Innovation in Language Learning

The purpose of the present paper is to show how we could find means of attracting the interest of students in Engineering during their foreign languages classes, by introducing some content related to their interest. Whenever we teach a group of students, we need to find out what they have in common, which can be based either on their professional interest, age, or technology, as the latter is a major concern for us all nowadays. We all need skills related to using technology, and technology is also a source of entertainment. For students in Engineering, we can include texts related to the domain of the history of engineering, which can include information related to the way Engineering as a field has evolved since ancient times, when the cities’ water systems, for example, were surprisingly well-developped. At the same time, as technology is part of the students’ everyday life, we can also encourage them to search on social media and on the web for articles related to curiosities in history, which can include information about engineering in the early days of mankind, mysteries, as much as examples of modern-da architecture which can be extremely surprising, in areas of the world such as Asia, where, for example, China and Japan have extreme examples of very fast trains and bridges where traffic is extremely efficient. Technology can be incorporated within the culture and civilization frame, and it can be a topic of interest along with the history of engineering, through texts, documentaries, as well as short video clips and photographs, which can prompt debates and arguments related to expressing personal opinion on various issues. In general, students seem to have studied certain topics already in school and highschool during their foreign languages class, and thus gaining their interest during university classes can be more challenging for teachers.