Transfer of Learning in a Multimodal, Collaborative ESAP Writing Program: Assessing Engineering Graduates’ Perceptions via the LTSI

Transfer of learning from English course to other contexts is one of the most fundamental objectives of English for Special Academic Purposes (ESAP) instruction. Providing opportunities to transfer the acquired knowledge from the ESAP writing course to writing tasks of specialized disciplines as well as analyzing students’ perceptions of transfer catalysts and barriers might suggest a foundation for future educational planning. This study examines how engineering graduate students who participated in an ESAP course assessed the four constructs of learning transfer inventory that might facilitate or inhibit the transfer of learning in discipline-specific academic writing programs. Sixty engineering graduate students participated in this study. During the ESAP course, collaboratively designed discipline-specific writing tasks were presented and practiced through multimodal input. The variation in participants’ writing skills throughout the semester was recorded and analyzed. The catalysts and the barriers to the learning transfer act were identified by administering the Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI). The participants’ evaluations of the treatment they had received was assessed through a focus group interview. Results indicated that the students could obtain significant levels of academic writing skills and finally transfer their acquired instruction to authentic discipline practices. Furthermore, data analysis of the LTSI demonstrated that transfer of writing outcomes will be increased if more consideration of work-related factors is considered in higher education. All participants reported personal capacity as the main impediment induced by the work-related construct. Students’ positive attitudes toward three ability factors and all motivational factors suggested that an auspicious foundation for future educational planning exists if disciplinary and institutional considerations are embraced.

کلیدواژه ها:

learning transfer ، academic writing ، the LTSI ، collaborative planning