Invigorating pedagogical changes with the phenomenographic approach :a case study in English for specific purposes /by Ai-Ying Yang.

In recent years, under the impacts of educational reform, economic changes, and globalization, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) emerged as a new trend in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL). However, ESP courses which were initiated to teach English based on learner's needs often result in teachers having to cover a wide range of knowledge domains and to accommodate individual learning differences. Besides, the lack of standards for every ESP course has complicated ESP teaching. Therefore, the researcher, an ESP teacher with over twenty years' teaching experience, intended to explore the ESP pedagogy, design and teach an ESP course, and employ the phenomenographic approach to examine ESP teaching and learning.;The qualitative data were collected from an online syllabus survey, needs analysis survey, student journals, and individual interviews with 19 adult ESP learners. The researcher developed a constructivist, e-learning model for ESP teaching which encompasses the fields of EFL teaching, adult learning, and cross-cultural study, and learning psychology.;The phenomenographic study identified four major categories of ESP learning conceptions which are: following, discussing, applying, and reflecting. The study also reveals that adult ESP learners collectively use rote memorization, collaborative learning, experiential learning, and self-regulated learning in their learning process.;Through the experience of guiding, supporting, and facilitating ESP learners, the researcher proposed a pedagogical change focusing on fostering deep learning.Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Idaho, April 2006