| Popis: |
The onset of COVID-19 has created many challenges for both teachers and learners across the educational spectrum. Online teaching, once the preserve of a small minority without direct access to the classroom, has entered the mainstream, at least in the short term and for the foreseeable future. The assumption is often made that this forced change of educational environment for students will be detrimental. For some students, however, transitioning to this more flexible learning environment has proved beneficial. “English Central”, an interactive, online, video-based English platform, was incorporated into an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course for Japanese university students. This paper attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of the English Central component and considers the academic and practical rationale for its inclusion. There are clear positive outcomes reported. Practical challenges that did arise are discussed, and suggestions are put forward on how to mitigate any potentially negative influences those issues might have on the efficacy of the overall ESP programme. |
