The Language Center

The LC was established in 2007, and it is housed at the CBS. It functions as a coordinator of all English language units in the five PAAET colleges (“PAAET,” n.d.). The LC’s general role is to design ESP and general English (GE) courses for different majors in each college, determine the specific English courses the labor market requires, and design and administer English placement tests to students before they take any English courses. Figure 3.2 presents the governance structure of the LC. The LC coordinates five English language units, one at each college, and has three administrative units: the Testing and Measurement Unit (TMU), the Administrative Affairs Unit (AAU), and the Technical Affairs Unit (TAU). The LC recruits teachers who hold master’s or PhD degrees, and it grants scholarships to teachers with bachelor’s degrees to obtain master’s or PhD degrees, after which they have to teach at the LC for at least as long as they studied abroad. At the time of the study, there were 73 faculty members and 10

trainers in the LC. Faculty members are those who hold PhD or master’s degrees, while trainers hold bachelor’s degrees and are responsible for laboratory training and/or teaching GE courses.

Figure 3.2. The governance structure of the LC

The AAU is responsible for daily procedures including correspondence, conducting training sessions, managing the LC’s budget, and arranging plans and curricula for each English language unit. The TAU is responsible for adopting training programs to improve instruction, conducting studies about the LC, contacting reputable educational institutions and universities to adopt the latest language programs, and proposing techniques to improve administrative and instructional work, thus creating an ideal atmosphere for a successful language learner. Finally, the TMU’s responsibilities include grading and constructing standardized placement tests (discussed in the following paragraph) and final tests for remedial and general English courses. The standardized midterm and final tests that are designed by the TMU are referred to as

CBS LC

The Testing and Measurment Unit The Administrative

Affairs Unit The Teachnical Affairs

Unit English Unit at the CBE English Unit at the CBS English Unit at the CTS English Unit at the CHS English Unit at the CoN

“unified tests,” which are for GE courses. Standardized GE course tests were mandatory for all English units, but the policy changed in 2012-2013 to allow each unit to decide whether tests must be unified or individual teachers may construct their own exams. Teachers who construct their own exams can request answer sheets from the TMU so their tests can be scored

electronically. The TMU provides model answer sheets that are machine scored not only for GE courses but also to ESP teachers who want to construct their tests based on this format.

Each English language unit is expected to offer curricula based on the needs of the main departments and majors of the five PAAET colleges. However, policies are standard in the sense that each college conducts the same English placement test on a day specified in the academic calendar prior to the beginning of the semester. This standardized test is constructed by the TMU, and is printed and securely distributed to each English language unit in the five colleges, on both male and female campuses. Students (in all PAAET colleges) who obtain 60% or more can enroll in an accredited GE course. Students cannot enroll in any ESP courses unless they complete a GE course. Students who score less than 60% on the test take non-credit remedial GE courses. The LC selects the same book for both the Remedial GE and GE courses to be used by all English language units in the five colleges. All GE courses are compulsory. The ESP courses, on the other hand, depend on the student’s major.

3.2.1.1 Courses offered by the LC.

The LC offers a variety of courses. Each college must offer two GE courses: Remedial GE and GE level one, and ESP courses. In the CBE, however, there are two GE courses besides Remedial GE. Table 3.1 lists the English courses offered by the LC at the five colleges.

Table 3.1

List of English Courses Taught in the English Units of the LC

College Remedial GE

Course GE Course ESP Courses

CBS 5 hours/week

(including an hour for laboratory (LAB)) (non-credit)

4 hours/ week (including an hour for LAB)

All ESP courses at CBS are 3 hours/week

- 3 ESP courses (business administration, accounting, and banking and insurance) - 2 ESP courses for computer science - English for Law

CBE 5 hours/week

(non-credit) - GE level 1 (3 hours/week) - GE level 2 (3 hours/week)

All ESP courses at CBE are 3 hours/week

- English for Computer Science Education

- English for Special Needs

- English for Library and Information Science

- English or Science

CTS 5 hours/week

(non-credit)

5 hours/week - English for Technology (5hours/week)

CHS - Remedial English I - Remedial English II Both are 5 hours/ week

(non-credit)

3 hours/week The following ESP courses are 3 hours/week

- English for Food Sciences - English for Environmental Health - English for Medical Laboratories - English for Medical Records—Level I (10 hours/ week) 5 credit

- English for Medical Records- Level II (4 hours/ week) 2 credits

- English for Medical Records- Level III (4 hours/ week) 3 credits

- English Language Composition (4 hours/ week)

- Advanced Reading English (2 hours/ week) 2 credits

CoN - Remedial English I (10 hours/ week— non-credit)

- Remedial English II 5 hours/week (non- credit)

3 hours/week - English for Nurses I (2 hours/week) 2 credits

- English for Nurses II (2 hours/week) 2 credits

- Medical English I (10 hours/week) 5 credits

- Medical English II (10 hours/week) 5 credits

- Medical English III (6 hours/ week) 3 credits

3.2.1.2 Teachers’ Role in the LC.

Teachers in the LC are required to teach Remedial GE, GE, and ESP courses. There are no specific criteria regarding who should teach any of the courses. However, more experienced teachers and PhD holders often teach ESP courses, while novice teachers may teach GE and ESP (the beginner level). Teachers select the English courses they want to teach before the semester begins. However, the LC administration distributes courses according to vacancies and teacher preferences. Unlike in public schools, where teachers’ voices carry less weight regarding assessment than do those of policy makers, teachers in postsecondary institutions in general and the PAAET in particular have more autonomy to construct their own assessments and/or

assessment criteria especially in ESP courses. Although there is a TMU in the LC, its only responsibility is to construct placement tests and standardized midterm and final tests for the Remedial GE and GE courses (upon request from faculty members or heads of English units).

CHAPTER 4: METHODS

This chapter focuses on the study’s methods. It presents the study design and the demographic information of the participant, by first describing the selection criteria for the teacher participants. Second, it describes the data collection procedures, which include initial interviews, classroom observations, and post-observation interviews. Third, it describes the data analysis procedures, and finally, it discusses the validity and ethical issues related to this study.