文創專業英語課程設計之行動研究: 以設計思考為輔助工具

Abstract

本研究採用行動研究方法，首先以Hutchinson與Waters (2009)定義的專業英語需求三要素為本研究理論依據，分析文創設計人才的英語需求，並融入設計思考(Brown, 2008)建構、省思和修正教學內容，實施於文創專業英語課堂中，其目的是達到學以致用的教學目標，培養學生21世紀須具備的國際移動力。本研究執行一年，於上下學期分別進行一次研究循環，並以訪談、問卷、教師省思札記、期末教學評鑑等方式蒐集資料。第一學期17位研究參與者接受研究者訪談，研究者訪問4位文創系授課教師、3位文創業者，以瞭解文創產業所需要使用到英文的情境與要求，亦訪問10位曾參與國際交流，赴韓國研習的文創系學生，以了解他們研習時，使用英文不足之處，以及他們想加強的英文能力。第二學期18位選修此課的學生於期末填寫問卷，以了解他們對此課程的看法與建議。課程以英語簡報技巧訓練為主，輔以TED Talks設計相關演講，從中學習專業英語詞彙，並搭配學生作品設計理念簡報練習。修課學生表示課程對他們提升口語發表能力有幫助，但不少同學表示上課壓力頗大。研究者希望根據本研究發現，提出具體建議，以供相關教學者、大學文創課程規劃單位與後續研究者之參考，並補充Hutchinson和Waters(2009)所提的以學習者為中心的專業英語課程設計理論的論述。 The purpose of the study is to enhance international mobility of students of cultural creative design and prepare them to meet English requirements in the future internationally-oriented workplace. In this action research study, with the design thinking approach, the teacher-researcher constructed, reflected and adjusted a syllabus for a new course, English for Cultural Creative Design. Hutchinson and Waters’ (2009) tripartite categorization of needs, necessities, lacks, and wants, serves as a major framework to analyze the English needs and skills. Thirty-five participants were recruited in this research and data were gathered from interviews, teaching evaluation questionnaires, and teaching logs. The four curriculum developers and three domain experts were interviewed to ascertain the necessities of English requirements; 10 students who attended a design workshop training in South Korea were interviewed to explore their lacks in English. The wants of students’ English learning needs were also collected. Another 18 students who took the course filled in the course evaluation questionnaire. The results showed that regarding necessities, English reading and speaking skills were essential to students, such as reading design-related journals and explaining their design concepts. Regarding lacks, students were found lacking professional English vocabulary and presentation skills, especially the pitch of their design and the pragmatic skill of answering questions. Students also had difficulty comprehending their international peers’ accents during teamwork. In terms of wants, English oral communication skills and cross-cultural communicative skills were the skills that the students desired to learn. To meet the needs, this course mainly focused on the training of English presentation skills. TED talks on design were used as learning materials for both professional vocabulary and presentation skills. The students were required to do oral presentations to explain their design concepts in English. The 18 students indicated that this course provided significant opportunities to improve English speaking skills, which met their expectation, but most of them felt stressed-out in class. This study attempts to provide suggestions for future research and specific pedagogical suggestions for English educators and tertiary course designers in the field of cultural creative design. It is also hoped that the findings can shed light on the learner-centered approach to ESP course design proposed by Hutchinson and Waters (2009).