Fourth-Year Student Reflection of their Learning Process in the English Teaching Major at Universidad Nacional: A Case-Study of their Perception

Abstract

This research was conducted with a group of 37 senior students from the English Teaching major at Universidad Nacional (UNA) in 2018, as a way of getting some important feedback of their learning process perception in order to improve the study program’s scope and design. The main objective was to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the major directly from students’ voices to define which areas need improvement as valuable input to be considered in a future curricular redesign that could meet UNA’s standards and professional profiles. The methodological strategy used included interviews and questionnaires, as well as the analysis of theories on language learning and teaching and affective and motivational factors in order to analyze if the content included in the major’s curriculum has fulfilled students’ expectations towards their professional demands. Some of the conclusions show students’ high degree of satisfaction towards the major; however, they mention important weaknesses on evaluation procedures and on content. These findings become a valid starting point to create a future introspective exercise considering some improvements this program should undergo in a future redesign process. This study could be replicated in other university majors that want to improve their own academic offer.

Keywords

• language learning
• students' perception
• english as a foreing language
• motivation
• teaching strategies
• teaching processes