Abstract
This study set out to explore the efficacy of authentic online instructional materials and tasks in promoting engagement, critical thinking, and international awareness in a small sample of Japanese EFL learners majoring in medical science. The study measured student impressions of, and attitudes towards, tasks related to providing microcredit loans to borrowers in developing countries through the English-medium website of the non-profit organization KIVA. In a modularized CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) unit, students assessed pools of potential borrowers and extended loans on four occasions. Data related to these tasks were collected using an instrument comprised of ten semantic differential scale items and open-ended items. Results of the sematic differential scale items indicated that students were positively oriented towards these materials and tasks, with participants endorsing their global orientation and meaningful content, as well as their overall importance, positive value, and appeal to interest. The open-ended items further supported positive attitudes towards these materials and tasks, with students finding them an interesting, practical, and novel way to learn about the world while helping others. Open-ended item results also indicated that the process of learning about the situations of people in developing countries while extending loans fostered feelings of personal growth in terms of an appreciation of the hardships faced by people in developing countries, and a newfound desire to be involved in helping others in the future. These results suggest that real-world online philanthropic tasks can offer students rich meaningful educational experiences that transcend the traditional foreign language classroom.
Author Information
Michael Johnson, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Japan
Paper Information
Conference: ACE2024
Stream: Foreign Languages Education & Applied Linguistics (including ESL/TESL/TEFL)
This paper is part of the ACE2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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