The Future of Education

With an increasing demand for teaching foreign language connected with the professional field of L2 learners, language instructors and content teachers face a challenge to bridge the gap between the domain vocabulary taught in class and the vocabulary used in the workplace. To shorten this distance, various formats of language training have been incorporated in engineering curriculum in a large public polytechnic university: extended language learning, collaborative teaching, elective course component, professional training in a foreign language. Notwithstanding the learning potential of every approach, certain local area-specific features need to be considered, they are: non-native language environment, lack of pedagogical materials covering discipline-specific vocabulary of every major, absence of content-based knowledge of language instructors to interpret the domain vocabulary to L2 learners, insufficient command of a foreign language of content teachers to discuss professional issues fluently. To meet the challenges, it is suggested to introduce “double agent classes” taught by a language instructor and a content teacher together to provide fruitful collaboration. The current study focuses on the development of teaching materials by two agents for an engineering class which is taught in a foreign language. In the course of development, the corpus software is used. Drawing on Mudraya’s (2006) engineering corpus research findings, the author provides an overview of corpus-based techniques which are tailored to address the aspects of the language relevant to L2 learners’ domain.

Keywords: EFL, enginееring, corpus software, vocabulary identification;