Development of a curriculum based on content and language integrated learning and competency-based education for enhancing business English writing ability of undergraduate students

Abstract

The purposes of this study were 1) to develop a curriculum based on content and language integrated language learning and competency-based education for enhancing business English writing ability of undergraduate students 2) to investigate the effectiveness of a developed curriculum. The research and development process consists of four phases: 1) studying the research problem and significance, and learning approaches, 2) developing a curriculum based on content and language integrated learning and competency-based education, 3) studying the effectiveness of the developed curriculum, and 4) revising and improving the developed curriculum. This pre-experimental research involved 13 undergraduate students in the business major in one university in Cambodia. The sample were purposively selected and studied with the newly developed curriculum for 42 hours (14 weeks). 2 research instruments, a curriculum and a business English writing ability test, were used. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and dependent t-test. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings were found as follows: Principles of the curriculum are 1) the explicit competencies and job-task criteria based on culturally authentic contents/working situations are used as a direction for students to successfully function in real life after the course completion; 2) the identified competencies, job-task criteria, and selected contents used as framework of a curriculum-structure specifications enable students to construct content knowledge and/or cognitive development and to demonstrate capabilities; 3) the use of identified competencies, criteria, and selected contents as framework to aligning all curriculum components and guidelines, such as to engage students with language usage and cognition to analyze the contents and embedded-language culture, finally leads to student’s demonstration of competencies; 4) scaffolded learning experiences support interactive/cooperative, individualized, and autonomous learning, numerous real-world practices, and the development of content knowledge and skills, which ensure the attained competencies; 5) learning experiences are supportive of students’ real-world practices and development of intercultural understanding, knowledge, and awareness/tolerance between self and otherness; and 6) various methods of ongoing assessments and clear performance criteria of the competencies are in place to assure student’s desired learning objectives. The average score of business English writing ability of the sample who studied with the developed curriculum was statistically and significantly higher than before the experiment at level .05.