IELTS Speaking Course.

How was this course created?

 

This is a 6-hour IELTS speaking course, aimed at developing the speaking skills of intermediate level students.

The content of the course was created with the help of AI technology. (Knowledge Base, 2023).

When choosing the content of the course, I came across the statistical data provided by IELTS.ORG (2023), in 2022, students from Uzbekistan scored overall 5.7 in the speaking test and are number 38 on the list of 40 countries.

Local students have amazing inquisitive minds, they are ambitious and hardworking. I believe the resources they used (the list of resources local students use is endless), might not be used correctly.

This was the reason why I decided to design an IELTS speaking course, with the help of which, students will hopefully not only learn the foundations of the speaking but also learn how to analyze their own mistakes and find ways to avoid them.

 

When creating the course aims, I referred to Bloom’s taxonomy.

The skills and abilities of students develop from simple to complex, on condition that student possesses the knowledge (the pre-requisite for this course is intermediate level of English (B1) or higher).

In Bloom’s taxonomy students gradually progress from ‘knowledge’ stage to ‘evaluation’.

Although at the first glance it seems that during this course students only undergo three cognitive processes, such as knowledge (recalling the knowledge, methods and structures they have previously learned), comprehension (able to comprehend, i.e. use the material learned without the need for other intervention), and application (applying terms, concepts, - in my course words and phrases in appropriate situations), they actually experience all six levels.

Yes, they also experience the analysis part (able to see the relations between ideas learned – in my course, what is being said versus the requirements or assessment criteria at the IELTS exam), they are even able to synthesize the whole information, for example, after learning all seven types of questions in the Part three of the speaking test, they are able to ‘put the puzzle together’ and finally evaluate (the skills they gained, the methods they can further use) (Armstrong, 2010).

Wording the aims and objectives is very important, because both students and the teacher clearly see the purpose of what they are doing.

Teacher benefits further, by planning the right things and delivering according to the set agenda, designing the lessons based on the set aims and monitoring if the tasks and assessment are all fit for purpose, i.e. correspond to the aims (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001).

If we refer to primary educational theories, the theory of connectivism is relatively new, whereas, behaviorism constructivism and cognitivism appeared way ahead of technological era (Siemens, 2005).

Vaill and Byrnes (1998) pointed out that the learning process should be a smooth and uninterrupted process, so learners are not suddenly affected by unexpected events, innovations or chaotic occasions.

The half- life of knowledge, i.e. the time from the moment we learned something to the moment when this knowledge becomes obsolete or is superseded by different concepts, is becoming very short.

Learning processes are no longer confined within institutional premises, learning can also happen informally now, through workshops, observations, even by watching videos.

As it was explained by Piaget, people do not just develop their cognitive skills as they grow, but they also develop a mental model, or a schemata of the environment around them (Goswami, 2014).

Cognitivism used the refer to internal mental process, when referring to learning processes, or schemata. If this mental ‘set up’ changes, the learning process begins. If majority of the processes were explained by the theory of cognitivism, now this was handed over to technology (Siemens, 2005).

‍According to Piaget, and ideas of connectivism he put forward, once the student is over 12 years old, he starts using formal logical thinking and understands abstract terms. Beyond this age, the student no longer needs to think of an example in order to follow a conversation or an argument (Wellman and Oxford University Press, 2015). 

Although our local students might not be used to answering abstract questions about overcultivation or land degradation, I believe, after this course, they will be familiarized with the main concepts concerning environmental issues, issues affecting economy, society, etc. and since they can already think abstractly, they will be able to practice the same question right after the lesson. With time and practice, the quality will improve, as student will also expand his vocabulary.

At this stage, students have abstract thinking, they can raise and solve hypothetical problems, be involved in research.

Once students are introduced to ideas more complex than they already knew, they start building the ‘base’ using ‘blocks of knowledge’ (Wellman and Oxford University Press, 2015).

How does this course connect to the graduate attributes?

What skills, abilities and understandings will students gain after this course? How will these attributes help them progress further in the academic life or even career? As all the students on the course might come from various backgrounds, it is also their personal choice whether to reflect on the skills they learned and work on developing them further or not to do so.  In the rapidly developing world, with digital revolution and even AI taking over a lot of aspects of life, it is crucial for students to be equipped with up to date skills (here – comprehensive speaking skills, with accurate grammar and vocabulary, offering a range of various structures). Graduate attributes could be anything from creativity and expert knowledge in their field of interest to digital literacy, social intelligence and even empathy. (Stirling, 2023).

How can my IELTS Speaking Course make the students digitally literate?

In the past, universities focused mainly on the subject-based qualifications and skills of their graduates, but now employers are equally, sometimes even to a greater extent, interested in digital literacy, creativity, abstract thinking, resourcefulness. So now, to make the student ‘employable’, we should not only focus on ‘what words to use in this answer’, but also on ‘what ideas could contribute to the answer best’.

I believe this course does not just take you through the concepts of speaking skills, but also, because it is based on online platform, it develops digital literacy of the students. Students will have to navigate through Google Classroom platform, complete assignments, join Zoom sessions, send recordings to teacher, etc.

With these skills developed, they will be able to live in a digital society (Normand and Anderson, 2017).

How does my course relate to the theory of connectivism?

With the globalization that has taken over the world, connectivism approach in education aims to connect people, communities, learning processes and theories together (Aponte and Jordan, 2019). Connectivism looks at knowledge as at an inflow of different concepts, that flow through networking that we or students set up (Siemens, 2005).

My course contains videos from across the globe, as the concepts and assessment criteria for IELTS speaking are the same, no matter what country the exam takes place in and/or what nationality the examiner/interviewee is.

By watching sample IELTS interviews, students connect. Many students now have so called ‘speaking pals’ from various countries, where they practice speaking, following the same guidelines, and yet, having their cultural input. Where a Spanish student will talk about breakfast with churros dipped in hot chocolate, and someone from Uzbekistan will describe yummy breakfast of hot bread dipped in kaymak (local crème fraiche). Each answer will have its own ‘twist’, but students will be aware that answer should contain some topic-specific vocabulary and real-life examples.

How did the knowledge of theory of motivation help me to design this course?

Motivation is the driving force behind anything we do. This is the reason why we do things. Our behavior is activated under social, physical, emotional and cognitive influences here (Cherry, 2022).

Motivation is one of the main factors, I believe why in the recent years we have a great number of IELTS takers.

Students are aimed at scoring high at the IELTS exam because of extrinsic motivation – thinking of travelling abroad for work or study, having better income.

Some might have intrinsic motivation too – to prove things to themselves, to have a ‘tick’ on their bucket list.

Pink introduces a new model of motivation – ‘Motivation 3.0’, he, based on previous studies, states that rewards do not always serve as motivation, in fact, they might lead to the opposite effect (Mind Tools, 2023).

He gives a more comprehensive explanation of intrinsic motivation, dividing it into three parts: Autonomy (when we are autonomously in charge of our lives, this adds on to our motivation), Mastery (the need to improve continuously in order to master the skill – this is what happens to majority IELTS students, once they ace the 6.0 band, they aim to go further), and Purpose (to be motivated, it is very important for people to know the purpose of why they are doing things. With my IELTS students – this is the importance of the course aims and objectives introduced at the beginning).

How is my course related to SAMR?

Digital transformation has entered all aspects of life now, and education is not an exception.

SAMR stands for substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition.

SAMR allows us to see the changes in the offline teaching processes caused by digital technology.

First two steps – namely substitution and augmentation, - ‘substitute’, or simply replace the existing technology or the method of delivery previously used by teachers. The process itself does not change, for instance, if I used to distribute handwritten topics or speaking prompts, I now distribute the typed version. The aim remained unchanged – I do it for speaking practice.

The other two steps - modification and redefinition – transform the process digitally, i.e. cause a change to the teaching process, that was not possible prior. A good example here could be the blog or the videos we created, which is now possible thanks to available digital tools and platforms.

I would say for my blog I used all four stages, for substitution and augmentation I replaced offline meetings with online Zoom sessions, where the students still perform the same speaking practice and get instant feedback, but with more flexibility, being able to access the lessons from any location.

For modification and redefinition, I got rid of excessive teacher talking time and replaced my explanations with practical videos instead.

With emerging technologies, however, we should still make sure the set learning outcomes are achieved and we are not ‘too carried away’ or become over reliant on technology. Innovation is not just about all gadgets, innovation is a positive change and modernization on a larger scale (Thomas and Thomson, 2022).

Does my course have any connection with behaviorism?

Educational processes in the past were largely influenced by behaviorism, where it was assumed that we learn by observing others’ behavior. The learning process happened by bringing certain behavior under certain stimuli (Kamii, 1979).

We are not just exposed to one stimulus, there are myriads of them, but what happens is that we choose the one/ones related to our previously gained experience (Maccoby and Zellner, 1970).

I can mention that to the extent my course did follow behaviorism, that is when students watch sample videos and later have to answer the same questions themselves.

 

Reference list

Anderson, L.W. and Krathwohl, D.R. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing. Pearson.

Aponte, C. and Jordan, R. (2019). Internationalization of the Curriculum with a Connectivism Approach. Science Direct, 9th World Engineering Education Forum, WEEF 2019(Procedia Computer Science 172 (2020) 412–420), pp.1–9.

Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy. [online] Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Available at: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].

Cherry, K. (2022). Motivation: Psychological factors that guide behavior. [online] Verywell Mind. Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-motivation-2795378 [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].

Goswami, U. (2014). The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

IELTS.ORG (2023). IELTS Performance for test takers. [online] www.ielts.org. Available at: https://www.ielts.org/for-researchers/test-statistics/test-taker-performance [Accessed 17 Apr. 2023].

Kamii, C. (1979). Piaget’s Theory, Behaviorism, and Other Theories in Education. Journal of Education, 161(1), pp.13–33. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/002205747916100104.

Knowledge Base (2023). Mini Course Generator. [online] admin.minicoursegenerator.com. Available at: https://admin.minicoursegenerator.com/create-course-with-ai [Accessed 19 Apr. 2023].

Maccoby, E.E. and Zellner, M. (1970). Experiments in Primary Education. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P.

Mind Tools (2023). MindTools | Home. [online] www.mindtools.com. Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/asmdp60/pinks-autonomy-mastery-and-purpose-framework [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].

Normand, C. and Anderson, L. (2017). Graduate Attributes in Higher Education : Attitudes on Attributes from Across the Disciplines. Milton: Taylor and Francis.

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), pp.1–9.

Stirling, U. of (n.d.). Graduate attributes | Student life. [online] University of Stirling. Available at: https://www.stir.ac.uk/student-life/careers/careers-advice-for-students/graduate-attributes [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].

Thomas, A.C. and Thomson, C. (2022). Applying the SAMR model to aid your digital transformation. [online] Jisc. Available at: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/applying-the-samr-model#:~:text=What%20is%20SAMR%3F [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].

Vaill, P.B. and Byrnes, C. (1998). Learning as a way of being. Performance Improvement, 37(4), pp.38–40. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.4140370412.

Wellman, H.M. and Oxford University Press (2015). Making minds : how theory of mind develops. Oxford Etc.: Oxford University Press.