E-Portfolios as Learning Tools in Business English Writing: Examining Thai Tertiary Students’ Perceptions, Satisfaction, and Academic Performance (Published)
This study aims to 1) examine Thai tertiary students’ e-portfolio scores as well as their perceived benefits and obstacles, 2) assess their satisfaction with e-portfolio use, and 3) investigate the relationships between their GPA, perceived benefits and obstacles, course satisfaction, e-portfolio results, and academic achievement in a Business English writing course. The sample group comprises of 48 fourth-year students from the Faculty of Arts at Silpakorn University in Thailand. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient and content analysis were employed to analyze descriptive data. The findings suggest that the students scored high on e-portfolio assessments, indicating outstanding academic performance. The students perceived significant benefits from e-portfolio use, while obstacles were reported as low to moderate levels. The students’ satisfaction with e-portfolio use was very high and positively correlated with both GPA and academic achievement, while negatively correlated with perceived obstacles. Their satisfaction also had a positive relationship with their perceived benefits. The e-portfolio results were positively related to the students’ GPA and satisfaction, and their perceived benefits were negatively related to their perceived obstacles. All relationships were statistically significant at the .05 level. Also, content analysis highlighted students’ appreciation for e-portfolios’ career applicability and writing skill enhancement, though platform usability challenges were noted.
Keywords: : Academic Performance, Business English, E-portfolios, students’ perceptions, student’s satisfaction
Teaching Business English via Computer-Mediated Communication (Published)
When it comes to taking the top management posts in leading multinational corporations, particularly in the USA, there are hardly any CEOs of Chinese origin. Obviously, China lags far behind its neighbor and competitor, India, whose CEOs in US organizations have rapidly increased. So, to catch up, China must focus more on nurturing homegrown talent. In this article I discuss the design of a Business English course for the first year MBA students at Shenzhen University in southern China, which included a series of mobile learning missions through Blackboard (a learning management system). With more computer-mediated communication into the curriculum for English for Specific Purposes, it is expected to help learners to develop the skills they will need in the workplace.
Keywords: Business English, Learning Management System, computer-mediated communication