers to meet the
demands of a new era.”
Hideo Funabashi, President

V O C A T I O N A L E D U C A T I O N A T K C T
( D E P . O F ME C H . E N G )
1st year:
Emphasis on practical manufacturing principles and practices
• Project: Ornithopter
• Engine disassembly/reassembly
• Project: Sterling engine
• Electricity and Power
• Basic mechanics
• Electricity and light
• Project: Make and program an autonomous robot
2nd/3rd Year
• Technical design/drawing
• 2D and 3D Computer Aided Design
4th/5th Year
Shift to theoretical engineering and application of engineering
principles

C O R E L A N G U A G E E D U C A T I O N A T K C T
• Organised by Department of English (Intergrated Arts and
Sciences)
• Students have 2hrs of English instruction per week
• English I, II and III. Focus on EGP and grammar/translation
• Extensive reading/listening and communicative skills courses
(English Expression) introduced ‘to improve English
comprehension and expression’.
• All students expected to take TOEIC test before graduating,
and achieve a score of >400
1ST YEAR TEXTBOOKS

• 2013. Dept. of Mech. Eng. decides to organise a new ‘ESP’ English course to act
as a supplement to regular language curriculum
• April 2013: Teaching begins
R E C E N T D E V E L O P M E N T S I N L A N G U A G E
E D U C A T I O N A T K C T

R A T I O N A L E S
• Widely acknowledged need for general improvements in communicative competence among
Japanese engineers, both for work and research purposes.
• Need is for productive skills, particularly speaking, and not the passive skills that are the focus
of tests such as the TOEIC. (Anthony et al, 2010)
• Why?
• For national interest
• Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) For Japan to remain competitive in the
global marketplace, and an ‘engine for economic growth and international competitiveness
there is a pressing need for greater internationalization within the domestic engineering
community.’ (Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME)/Yamamoto, 2006:3)
• Improved language skills will help to advance Japanese engineering, its workforce, and also
the domestic economy, in multiple contexts (Iino, 2002; Ohashi, 2004; Okada, 2010)
• For professional development
• Okamoto et al. (2009 study on software engineering). English is ‘the lingua franca’ (Okamoto
et al, 2009: 251) for professional communication, and the ‘de facto’ (ibid) medium of work.
Consequently, programmers who cannot use English might find themselves disadvantaged in
their professional career.
• Asahi Shimbun (2013) reports on instances where Japanese companies have recruited
foreign workers with English skills over non-English speaking Japanese.
(http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ201310120051

R A T I O N A L E S
• Why?
• For the advancement of Japanese science and engineering
• All of the international engineering journals are published in English (Nunan, 2003;
le Madeleine, 2007),
• Many international engineering conferences are now conducted in English.
• Crossover to using English will open a conduit for ‘the international exchange and
transfer of technology’ for the enrichment of intra-communal discourse between
Japanese scientists and their peers in other countries. (JSME International
Journal, 2000)
• The number of Japanese-only basic science journals has declined, while the
number published in English has risen. Domestic science society meeting are
being increasingly conducted in English. ‘Japanese is slowly being eliminated from
Japan’s primary scientific content’ (Le Madeleine, 2007).

R A T I O N A L E S
Prof. Shigenori Akamatsu, KCT Department of Mechanical Engineering:
• L2 program at KCT is not fully addressing the need to improve communicative competence
among junior engineers.
• Should be increased opportunities for interaction in L2 between instructor and learners
• L2 teaching methods should try to promote interest in English from an early age
• The L2 classroom should be an environment for enjoyable language learning
• Main challenge for L2 program is how to bridge the gap between the proficiency of students
when they enter the program at age 15 and the levels of proficiency required for future work
and study contexts

S C I E N C E C H A L L E N G E -
K E Y S Y L L A B U S D E S I G N P A R A M E T E R S
• Suitable for mixed groups of ten 1st year mechanical and electrical engineering students
• Based on practical, science-based project related to dynamics
• Achievable in three 100 minutes sessions
• Inclusive of opportunities for practicing all four macro-skills, in particular opportunities for
spoken instructor/student interactions.
• Course content delivered entirely in English

S C I E N C E C H A L L E N G E -
S Y L L A B U S O U T L I N E
Task:
• Students design and build a ball launcher in small groups of 2-4.
• Test and modify the machine.
• Write a report about the project.
Schedule:
Session 1: Introduction, design brief and brainstorming
Session 2: Construction, testing, and competition
Session 3: Report writing

S E S S I O N 1
Kochi College of Technology
Science English Course 2013
Teacher: Michael Sharpe
Goals of this course:
 Practice listening to and reading instructions.
 Practice using the English grammar commonly used in science
reports. (Future, Past)
 Practice the English sentence structures commonly used in
science reports. (Description; Sequence; Cause and Effect)
 Learn the structure of an experimental report.
To carry out a dynamics experiment and report the results in English.
Schedule: 3 x 90mins lessons
Lesson 1: Introduction and explanation.
Explanation of problem and research objectives.
Brainstorming, design and construction.
Lesson 2:Finalise construction.
Perform experiment.
Lesson 3: Write report and submit to teacher
I N T R O D U C T I O N
• Explanation of course language
learning goals (i.e focus on
speaking)
• Explanation of project goals (i.e
• Background and practical
demonstration of basic scientific
principles (torsion, kinetic and
potential energy)
• Design hints and tips (need for
strength, stability and importance of
correct trajectory), again with
practical demonstration

S E S S I O N 1
B R A I N S T O R M I N G A N D
D E S I G N
Student groups preview
materials, plan design, and
begin construction
Note* Japanese Dep. of Mech.
faculty member in attendance for
L1 language support)

S E S S I O N 2
C O N S T R U C T I O N , T E S T I N G
A N D M O D I F I C A T I O N A N D
C O M P E T I T I O N

S E S S I O N 3
R E P O R T W R I T I N G
Students complete 200-300 word project
description/analysis based on the
framework of a basic
experimental/research report
• Section I: Introduction
• Section II: Methodology
• Section III: Results
• Section IV: Conclusion

R E P O R T W R I T I N G
G U I D E
S E S S I O N 3

R E P O R T S A M P L E S ( T R A N S C R I B E D F R O M
O R I G I N A L S )
Example of student’s written report:
Introduction
“Our group consisted of three electrical engineering students. Our
objective was to build a machine capable of launching a ball over a
one-metre high barrier.
Design and construction
To begin our group discussed the design together. Next we sketched
the design on paper.
To build our machine, we used ten 30cm wood sticks, 15 cable ties, a
30 x 30cm pice of fibre board, some tape, glue and many rubber
bands.
To construct our machine, first we made a base from fibre board.
Next we made a frame. First we made two triangle shapes using
wood sticks and cable ties. Then we joined the two frames together
using cable ties. Then we attached the frame to the base. Finally we
made a throwing arm and we attached the arm to the frame and
added some rubber bands.
Results
When we tested our machine it did not have enough power. We fixed
the problem by adding some more rubber bands. In the competition
we launched the ball a maximum distance of 8m.
Conclusion
Our design had enough strength and stability, but did not have
enough power. Our team should have used more rubber bands.
These results show that the most important part of a catapult design
is power.
Example of student’s written report:
Introduction
“Our group consisted of two electrical engineering students and one
mechanical engineering student. Our objective was to design and
make a catapult that was able to launch a ball over a one metre high
barrier.
Design and construction
To begin our group talked about the design together. After that we
planned the catapult design together. Finally we drew the catapult
design on paper.
To build our catapult, we assembled some 30cm wood sticks, a lot of
rubber bands, a styrene board, and cable ties. First we made two
triangular frames with six 30cm wood sticks. Next we attached two
triangular pieces together using cable ties and seven 30cm wood
sticks. Next we fixed two 30cm wood sticks on the topside of the
frame using rubber bands. Next we made a arm using three 30cm
wood sticks and cable ties, and fixed it to the frame with rubber
bands. Next we fixed tray made of styrene board. Finally we attached
it to the frame with rubber bands.
Results
When we tested our catapult was too weak. The problem was the
power of rubber bands. So we solved the weakness by adding more
rubber bands and changing position of rubber bands. Our catapult
launched the ball a maximum distance of 6m.
Conclusion
Our design had enough power but the arm was too weak. Our team
should have strengthened the frame and arm. The results indicate
that the most important part of a catapult design is the strength of
the frame.”

I N S T R U C T O R - L E A R N E R F E E D B A C K
• Direct feedback on each report
• Students graded on percentage basis.
Report grading criteria
1. Length
2. Accuracy
3. Creativity (writing out of the box)
Overall assessment criteria
1. Report score
2. Class participation

• (Results from student questionnaire
pending)
Feedback from students:
• “This lesson was very interesting.
Thank you for exciting lesson.”
• “I was very excited in this Science
Challenge.”
• “I enjoyed very much. Thank you.
• “This English lesson is fun. Thank
you.”
• “I enjoyed this Science Challenge.”
• (Results from Eng. faculty
questionnaire pending)
Feedback from engineering faculty:
• Positive feedback from all those
connected with the projects, the
president, and also interest from other
departments in organising similar
courses for their students.
• Discussions already underway to
expand program for 2014
E V A L U A T I ON
S T U D E N T - I N S T R U C T O R F E E D B A C K E N G I N E E R I N G F A C U L T Y - I N S T R U C T O R F E E D B A C K

• ✓ Course design provides excellent opportunities for instructor-
learner interaction.
• ✓ Participants seem to enjoy participating in the course.
• ✓ Participants have opportunity for whole text writing.
• ✓ Plans to expand in 2014 and beyond
E V A L U A T I O N
T O W H A T E X T E N T H A V E C O U R S E O B J E C T I V E S B E E N M E T ?

E V A L U A T I O N
T O W H A T E X T E N T H A V E C O U R S E O B J E C T I V E S B E E N M E T ?
• ✗ Some participants still hesitant to communicate in English
• ✗ Construction phase too long - an end rather than means?
• ✗ Methodology (group project) tends exclude some participants
• ✗ Some conflicts with English department vis a vis professional
territory

P L A N N E D M O D I F I C A T I O N S F O R 2 0 1 4
• Choice of several projects
• Limit construction time
• Students do mini-presentation in final session

C O N C L U S I O N S
• KCT needs to offer all students more opportunities to develop spoken language
skills as part of their professional development.
• Need for a comprehensive vocational language program from 1st to 5th year.
• Disparity between actual competence when students enter program and target
competence dictates that developing vocational language skills at KCT must be
a linear process, beginning with a ‘semi-ESP’ course focused on ‘common-core
skills’ (Dudley-Evans, 1997:6). This basic scientific language can act as the
initial bridging point between what KCT students can do with English at the point
of commencing their studies, and what they eventually need to be able to do
with English as qualified engineers.
• Importance and value of cooperation between language instructors and content-
area instructors.

W E B R E S O U R C E S F O R P R A C T I C A L
S C I E N C E P R O J E C T S
• www.nasaexplores.com
• www.sciencebob.
• www.education.com/science-fair/
• www.sciencebuddies.org/
• www.all-science-fair-projects.com/
• sciencefair.math.iit.edu/projects/

C I T A T I O N S
Dudley-Evans, T. (1997). An overview of ESP in the 1990s. in Orr. T (ed). Proceedings of the Japan Conference on
English for Specific Purposes. 5-11. University of Aizu, Fukushima.
Madeleine, Bonnie Lee La. (2007). Lost in Translation. Nature (special report). 445 (1): 454-455
Nunan, D. (2003). The impact of English as a global language on educational policies and practices in the Asia Pacific
region. TESOL Quarterly. 37 (4): 589-613
Ohashi, H. (2004). Establishing Engineering Profession in Japan – Accreditation, Professional Qualification and CPD.
3rd ASEE International Colloqium on Engineering Education, Bejing, 2004.
Okada, H. (2010). Toward the globalization of JSCE. Foreword to Civil Engineering, JSCE. (JSCE)
Okamoto, K., Yamamoto, E., Dan, H., Fuyuki, M. (2007). Consolidative ESP. pp1-6. In Proceedings of the 2007
Professional Communication Conference, (IPCC 2007). IEEE International.
Okamoto, K., Yasumuro, Y., Yamamoto, E., Fuyuki, M. (2009). From a language learner to a language user. Pp: 250-
257 in Language for Professional Communication: Research, Practice & Training. Edited by Bhatia, V.K., Cheng, W.,
Du-Babcock, B., Lung, J. Asia-Pacific LSP and Professional Communication Association, Hong Kong
The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. English website: http://www.jsme.or.jp/English/
Japan Times forum on English education. (2009) ‘Engineers must have English skills to succeed’. 5. 10. 2009. Japan
Times

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