Better together: adopting Team-Based Learning in the English for Specific Purposes classroom

Abstract

Having gained popularity within the scope of Health and Business Education, given its affordances in bridging the gap between theory and practice, Team-Based Learning (TBL) is currently also being applied in other educational settings. Based on group dynamics, this pedagogical strategy incorporates flipped classroom approaches and is consistent with principles of social learning, relying on the collaborative knowledge of learning teams, high levels of participation and effective communication. By encompassing both theoretical and practical approaches to content (technical competences) and promoting the development of transversal and transferable competences, i.e. team work, collaboration, communication and creativity, this approach is also aligned with current needs of an increasingly digital 21st-century workplace. Grounded in these premises and the fact it is emerging as a more structured alternative to traditional collaboration strategies, TBL approaches are increasingly being perceived as potential catalysts for language learning, and in particular English for Specific Purposes (ESP), in which terminology and content-based discussions are particularly relevant. This paper describes a TBL-based pedagogical strategy used in different ESP courses, involving a total of 60 students of the University of Aveiro (Portugal). The learning design encompassed three sequential phases, namely: Preparation (1), Readiness Assurance (2) and Application of Course Concepts (3). In terms of research methodology, this exploratory study is based on the analysis of the data collected in two Readiness Assurance Tests (RATs) in Phase 2. Each of these RATs consisted of a 10-question quiz, answered both individually and in teams, using a Classroom Response System (CRS). The retrieved data was analysed following a quantitative approach, through descriptive statistical analysis.