TKU Center for Teacher Professional Development invited teaching and learning section chief Ming-Huei Lin from the EMI Center to share on teaching experience in EMI classes and diverse innovative teaching methods, in the hope of facilitating EMI teachers’ enthusiasm for teaching, and to enhance student motivation for learning.

Time: November 15, 2022 (12:00-13:00)
Venue: I501, Chueh-sheng Memorial Hall
Speaker: Dr. Ming-Huei Lin, EMI teaching and learning section chief
Organizer: Center for Teacher Professional Development, TKU

The seminar was held on November 15, 2022, where Dr. Ming-Huei Lin, EMI teaching and learning section chief from the EMI Center to share some interactive techniques that can be used in EMI classrooms, and through actual experiencing these techniques, the teachers in attendance can better understand the learning outcome that the different interactive techniques provides. Through three simple techniques, the overall atmosphere and effectiveness of learning can improve in class.

Adeptness at transitioning between techniques and guided question-and-answer techniques

First, section chief Lin described two different situations in a class through a photograph, stating that through the use of interactive skills, the original situation of students chatting can be transformed into one of group discussion in the classroom, and through the teaching concepts of learning-by-doing and doing-by-learning, the effectiveness of student learning in EMI teaching can be raised. Thus, Dr. Lin believes that interactive techniques for questions-and-answers in class is extremely important, and this can be carried out using online forms, where easy-to-answer questions can be planned and used to increase student confidence, while also helping to increase the overall willingness of students to answer questions. Then, increasingly, difficulty could be raised through question sets, which will not only help to clarify the focus of the questions for students, but also indirectly stimulate their potential.

Group-base task-oriented techniques

Section chief Lin also shared that in class, one can choose a suitable theme for learning to lead into group activities, and by using task-oriented group learning, the passive learning mode can be transformed into active learning for students. He also reminded the audience that the process needs to be carried out in an organized manner to avoid confusion and chaos, or instructions being repeated when everyone is moving around at the same time. Group activities can not only train the students’ skills in communication and expression, but the overall learning outcome can also be enhanced though the assistance of their peers.

Applying stimulus-and-response techniques

Next, section chief Lin said that appropriate stimuli can be provided based on the teacher’s personal characteristics and the type of students in the classroom. This can fall into four categories: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, presentation punishment, and removal punishment; whether these achieve the ideal effects can be seen through students’ responses. In the seminar, Dr. Lin used a sample form to demonstrate how it could be completed, so that the teachers in attendance can better understand the context where different stimuli can be applied. Lastly, section chief Lin also provided some practical suggestions to the audience regarding the implementation of interactive techniques through his own teaching experiences in class.