Proceedings of The 6th World Conference on Research in Education
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Interdisciplinary Subjects as a Way to Improve English Communicative Skills and Raise Motivation in Spanish University Students
PhD Elena Navrotskaya
ABSTRACT:
The article aims at providing an insightful examination of the interdisciplinary subjects as a way to improve communication and linguistic skills of the Spanish students and their motivation to learn English as a second language. During two academic years (2019-2021), three interdisciplinary subjects, namely English for Digital Design, English for Journalism, and English for Advertising and Public Relations were carried out. They form part of the official curriculum of the Bachelor Degree, and a total of 71 second-year students were enrolled in the courses. Modern Languages (the official title of the courses) have specific purposes oriented to the professional fields of different degrees, and their main objective is to develop communicative, technical and professional skills of the students so that they can access the international environment of the professional area of interest with greater preparation. Throughout the interdisciplinary courses, motivation, participation and progress of the students were assessed. In the article, the outline of the courses is described and recommendations for the improvement of the program are proposed. In conclusion, the author argues that interdisciplinarity is one of the most effective methodologies to raise motivation of the Spanish students and to improve their communicative skills in order to prepare them for their future career.
keywords: ESL, cross-curricular, interdisciplinarity, motivation, PBL