Thinking creatively: Introducing new didactic methods into a course in English for Laboratory Technicians

Abstract

AbstractAs a prestigious institution, well-known for its progressive and dynamic teaching and research activities, the Language Centre of Masaryk University launched, in June 2012, the IMPACT Project, which came to a successful end in April 2015 and became one of the crucial turning points in its history. Among the numerous innovative activities included in the project, revision of the existing ESP courses has had a considerable importance both for teachers and students. As part of the project initiative, English for Laboratory Technicians is one of the courses which have undergone substantial changes. These concern primarily the curriculum, based originally on a textbook and rebuilt significantly so that its structure corresponds more closely to students’ needs. I argue that these changes prompted a shift in the teaching approach as the previously used textbook promoted different strategies. I first present a short, general introduction to this course and then describe its specific features. Three basic methodological building blocks underpinning the practical teaching process are then introduced and briefly discussed: the concept of creativity, collaborative learning and motivation. In the second part, the article outlines one particular teaching unit in order to demonstrate the practical impact of the theoretical starting points with a view to showing possible limitations as well as opportunities for making further progress in the development of successful teaching techniques.