Title: The Perceived Needs of High School and College Students Concerning a GELP at the Tertiary Level
Abstract: This paper examines the perceived needs of high school students, a portion of
the potential population for a general English language program at the tertiary
level and compares those with the perceived needs of college students in order to
set a direction for the future development. A total of 187 high school students
(juniors) and 202 college students participated in the study. The data of high
school students were collected in the period of one month during the midterm
exam week of the university whereas the data of college students were collected
during the final exam week. The findings showed different views concerning
objectives and preferred topics of a GELP. That is, the high school students
perceived the objectives should be to understand English cultures and improve
language proficiency. The results also showed the high school students wanted a
GELP to focus on topics such as English cultures, traditions, and history. On the
other hand, the college students perceived that the objective should be the
improvement of language proficiency, while expressing a preference for a GELP
covering topics of general knowledge. However, both groups wanted a GELP
program to focus on the improvement of speaking skills, preferring discussion in
English as a class activity. As a preferred type of class, media English class was
selected by the majority of students from both groups. In short, these findings
provide valuable information which can be taken into account in the revision and
development of the curriculum of a GELP.
Publication Year: 2016
Publication Date: 2016-08-31
Language: en
Type: article
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