This paper discussed findings from the presenter's work in progress on English language learning in a particular context, the Political Science Faculty of a large Italian university. The aim of the presentation was to illustrate the role of local context in English for specific academic, occupational and professional purposes. Maley (2000) stresses the importance of seeking appropriate solutions to problems in local contexts, "... we know very little about many of the contexts in which English is taught, and certainly less than those who face the day-to-day problems of teaching in them."
For the purposes of this presentation EOP (English for Occupational Purposes) and EPP (English for Professional Purposes) are grouped together as EOP in order to contrast them with EAP (English for Academic Purposes). Analysis of the presenter's research and findings would suggest that there is a role for both EAP and EOP in the local context, as well as for GE (General English). A further consideration put forward is that tailoring the language teaching to the local context involves identifying the EAP, EOP, GE balance that is "right" for that context, the balance also between more specific or more general EOP and EAP.
It is suggested that this kind of context is by no means unique and can provide valuable insights as regards their learner populations for EAP practitioners in a wide variety of situations. Burns (1999) points out that the kinds of practical questions and issues and daily concerns encountered by teachers of English as a second or foreign language are likely to be broadly recognisable across many educational settings and will, therefore, "contain many areas of relevance for teachers in other countries." (ibid: 3)
In order to contextualise this presentation, the language learning framework and issues involved are looked at first. Then a broad picture is sketched of the background and current position of higher education and political science faculties in Italy before looking at the local situation of the University of Turin and its political science faculty. Finally, the two strands are brought together with the researcher's findings and the implications discussed.
The study falls into the sphere of needs analysis, which has over the years shifted significantly away from the sort of "narrow-band ESP approach which typified the work of people such as Munby" (Nunan, 1988: 44) to a broader-based one. Dudley-Evans and St John (1988: 125) even talk about a "current concept" of needs analysis, whose "aim is to know learners as people, as language users and as language learners; to know how language learning and skills learning can be maximised for a given learner group..."
This study deals with first degree students at a large academic institution who are studying a variety of disciplines. Discipline-specific language and its organisation play an important role in an academic community. The subjects of this research, the students attending the faculty, are members of this academic community for a limited period of time; some of them might go on to become permanent members, while others are in full or part time employment and thus members of occupational (or professional) communities. The aim of impoving their existing situation, or of making their possible future career in one of these communities, is often a key factor behind the students' decision to enrol in the faculty.
Membership of these academic or occupational communities is usually dependent on a certain level of academic and / or occupational literacy. This literacy is generally only required in L1 (in this case Italian), but changes at a local and international level have meant that academic and / or occupational literacy in another language (especially English) is becoming increasingly desirable, and sometimes even a necessity.
A key issue lies in the specificity of the courses. Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) have drawn up a scale of ESP course types ranging from Position 1 (clearly definable as GE, such as English for Beginners) to Position 4 (teaching clearly specific skills, such as Report Writing for Scientists to groups which are not homogeneous) and Position 5 (clearly definable as specific, such as an 'academic support' course related to a specific academic course). "Positions 2 and 3, which are towards the centre of the continuum, have much in common and it is only the overall context of the programme that decides whether a given course is classified as ESP or not." (ibid: 8-9) The case study seems to fit mainly into the latter two positions, although situations involving all the other three positions are by no means excluded.
The choice as regards the kind of EAP and / or EOP to include in course programmes is also linked to the issue of motivation. While the instrumental motivation is clearly present in an exam-driven academic context, it is often linked to the specificity of the materials used in a course. Students studying English in a university science faculty tend to think they need an EST course. (Pavesi, 1998). The same can often be the case for those attending other specialist faculties, such as law, economics and medicine.
Conversely, Dudley-Evans and St John (1998: 10) suggest that students who are studying English "because it is on the timetable of their institution or who have been sent on a course by their company and who do not have specific, immediate and clearly definable needs may be demotivated by more specific work" and might be more motivated by EGAP courses based on common-core language and skills not related to specific disciplines or professions.
Until the student movement of 1968, Italian universities were home to relatively small numbers of students. In 1969 higher education reforms led to changing entrance requirements and radical transformation. Zagrebelsky (1991) contrasts the difference between 1967, when she took her degree, and 1977, the first national conference of the Associazione Italiana Anglistica (AIA) in Florence. "The number of students went up, their academic backgrounds and needs changed dramatically. All of a sudden we had moved from an elitist movement to a 'università di massa'."
The aim behind the reform was to bring higher education within the reach of all. Yet, while this has by and large been achieved, it remains hard for students to bring their studies to a successful conclusion. The Italian university system produces one of the lowest number of graduates in Europe. The Eurispes report "Italia 2000" (Reschia, 2000: 38-9) revealed that only 8% of Italians aged between 25 and 64 had university degrees, and only 26% high school diplomas. The same report estimated that out of a thousand first year middle school students, 47 would never complete their middle school studies and that of the 953 who completed them, only 874 would start high school. Of these, 684 would obtain their high school diploma; 467 would enrol in the universities, but only 165 would graduate.
The present period is another of change and transition for higher education in Italy. As well as the decentralisation of responsibilities from the ministerial administration in Rome to the local universities, major structural changes are being introduced within the degree courses themselves, in part as a result of the agreements reached at a European level at the Sorbonne in May 1998 (Fischer, 1999: 123) and in part in order to increase the number of graduates. The traditional four year degree courses are being transformed into broader based and more flexible three year ones. Students will then have the possibility of specialising for a further two years, and after that, of embarking on three year doctoral programmes. A credit system will allow greater mobility to the system.
Italian government undersecretary Luciano Guerzoni has explained the rationale behind the change: "the fulcrum of the university reform is the three year degree which will be for over two-thirds of the students and will have an immediate value on the job market; ... Today 85% of law graduates do not become magistrates, attorneys, or notaries, but find satisfactory employment in the public or private sectors. In the future, only those who wish to become magistrates, attorneys, or notaries should be able to obtain the specialisation degree. For the others the three year degree should be sufficient." (Guerzoni, 2000) The reform, with its emphasis on the job market, is likely to have important implications for language learning in Italian universities, particularly in terms of the request for EAP and EOP.
The Political Science faculties in Italy have a relatively recent history; the oldest is that at Florence, dating back to 1925, and in 1948 there were still only four others. But after 1969 their number expanded rapidly, to eighteen In 1972 and to twenty-five in 1994. An increase that was paralleled by that of the students studying political science in Italy, from under 1,500 in 1948 to nearly 42,000 in 1972, to over 110,000 in 1994. (Martinotti and Curzio, 1994: 13)
The faculties offer courses in a wide spectrum of disciplines: from Constitutional Law to Statistics; from Industrial Sociology to Monetary Economics; from International Relations to Political Philosophy. Degree programmes are divided into specialisations, such as political-administrative, political-economic, political-international, political-social and historical-political. At present there are 23 exams to be taken during the four year course. Twelve subjects are compulsory; the others vary according to the specialisations. These specialisations require the students to take two language (or linguistics) exams, one of which must be English, as part of their course programme. (Rodolfi, 2000: 57)
Turin University is a large university, with more than 67,000 students enrolled in 1999-2000, serving the needs of the region of Piedmont. Until recently it was the only university in the region, and it still attracts the great majority of students from the area who attend higher education. The University of Turin fits into the definition provided by Coleman (1988) of a large and extremely complex organism formed of a large number of smaller constituent units, in which a large number of people are operating. And like any living organism "it is constantly changing: expansions, retractions, and mutations are occurring all the time." (ibid: 157) The university faculties are among the most important units within this complex and dynamic organism.
A degree course in the Law Faculty since 1939/40, the Turin Faculty came into being as a separate entity in 1969. Its expansion was rapid; the c.1,000 students enrolled in 1969/70 were 6,200 in 1999/2000. (Trabucco, 2000) During the same period great changes have taken place in the faculty, changes that can perhaps best be can be seen in the transformation of the student population. In 1974 the profile of the typical student was that of a male (84%), aged around 30 and in full-time employment (74%). (Bonet, 1978) By 1996 the typical student was male (55.5%), aged around 25 (22.5 on matriculation), and working (but only 51% full-time; c.18% had occasional work). (Fischer, 1999) Thus the typical student in 1996 was 5 years younger and considerably less likely to be male or have a full time job than their 1974 counterpart.
Three distinct typologies of student currently attending the faculty have been identified. (Fischer, 1999: 70-85) The first group of students, 43% of those enrolled, had a higher proportion of female students, younger ones (under 25), and those with better high school diploma results usually obtained in a 'liceo' (a more academically oriented high school). Three-quarters of them are on schedule with their exams and their course attendance is good, as is their use of the libraries and other university facilities. They tend to come from a middle to upper class background, and will probably graduate in the prescribed time, or at least taking only one extra year.
The second group with its 41% of enrolments is nearly as large the first. This group consists of more or less equal numbers of male and female students primarily from a middle to lower class background, with technical or professional high school diplomas taken regularly at the right age. From a similar age range as the first group, many of them work (though not necessarily full time) and are studying in order to improve their current position or career. Although they manage to attend some or most of their classes, only a quarter of them of them are not behind in their study programme. Most of them think it is useful to attend classes but they are generally less successful than the students in the first group. The majority will take 6 or more years to graduate.
The third group of 16% is made up of worker students, few of whom can be considered as full time students, as almost all of them have a full-time job. Over half do not attend courses at all, while a third only manage to attend one or two courses. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of them are male, and most come from a middle to lower class social background. They tend to have taken their high school diplomas later than those in the other groups (average age 21) and to have enrolled late in the faculty (average age 27). Generally speaking, they are similar to the 84% of worker students identified as being enrolled in the faculty in 1974.
For Fischer (ibid: 70) the faculty has changed enormously over the years, is still in a state of constant change, and now has a population which appears to be overcoming its past anomalies, at least in part. This transformation has not gone unrecognised.
In a summer 2000 survey on the merits of the various Italian universities and faculties, the Turin University Faculty of Political Science did extremely well and came top, with a score of 755 out of 1000, being described as: "The jewel in the university's crown and certainly the best faculty in Italy." (Luna, 2000: 169)
When Montinaro and Scagni (1995: 10) studied the cohort of faculty students who matriculated in 1981/82, following their university careers through to 1994, their research revealed that of the 825 students enrolled, 692 had left the faculty, only 12% had taken their degrees and 4% were still in the system. 522 had not taken any exams and only 303 had taken at least one.
These statistics highlight characteristics of the student population which are worth looking at more carefully for a clearer understanding of the setting, such as the reasons why large numbers of students drop out of their courses, those why so many of them take such a long time over their studies, the question of academic literacy, and that of the students' future employment prospects.
One striking aspect of the student population is the high student drop-out rate, especially after the first year. Of those who matriculated in 1996/97 about 43% left the faculty between their first and second year, the highest faculty drop-out rate in the University of Turin. (Fischer, 1999: 86) A number of possible reasons for students dropping out have been suggested, such as wrong choice of faculty, finding work, failing exams, health problems, shortage of money, personal problems, family problems, and disillusionment with the course. Naccarato and Ricca (1999: 109) in a recent study of drop-out at the University of Roma Tre reveal that the main reasons were 'incompatibility with work situation' (34.4%) and 'wrong choice of faculty or university' (26.3%), while 13.9% found the academic burden too 'onerous', 15.3% had family problems and 7.3% blamed the university. Fischer (1999, 125) notes the marked contrast between the way students have studied at high school and the way they study at university. She considers it one of the main causes of the high drop-out rate, and even more so of the length of time students take over their studies.
Another factor to be considered could be that enrolling in the university might be a way of avoiding military call-up; indeed until the mid eighties taking a university exam could delay starting military service for a year. With the gradual decline and abolition of compulsory military service in Italy, this factor is becoming less and less relevant.
It needs to be noted that the wrong choice of faculty can also work in favour of the Political Science faculty of the University of Turin; a consistent number of students transfer to it from other faculties, especially the Economics and Law faculties: 15% of those enrolled in 1990 and 22% in 1997. (Fischer, 1999: 122)
The problem is, of course, not limited to either Turin or Italy, although the drop-out rate is higher than in some other countries. On average only 16% of first-year full-time students in UK universities fail to get a degree, as against 28% in Germany, 37% in the United States, 45% in France and 66% in Italy. Carvel (1999) observes, however, that the rates are much higher in UK universities with an intake of students from a poorer background, contrasting the 1% drop-out rate from Cambridge University with the 36% at the University of East London.
Many Italian university students are 'fuori corso', literally still studying but outside the regular time limits of their degree course. The situation is particularly dramatic at the Turin University Faculty of Political Science. Only 11% of those students who matriculated in 1990 had graduated by 1998. Yet the statistic also related to the student typology. 15% of female matriculants, and 21% of those from the 'liceo' high schools (thus those from the first typology mentioned in 3.6) had graduated. (Fischer, 1999: 122) Many of those who were still studying were also working.
Bravo (1999: xxiii) looking at the statistic from an Italian perspective, observes that though the numbers are high in the Turin faculty, they are similar to those in Milan, Bologna and elsewhere in northern or central Italy (where more jobs are available than in the south). He goes on to comment that he does not see it as being an entirely negative phenomenon, if looked at from the point of view of finding employment, as it reflects the fact that many of those enrolled in the faculty find jobs while they are studying and so can still continue with their studies when they are employed.
A large section of the student population works, either part or full time, and their studies are seen by many as a way of improving their current or future situation. While for those who are without employment, finding a good job / choosing a career is generally a major concern. A knowledge of English is becoming increasingly important in the world of work. The faculty handbook considers that the main employment prospects for political science graduates are in the private service sector, in the public administration, in private firms in the business sector, and freelance work in a wide variety of fields from accounting to journalism. (Armao, 2000: 19) Italian job competitions for the public administration generally have exams in law, economics, history and now often a foreign language. English is increasingly the language required. (Regis, 2000) And if languages are a necessary requirement for finding a job in the public sector, it is even more the case in the private, as a glance at the situations vacant section in any major Italian newspaper will concern.
It needs to be mentioned that L1 academic literacy can by no means be taken for granted. Many faculty students have considerable problems with their written Italian. In a 1999 study a sample of 169 students had to write a summary of a sociology text. The summaries were then assessed from four viewpoints: spelling, grammar and syntax; comprehension and lexis; content; appropriateness of length. After analysing the summaries, Bonazzi (1999: 4) estimated that 15% of future matriculants would not have problems with academic literacy, but that a good 10% would need intensive intervention on all aspects of the language; while the great majority, around three-quarters, would require differentiated teaching modules aimed at solving specific writing problems.
Perhaps this is to be expected in a system largely based on oral examinations and where few students have experience with academic writing until they come to write their degree dissertation. The latter can create serious difficulties, and, at present 61% of Political Science students take over a year to write their thesis. (Fischer, 1999, 124)
A questionnaire on English Language Learning was prepared and distributed to a sample of students attending the Political Science Faculty of Turin University. Data was collected from 181 informants whose anonymity was guaranteed under the Italian law safeguarding personal data (law 675 of 31/12/96). The language used was the informants' mother tongue, Italian, and the questions were in large part formulated so as to facilitate comparison with those of other surveys of language learning in Italian student populations, for example, those by Tarantino (1994), Pavese (1994 and 1996) and Zagrebelsky (1991, 1997).
Apart from the question on English acquired outside the faculty (here in 5.1) and that on the frequency of the use of English in the study of other disciplines (here in 5.5), the informants were allowed to tick more than one possible answer, but never more than three. This question type was chosen as in all the questions more than one choice was considered likely or desirable, but the choices were limited to three so that the informants would actually make a selection. The statistics relating to these questions when given as percentages are not therefore out of 100% understood as a cumulative total relating to the whole question, but 100% of that particular part of the question.
26% of informants study English outside the university 35.4% of them have studied it in the past either outside school or university 29.3% have spent time in an English-speaking country
18.2% have studied English in one of these countries
The findings reveal a definite interest and investment on the part of the informants (and by extension of their families) of both time and money in the study of English: over a quarter of the informants study English outside the university, while 35.4% of them have studied it in the past either outside school or university. Nearly 30% have spent time in an English-speaking country, and more than 18% have studied English in one of these countries. This suggests an interest which almost certainly goes beyond their university studies, and which is probably linked to the potential value of English on the labour market.
I like it 30.4% (55 informants)
It's useful for my specialisation 26.5% (48 informants)
It's compulsory for my specialisation 28.7% (52 informants)
It will improve my job prospects 55.2% (100 informants)
To go abroad 38.7% (70 informants)
Other 3.9% (7 informants)
It is not useful for me 1.7% (3 informants)
I don't need it 1.1% (2 informants)
Timetable problems: 14.4% (26 informants)
Failure to pass the entry test: 3.9% (7 informants)
Other 5.0% (9 informants)
If we look at the reasons why the informants study or do not study English in the faculty, we can see that motivation is generally high; the only major reason (14.4%, 26 informants) given for not studying English in the faculty is because of timetabling problems (clashes with other courses, problems taking time off work and so forth).
Interest in GE (or perhaps EOP) appears to be higher than that in EAP, as the most important reason declared for studying English in the faculty is that it will improve the informants' job prospects, while going abroad is rated as more important than the options relating to the their specialisation in the faculty. Yet if 'useful for my specialisation' is taken together with 'compulsory for my specialisation', the total (100 informants) is the same as that of 'it will improve my job prospects' suggesting that in reality the informants might be equally interested in EAP.
reading general texts 20.4% reading specialised texts 34.3%
understanding spoken English 66.3%
speaking 55.8% writing 40.3%
When we examine the skills they consider to be the most important as regards their university studies, the skills identified would seem to be oriented more towards their careers (and thus more GE or EOP related) than towards EAP. It is interesting to highlight the importance given to understanding spoken English (66.3%) and to speaking (55.8%). Considerably more than the 20.4% and 34.% given to reading general texts and reading specialised texts respectively, while 40.3% consider writing to be important for their studies. Yet this does not signify that practitioners should not involve EAP materials. Far from it, the relatively high rating (34%), given to the reading of specialised texts suggests that this is what many of the informants actually want and why it makes sense to be studying language in an academic context. While the interest in understanding listening and speaking skills could also indicate a need for EGAP.
Interesting Useful Total anthropology 42 24 66 international law 38 67 105 comparative law 14 25 39 economics 34 48 82 politics 37 48 85 sociology 62 41 103 contemporary history 63 43 106 other 17 11 28
That there is also a significant role for ESAP would seem to be apparent from the response to the question on the disciplines that the informants would find it both interesting and useful to study in English. Taking the disciplines together (as totals) we find that there is a fairly even distribution between those the informants study as part of their specialisations. There is a slight preponderance of international law, sociology and contemporary history (105, 103 and 106 informants respectively), although more informants considered international law useful to study than those who deemed it interesting (67 to 38 informants), unlike the other two disciplines (62 informants to 41 and 63 to 43 respectively). This interest in ESAP seems to be confirmed by the response to the following question.
never 19.9% occasionally 37.0% sometimes 37.0% often 3.3% very often 0.6%
As regards the question of how often the informants have needed to use English in the other disciplines they study, there is a marked dominance of the 'occasionally' and 'sometimes' categories (nearly three quarters of the informants), suggesting that a knowledge of EAP is useful in their studies of these disciplines. Indeed, if we add the four informants who did not complete the question (2.2%) to the 'never' category, and put the 'often' and 'very often' categories together we can divide the informants into two new categories (those who have used English in their studies of the other disciplines, and those who have not) as follows: 22.1% have never used English, while 77.9% have. This need to use English in the study of other disciplines would seem to indicate a potentially useful role for both EGAP and ESAP.
The findings would seem to reveal that the student population of the case study might require English for both academic and occupational purposes. The academic context itself is probably enough to justify the inclusion of EAP, although consideration should be taken of problems with L1 academic literacy, as a question mark could be raised over the wisdom of teaching academic literacy in an L2 before it has been achieved in L1. While the large cohort of worker-students (or students who are working) as well as the potential importance of English in the students' future work and careers would also indicate a possible role for EOP. One observation that can perhaps be made is that while the EAP might be usefully specific as well as general , the EOP should probably remain only general, given the extremely wide range of possible employment.
The local context also highlights a dilemma that exists for many practitioners in higher education as regards the kind of ELT to choose for their courses, whether to teach GE or EAP, EAP or EOP, or EGAP or ESAP, a dilemma that also involves striking the right balance between these, if more than one is opted for.
The discussion at the end of the presentation revealed that the kind of situation depicted by this local context is by no means unique or uncommon; conference participants noted similar situations, for example, in Switzerland. Yet many of the implications still remain unexplored, particularly as regards 'getting the right balance' or, rephrasing the title of the presentation, 'getting the balance right'. Perhaps the answer lies in tailoring the balance to the particular requirements of each local context.
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(Unless otherwise specified, translations from the Italian are by the presenter.)