Department of Applied Foreign Languages
#43 Ji-Long Road, Section 4
Taipei, Taiwan 106
Taiwan, R.O.C.
.....................................................................................................................................................
A LIST OF ROBERT JOHANSON’S COURSES & COURSE WEB-LOGS
- INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS (Tuesday 18:25-20:10)
- ADVANCED COMPOSITION I (V) (Wednesday 18:25-19:15)
- ADVANCED COMPOSITION II (V) (Wednesday 18:25-19:15)
- ORAL COMMUNICATION (Friday 10:30- 12:20)
- READING & COMPOSITION (Friday 12:30- 15:20)
.....................................................................................................................................................
CONTACT INFORMATION
- (Office): 001-886-2-27301251
- (Fax): 001-886-2-27301112
- (Mobile): 001-886-[0]933489323
- E-mail: rejohanson@usa.net
.....................................................................................................................................................
ACADEMIC TRAINING
Ph.D., Foreign Language Education (TESL/TEFL)
The University of Texas (Austin, TX)
Fall 1998-May 2001
- Title of Dissertation:
The Role of Interactions in Academic Writing: A Collective Case Study of Five Taiwanese Doctoral Students in a Graduate School of Education
M.A., Foreign Language Education
The University of Texas (Austin, TX)
January 1996-August 1997
- Title of Master's Report:
The Rise of the Taiwanese Bushiban: Supplementary Education Teaching to the Test
M.A., Regional Studies - East Asia
Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
August 1992-June 1994
- Title of Dissertation:
The Sino-German Relationship: A Pragmatic Business Arrangement
B.A., European History/German Language & Literature
Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
August 1985-June 1989 (Double Major with Departmental Honors)
- Title of Honor's Thesis Report:
Das Reaktorungluck von Tschernobyl und seine Auswirkungen auf Christa Wolf in Storfall [ Written in German. English translation:The Meltdown at Chernobyl and its Effect on Christa Wolf in Storfall ]
.....................................................................................................................................................
RELATED EMPLOYMENT AND EXPERIENCE
Assistant Professor,Department of Applied Foreign Languages
National Taiwan University of Science & Technology (Taipei, Taiwan)
August 2005 – Present
- Instructor:
Assistant Professor,Department of English
National Dong Hwa University (Shoufeng, Taiwan)
September 2001- July 2005
- Instructor: Freshman Composition, Sophomore Composition, Advanced English Composition, English Rhetoric, ESL/EFL Methods and Teaching Practices (a practicum teacher-training course for pre-service EFL instructors in the Hualien area), Introduction to Linguistics, Listening Comprehension, Phonetics, Second Language Acquisition, Simultaneous Interpretation, and Translation Theory & Practice.
- Member of Departmental Curriculum Committee: Duties included assisting in the planning of the Department’s English curriculum, implementing computer technology into the EFL classroom (e.g., various ESL/EFL software titles, web-logs, authoring software, Internet applications, etc.), and website design for several departmental projects.
- Member of Writing Committee: Assisted in the planning of the Department’s English composition courses, as well as create and administer various English-proficiency examinations (i.e., university undergraduate and graduate entrance examinations)
- Head of Hiring Committee for Contract Instructors: Served as the contact person and committee head for the hiring of Departmental contract instructors in the Spring semesters of 2003 and 2004. This entailed collecting and organizing information from applicants, arranging meetings with Committee members, and assisting the Committee in evaluating prospective applicants.
- Extension (Evening & Saturday) Courses Instructor: Taught a wide variety of English-language-related courses (e.g., rhetoric, listening-speaking, basic to advanced conversation, TOEIC/TOEFL/TOEIC, etc.) to students ranging from pre-/-service teachers at local and county-wide junior and high schools (e.g., The NDHU Department of English Second Degree Certificate Program for Hualien/Taidong County Teachers), to employees at local vacation resorts (e.g., The Promised Land Resort), to local military installations (e.g., The NDHU English Department Jiashan Air Force Base English Communication Program), to Hualien County Public Servants (e.g., The NDHU Language Center Summer 2004 Intensive English Program for Hualien County Officials and Employees).
- Recipient & Chief Researcher of NSC Grant #93-2511-S-259-002: "藉由申請第二語言寫作習得之理論來激勵台灣研究生所創作的實驗性研究論文." [http://awrd.ndhu.edu.tw]
"The purpose of this study is to investigate various means by which to stimulate the production of scholarly publications in English-language academic journals among graduate students in the National Dong Hwa University College of Science and Engineering. More specifically, the Project aims at measuring the extent to which the establishment of a university-wide academic writing center, consisting of both a "brick-and-mortar" and a virtual online writing laboratory (OWL), can assist students in all stages of the composition and publication processes. The aforementioned academic writing assistance facilities, the virtual online writing laboratory, located at http://awrd.ndhu.edu.tw, and its "brick-and-mortar" accompaniment, the Academic Writing and Research Division (A.W.@.R.D.) of the University Language Center, located in the National Dong Hwa University Liberal Arts Building (A#106-H6), aim to inspire students to hone their English to the point that they can publish the resu lts of their research findings in reputable English-language academic journals."
Director,National Dong Hwa University Language Center
National Dong Hwa University (Shoufeng, Taiwan)
June 2002-Present
- Co-Founder/Overseer of University Multimedia Language-Learning Center: Working with funds acquired from a grant earned from the Taiwanese Ministry of Education by various NDHU professors prior to my arrival at the University, assisted in the establishment of a 57-station multimedia center designed to serve the University’s General Courses Unit, the English Department’s EFL courses, and Extension Courses Program. Activities included software testing and evaluation, and researching various networking systems, and directing fourteen part-time student workers.
- Curricular Design: Following the establishment of the Center in the Fall of 2002, the Director’s related responsibilities have been the creation of the curriculum design for the University’s EFL-related courses, and creating and overseeing the administration of various University-wide English proficiency examinations, such as the NDHU EPT (The National Dong Hwa University English Proficiency Test), a comprehensive examination held on a volunteer basis to assess the overall English-language proficiency of faculty and students at the University in June of 2003 to prepare for a future prerequisite graduation English-language examination.
- Organizer and Overseer of Language Center Workshops, Conferences, and Language Contests: As part of the Center’s initial grant, held five workshops in the Spring of 2003 entitled The Spring 2003 National Dong Hwa University Computer Aided Language Learning Workshop & Seminar Series. Moreover, planned and executed an international conference entitled Improving the Teaching and Learning of English through Computer Assisted Language Learning in the Taiwan University Classroom that was held on May 29th, 2004. In the Fall of 2004, held a series of English language contests to stimulate interest in the learning and improving the proficiency of English among students at the University (e.g., The NDHU English Language Speech Contest [10/31/04] and The NDHU English Language Writing Contest [11/29/04] [For more information, see: http://lc.ndhu.edu.tw]).
- Organizer & Planner of Language Center Extension Courses: Duties entailed assisting the University Extension Course Program in the running of the Center Extension Courses through helping contact appropriate instructors in the NDHU Department of English, planning the courses, and overseeing the overall function of each course.
- English Secretary to the University President: Duties included hosting and entertaining international visitors and dignitaries to the University, as well as editing, translating, and processing the President’s English-language correspondences.
- Mentor to Contract Instructors in the Common Courses Unit: Included the in-class observations, assistance in the hiring of, and constant communication with the NDHU English Department’s seven native-speaking English speakers’ courses to assist with quality control, curricular planning and development, and instructor evaluations.
Lecturer,Center for Teaching Effectiveness
The University of Texas (Austin, TX)
July-August 2001/July-August 2002/July-August 2003
-
Instructor of an intensive five-week graduate-level writing course, The Culture of Academic Writing, offered to classes of 15-20 international doctoral students enrolled in various disciplines at the University.
Teaching Assistant,Center for Teaching Effectiveness
The University of Texas (Austin, TX)
August 2000-May 2001
-
Assisted in the teaching of two graduate-level courses (The Culture of Academic Communication and The Culture of Academic Writing) offered to international doctoral students enrolled in various disciplines at the University. Duties included teaching class, revising students’ written assignments, and meeting with students individually to discuss error-reduction strategies in both their spoken and written English. Also played an active role in the organizing the Center’s International Teaching Assistant Training Workshops (ITATW) for incoming international graduate students at the University.
ESL Instructor, Staff,ESL Services (The UT Austin International Office)
The University of Texas (Austin, TX)
June 1996-May 2000
A branch of the University of Texas at Austin International Office, ESL Services is comprised of the following three academic programs: 1) the English Language Program, a series of basic English-language courses catering to undergraduates at the university and affiliates of the University community; 2) the Academic English Program, an intensive, academically-oriented ESL program aimed at preparing international students who have already received their B.A.’s for graduate study in North America; 3) the Academic Writing Program, a series of academic writing courses for graduates and undergraduates at the University who either took the offered courses on their own volition or at the recommendation of their department. In my three and-a-half years at ESL Services,
- Taught from one to three courses per semester (including full-time in the Intensive EFL Summer Program), ranging from introductory English courses to academic writing for graduate students.
- n addition to teaching responsibilities, worked on a team to write the curricula for both the Academic English Program and the English Language Program and served as a mentor to new writing teachers in the Program, explaining favorable teaching methods to them, observing them in the classroom, and being observed by them. In addition to honing my overall ESL teaching skills, teaching at ESL Services during graduate studies in the U.T. Foreign Language Education Program allowed me to apply the theoretical constructs of my dissertation research (on L2 literacy acquisition in the university context) to the practical demands of the classroom.
- As a member of the staff at ESL Services, was involved in the planning and carrying out of registration, testing, placement, and orientation of new students each semester. In addition, supervised the execution of a wide range of end-of-semester activities, such as faculty meetings, student-teacher evaluation get-togethers, online final student evaluations, and the dispersal of student certificates, grades, and evaluations.
EFL Instructor,Department of English
National Chung-Hsing University (Taichung, Taiwan)
January 1997-May 1997
-
Taught English oral communication courses to three sections of sophomores/juniors in the English Department
Associate Director of Publications
The World Information Service, Inc. (Boston, MA)
February 1994-January 1995
-
Duties included assisting in layout and distribution to subscribers for international-news related publication. Also served as Editor/Staff Writer for Choice News China, a WISE publication.
Intern, Assistant (Business Financial Services Division)
Merrill Lynch, Inc. (Austin, TX)
January 1995-July 1995
-
Responsibilities included assisting in the drafting and selling of Business Financial Planners to local businesses. After completing initial internship program, served as assistant to the regional manager of the Business Financial Services Division. Assisted in representing the Austin Merrill Lynch Branch at the May 1995 national conference.
EFL Instructor
Hess Language Institute (Taipei, Taiwan)
August 1989-May 1990; March-July 1992
-
Taught two to four classes daily to elementary and junior high school students of varying levels of English proficiency, assisted in curriculum planning, and participated in teacher recruitment by speaking at various universities and supplementary language-learning facilities and functions throughout Taiwan.
EFL Instructor
National Tokyo Patent Office (Tokyo, Japan)
January-March 1992
-
Taught three English oral communication classes per week to engineers in the Electronics Patent Division.
Coordinator, Instructor (Intensive English Training Program)
Hewlett-Packard Corp. (Taipei, Taiwan)
October 1989-May 1990
-
Designed a comprehensive English program and taught three classes a week to prepare engineers for future training in the United States. Responsibilities included curricular planning, English proficiency screening, and pronunciation coaching.
Lecturer,Center for Teaching Effectiveness
The University of Texas (Austin, TX)
July-August 2001/July-August 2002/July-August 2003
-
Instructor of an intensive five-week graduate-level writing course, The Culture of Academic Writing, offered to classes of 15-20 international doctoral students enrolled in various disciplines at the University.
.....................................................................................................................................................
PUBLICATIONS
- Peng, H., & Johanson, R. (2006). Career maturity and state anxiety of Taiwanese college student athletes given cognitive career-oriented group counseling. Psychological Reports, 99, 805-812.
- Johanson, R., & Schallert, D. (2003). Writing under the influence: A collective case study of five Taiwanese students' writing experiences at a U.S. school of education. The National Taiwan University of Science and Technology Studies in English Language and Literature, 12. PAGE NUMBERS
- Johanson, R. (November, 2005). It’s More about Membership than Grammar Correction and Error Analysis: Stimulating the Publication of Taiwanese Graduate Students’ Research Findings in Internationally-Refereed English-Language Journals Via the Creation of a "Three-in-One" Academic Writing Center. The 2005 Conference in ELT at Technical Colleges and Universities Conference Proceedings (National Taiwan University of Science & Technology; Taipei, Taiwan), 90-104.
- Johanson, R. (February, 2005). Introducing BLOGGING into the ESL-EFL classroom. [http://www.ladder100.com]
[http://www.youandme.com.cn/teachcenter/age/agevision.jsp?select=200502] - Johanson, R. (January, 2005). Using movie and television scripts to learn and teach ESL/EFL. [http://www.ladder100.com]
[http://www.youandme.com.cn/teachcenter/age/agevision.jsp?select=200501]. - Johanson, R., & Schallert, D. (2003). Writing under the influence: A collective case study of five Taiwanese students’ writing experiences at a U.S. school of education. The National Taiwan University of Science and Technology Studies in English Language and Literature, 12, 59-73
- Johanson, R. (2003). Extrapolating practice from theory: A user-friendly guide to conducting grounded theory in the social sciences. The National Dong Hwa University Journal of Humanistic Studies, 5, 1-37.
- Johanson, R. (2003). The Taiwan experience … through Malaysian eyes. Educational Quarterly, 29, 28-29
- Johanson, R. (2001). The self-reported perspectives regarding academic writing among Taiwanese graduate students specializing in TEFL. Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, 6, 19-36.
- Johanson, R. (1999). Rethinking the red ink: Audio-feedback in the ESL writing classroom. Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, 4, 1, 31-38.
- Johanson, R. (1999). Book review of Penny Ur’s (1996) A course in language teaching: Practice and theory (Cambridge University Press), Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, 4, 1, 55-56
.....................................................................................................................................................
ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS
- "It’s More about Membership than Grammar Correction and Error Analysis: Stimulating the Publication of Taiwanese Graduate Students’ Research Findings in Internationally-Refereed English-Language Journals Via the Creation of a "Three-in-One" Academic Writing Center." The 2005 Conference in ELT at Technical Colleges and Universities Conference Proceedings (National Taiwan University of Science & Technology; Taipei, Taiwan; 11/04/05).
- "Using Language-Learning Strategies to Improve Your Overall English Proficiency" ("如何運用語言學習策略改善英文").? The Rotary Clubs of Hualien (Event sponsored by The Rotary Club of Hualien, The Ji-An Rotary Club, The Hsin-Cheng Rotary Club) (Hualien, 10/29/05)
- "Minimizing Learner Anxiety and Maximizing Communicative Competence through the Implementation of Indirect Language Strategies in the Taiwanese ESL/EFL Classroom ("透過間接性語言策略減低學習焦慮與增進溝通能力—在台灣的外語教室中")." Tzi-Chi Buddhist University (Ji-An, 6/24/05)
- "How to Captivate, Conquer, and Divide a North American Audience," Hualien County Toastmaster’s Club (Hualien, 5/30/05)
- "An Extremely Strong Language-Learning Cocktail: The Application of Language Learning Strategies with the Use of Web-logs in the ESL/EFL Classroom," Kuang-fu Institute of Business & Commerce, (Kuang-fu, 5/23/05)
- "Mastering the Written Component of the TOEFL Composition Component," Tzi-Chi High School (Ji-An, 4/19/05)
- "Using Multimedia and the Internet to Improve Your English Abilities," The Taidong County Government Legal Services Division (Taidong City, 2/02/04)
- "Improving the Learning and Teaching of English through Web-Logs and Electronic Multimedia," The Kinmen Institute of Technology, (Kinmen, 12/14/04)
- "Using Multimedia Resources to Learn How to Relearn English," Hualien County Government, Department of Hygiene, (Hualien City, 12/09/04)
- "Untangling the Internet through BLOGS (Web-Logs)" Hualien Technical High School, (Hualien City, 12/01/04)
- "Improving Taiwan’s English Abilities … One Class at a Time," Shoufeng Elementary School, (Shoufeng, 10/17/04)
- "Blogging into the New Millennium: Implementing Web Logs into the Taiwanese University English Classroom" Tzi-Chi Buddhist University (Ji-An, 6/30/04)
- "More Suggestions on How to Prepare for Enrollment in a National University English Department," Tzi-Chi High School (Ji-An, 3/24/04)
- "The Dynamic ESL/EFL Instructor: Assisting Hualien County Meet the Needs of the English 2008 Challenge," Huah-ren Junior High School, (Hualien, 12/11/03)
- "Becoming A Dynamic ESL/EFL Instructor: Some Suggestions from the Literature," Dao-Hsiang Junior High School, (Ji-An, 11/16/03)
- "The Importance of Implementing Realia into the L2 Writing Classroom: The Results of a Case Study Carried Out at National Dong Hwa University," Hualien Teacher’s College, (Hualien City, 12/11/03)
- "Some Suggestions on How to Prepare for Your Studies in a National University English Department," Tsi-Chih Junior High School, (Ji-An, 6/15/03)
- "Implementing Cutting-Edge Technology into the NDHU Language Classroom: A Tour of the National Dong Hwa University Language Center Multimedia Facility," National Dong Hwa University, (Shou-Feng, 3/21/03)
- "Meeting the Ministry of Education’s English-language Targets for the Next Millenium: Active Strategies for Implementing Communicative Competence into the Taiwanese EFL Classroom," Dao-Hsiang Junior High School, (Ji-An, 12/16/02)
- "Learning English Survival Skills," National Cheng Kung Business and Maritime Vocational High School, (Cheng-Kung, 12/12-14/02)
- "Implementing Simultaneous Interpretation into Ji-An Rotary Meetings," Ji-An Rotary Club, (Hualien City, 12/11/02)
- "Methods in Encouraging Active Participation in English Language Classes among Taiwanese High School Students," Kuang-fu Institute of Business & Commerce, (Kuang-fu, 12/11/02)
- "Communicative Competence & EFL Language-Teaching in Taiwan," Huah-ren Junior High School, (Hualien, 11/29/02)
- "Familiarizing Yourself with Everyday English," National Cheng Kung Business and Maritime Vocational High School, (Cheng-Kung, 10/13/02)
- "The Acquisition of Discipline-Specific Rhetoric & Your Academic Future: Some Suggestions on Situating Yourself (As a Non-native Writer of English) in North American Academia," National Shih-Ta University, Department of English, (Taipei, 11/04/02)
- "A Socio-historical Approach to the Learning of English as a Second/Foreign Language on Taiwan," National Taiwan University of Science & Technology, (Taipei, 11/1/02)
- "Strategies for Improving English Pronunciation through Participation in an English Cafe." Presenter at the English Language Cafe National Taiwan University of Science & Technology (Taipei, 11/2/02 & 11/16/02)
- "The Self-Reported Perspectives Regarding Academic Writing among Taiwanese Graduate Students Specializing in TEFL." The University of Texas Foreign Language Education Conference (TEXFLEC) II, Austin, TX, 3/23/01)
- "The Taiwanese Buxiban and Recent Changes in the Taiwanese Education System," - Invited guest speaker to The University of Texas at Austin Foreign Language Education Colloquium, (Austin, TX, 11/ 21/98)
- "Some Suggestions on How to Study Foreign Languages" – Guest speaker at the Hsin Yuan Shan Community Academic Assembly. (Taipei, 2/28/98)
- "The Rise of the Taiwanese Buxiban: Supplementary Education Teaching to the Test" – The Southwest Conference on East Asian Studies, Southern Methodist University, (Dallas, TX, 11/15/97)
- "Teaching EFL in Southeast Asia," - The University of Texas at Austin Foreign Language Education Student Association Career Development Speaker Series, (Austin, TX, 11/26/96)
- "Distant Cultures-Local Classrooms: Understanding Your Asian Students" – 1996 TexTESOL Teacher-Training Conference, (Austin, TX, 6/06/96)
.....................................................................................................................................................
LANGUAGES
- Varying Fluency: German & Mandarin-Chinese
- Limited Fluency: Hokkien/Taiwanese
- Varying Proficiency: Japanese, Spanish, French, Norwegian
.....................................................................................................................................................
LANGUAGE-LEARNING EXPERIENCES
French
- Spent three weeks living with a host family in La Fleche, France, in an exchange program between the Otto Hahn Gynmnasium and its partner-institution in La Fleche (January 1984) during Youth For Understanding high school exchange student year in Gottingen, Germany (1983-1984). [See below.]
- Spent junior year in high school (Austin High School, Austin, TX) as Youth For Understanding exchange student in Gottingen, Germany (1983-1984)
- Studied one year at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich , Germany with the Wayne State University Junior Year Munich Program during junior year at Northwestern University (August 1987-June 1988)
- Taipei Language Institute (Taichung Branch) during year as Rotary International Cultural Ambassador Scholar (August 1997-June 1998). Completed intensive two-semester missionary training program.
- Taipei Language Institute (Taipei Branch, August-June 1989; March-July 1992/Taichung Branch, August 1997-June 1998)
- The Harbin Institute of Technology ( Harbin , P.R.C.) A one semester study of Mandarin-Chinese at The Harbin Institute of Technology with China Educational Tours (CET) during third semester in the Harvard University Regional Studies East Asia M.A. Program (August-December 1993)
- Harvard University ( Cambridge , MA ). [Including one year of Classical Chinese] (1992-1994)
- One year introductory course at National Tsing Hua University during year as Rotary International Cultural Ambassador Scholar in Taiwan (Sept. 1997-June 1998)
- Three-month intensive course at Sendagaya Institute , Tokyo (January-April 1992)
- Lived in Uji (a suburb of Kyoto ) during two-month home-stay with a Japanese family (April-July 1992)
- Harvard University Intensive Japanese Language Certification Program (June-August 1994)
- Two semesters of introductory Norwegian at Ludwig Maximilian University , Munich , Germany.during junior year abroad at Northwestern University (August 1987-June 1988)
- Three-month intensive Spanish course at Centro Linguistico Antigua ( Antigua , Guatemala ) Included home-stay with Guatemalan family. (January-April 1991
.....................................................................................................................................................
MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
- TESOL
- TexTESOL III
- TexTESOL
- Phi Beta Mu (an International Honor Society in Education)
- Kappa Delta Pi (an International Honor Society in Education)
- Rotary International Club of Ji-An (Hualien, 11/13/03 -Present)
.....................................................................................................................................................
AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND HONORS
- Rotary International Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship . One year study of Computational Linguistics and Japanese at National Tsing-Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan , R.O.C. August 1997-June 1998
- Graduated with Departmental Honors, Northwestern University , 198
- Dean's List, Northwestern University , 1985, 1986, 1989
.....................................................................................................................................................
SERVICE IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
- TexFLEC Conference Chair of Registration & Conference Final Panelist, January 2000
- Member of Editorial Board, Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education , August 1998-May 1999
- President, University of Texas Foreign Language Education Students Association , August 1996-June 1997
- Editor, Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education , August 1996-June 1997
- Co-Founder, Co-Organizer, University of Texas at Austin Asian Studies Gateway Conference , September 1996
- TexTESOL Conference Committee Member, 1996, 1997
.....................................................................................................................................................
REFERENCES
- Dr. Diane L. Schallert
Department of Educational Psychology
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin , Texas 78712-1295
Phone: (512) 471-2749
Fax: (512) 471-1288
dschallert@mail.utexas.edu - Michael T. Smith
Coordinator, ESL Services
International Office, SHC 349
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin , Texas 78713-7206
Phone: (512) 471-2480
Fax: (512) 475-6810
smithmiket@mail.utexas.edu - Dr. Ghislaine Kozuh
Program Director
The Center for Teaching Effectiveness
MAI 2200
The University of Texas at Austin
Phone: (512) 232-1772
Fax: (512) 471-0956
ghislaine@mail.utexas.edu
.....................................................................................................................................................
NATIONAL SCIENCE COUCIL RESEARCH GRANTS
-
JULY 2005 – AUGUST 2006
Abstract of Report of Robert E. Johanson's NSC Grant #94-2511-S-259 -002's
透過以專門學科導向的複合式方法促進台灣自然科學領域研究生學術論文的發表
Structure, Function, and Accomplishments
-
JULY 2004 – AUGUST 2005
Abstract of Report of Robert E. Johanson's NSC Grant #93-2511-S-259 -002's
藉由申請第二語言寫作習得之理論來激勵台灣研究生所創作的實驗性研究論文
Structure, Function, and Accomplishments
The purpose of this study is to investigate various means by which to stimulate the production of scholarly publications in English-language academic journals among graduate students in the National Dong Hwa University College of Science and Engineering. More specifically, the Project aims at measuring the extent to which the establishment of a university-wide academic writing center, consisting of both a “brick-and-mortar” and a virtual online writing laboratory (OWL), can assist students in all stages of the composition and publication processes. The aforementioned academic writing assistance facilities, the virtual online writing laboratory, located at http://awrd.ndhu.edu.tw, and its “brick-and-mortar” accompaniment, the Academic Writing and Research Division (A.W.@.R.D.) of the University Language Center, located in the National Dong Hwa University Liberal Arts Building (A#106-H6), aim to inspir e students to hone their English to the point that they can publish the results of their research findings in reputable English-language academic journals.
Furthermore, the third aspect of the Project is comprised of an interdisciplinary academic writing course in which advanced-level students in the University English Department work together with graduate students in the College of Science and Engineering to investigate the acquisition of discipline-specific rhetoric through writing exercises, editing assignments, online OWL-related translation activities, and collaborative research paper projects.
The first of a series of similar such planned studies to assist the University – and Taiwan for that matter – to remain competitive in its mission of serving as a major regional academic hub, the present Project takes the 200 students enrolled in the National Dong Hwa University College of Science and Engineering as its primary subjects. In the initial stages of the Project, the A.W.@.R.D. Research Team first conducted extensive research on other such online writing facilities in Taiwan, the United States, Canada, and beyond to create a virtual springboard from which lay the Project’s foundation. Then, following the advice obtained from the operators of similar such online writing laboratories at major U.S. research universities, the A.W.@.R.D. Research Team drafted, pilot-tested, and distributed a series of survey questionnaires to the students and faculty members of the National Dong Hwa University College of Science and Engineering on whic h they were asked to describe their experiences composing scholarly academic articles in English and offer suggestions for how A.W.@.R.D. might best meet their needs. Carefully attending to the suggestions gleaned via the questionnaires and structured/semi-structured interviews with students and faculty, the A.W.@.R.D. Research Team then embarked on the creation of an extensive online writing laboratory, the A.W.@.R.D. On-line Writing Laboratory (http://awrd.ndhu.edu.tw) to provide myriad resources - in both Mandarin and English - that inform students of the required steps and processes they must take to publish articles in English in international refereed journals. As the A.W.@.R.D. On-line Writing Laboratory continues to flourish – thanks in great part to the assistance of various professors in the National Dong Hwa University College of Science and Engineering, plans are underway for the establishment of a streaming video interactive lecture series in which faculty in the department discuss –in Mandarin or English – what they perceive to be students’ difficulties in publishing research findings in English.
The third aspect of the present Project’s mission, the aforementioned satellite course, Advanced Academic Composition, which is taught each semester by the A.W.@.R.D. Research Team Director, Dr. Robert E. Johanson, for students in the N.D.H.U. English Department, intends to serve as a supplement to both the virtual and “brick-and-mortar” A.W.@.R.D. Writing Laboratories. It also serves as a supplemental experimental ground in which the A.W.@.R.D. Research Team Director can scrutinize in real time the effect of this experimental project by assessing the plethora of advantages and, in some cases, disadvantages, to using online platforms to teach students how to write the academic writing research articles – in English – required of them for their prospective fields. A total of 25 students have enrolled in the course in the Fall 2004 semester, each of whom has taken a battery of GEPT/TOEFL-related English examinations and TOEFL-adapted timed writings to measure the overall development of their writing ability throughout the course of the semester. Through the course website (http://ndhu-advancedcomposition.blogspot.com), individual timed writings, the A.W.@.R.D. On-line Writing Laboratory (http://awrd.ndhu.edu.tw), and group/individual writing projects (written on paper and online as posts to the class web-log), and active use of corpora research collocation software, such as WordPilot, a University site license for which was purchased specifically for the present Project, students are encouraged to collaborate interactively their discoveries, difficulties, victories, and frustrations related to the composition of the discipline-specific rhetoric required of them for their respective academic fields.
While it is admittedly challenging to assess quantitatively the benefits of such an ambition project, the A.W.@.R.D. Research Team has noticed a marked interest in the project among faculty members and graduate students throughout the university. Not only have over eight graduate students at the University already visited the “brick-and-mortar” A.W.@.R.D. Writing Laboratory for one-on-one tutoring sessions with Dr. Johanson, but a number of faculty members, including the Dean of the National Dong Hwa University College of Science and Engineering. Dr. M. S. Wong, continue to express their unflagging support for the Project. Having laid the necessary virtual and “brick-and-mortar” foundation and forged its course, the A.W.@.R.D. Research Team will continue to seek participation among the University’s faculty and graduate students through activities through interviews, visits to classrooms and laboratories, and online lectures and presentations. Moreover, assessment measures such as survey questionnaires, continued tutoring meetings (which are video-taped and carefully documented to track student participants’ difficulties and progress), and interviews will be undertaken to chart the Project’s progress. All of the aforementioned findings will be documented and analyzed in the hopefully numerous publications that will result from the A.W.@.R.D. Project.
On behalf of the A.W.@.R.D. Research Team, we wish to express our deeply felt gratitude to the National Science Council for its generous support in making the present Project possible. We will continue to strive in our mission to hone the English-language scholarly writing abilities of today’s youth to foster creative, competent, and ambitious scholars who are both capable and eager to publish the results of their research in reputable English-language scholarly journals and publications. Only in this way can Taiwan continue to hold its own as a future leader and dominant player as a producer of tomorrow’s cutting-edge technological developments.
