Resumen de Bilingual teaching in organic chemistry: effects on the evaluation process
María Albert-Soriano, Xavier Marset Gimeno, Alejandro Baeza, Rafael Chinchilla Cruz, Cecilia Gómez, Gabriela Guillena Townley, Diego J. Ramón Dangla, Isidro M. Pastor, Paz Trillo Alarcón
English-medium programs tripled in European universities between 2002 and 2007 (Wächter and Maiworm, 2008). In 2011, a UNESCO report noted that English had become the most common languageof instruction in universities globally (Tilak, 2011). The scientific community uses English as a lingua franca (van Weijen, 2012), which makes it important for science students to acquire certain skills in this language. In fact, in our university, students must certify a certain level in a language other than Spanish (usually English) before completing their degree. Therefore, any action intended for students to acquire transversal linguistic competences should be considered positively by the university community. Implementing teaching groups in English can help acquiring those language skills while attending the corresponding degree courses. In addition, students can obtain facilities in exchange programs with other universities. Teaching organic chemistry subjects in a foreign language, such as English, increases the practical knowledge in this language, and allows students to expand their scientific terminology in another language. For some years, the teachers of our department have been carrying out activities for the implementation of different subjects in English in the Chemistry Degree. After a pioneering experience with a subject fully taught in English during the last academic year, we have implemented groups in English for different subjects in the Degree of Chemistry. These groups are taught in parallel with the corresponding groups in Spanish, being comparable in terms of contents, materials and activities. Furthermore, the assessment of student learning should be the same regardless of the language used, all tests, problems and exams being identical.Our Research Network in University Teaching is studying the evaluation process in several subjects taught by the Organic Chemistry Department, taking into account all activities of continuous assessment together with the final exam. Over the last few years, we have compiled information on the relationship between continuous assessment activities, the final exam, and the final mark obtained bystudents. In this context, we have analysed and compared results obtained by students of both groups (English taught and Spanish taught). The study should analyse whether there are differences between the two teaching groups, in terms of learning outcomes. The final test may result in comparable marks since the contents and methods employed are equivalent. Nevertheless, in the continuous assessment process, where differences in group size may be significant, dissimilarities could arise. On the other hand, the English group may require a greater effort to carry out the activities corresponding to the continuous evaluation. We think that this study will provide us with insights about the teaching-learning process differences in both languages. The results and conclusions of this study should be taken into account for future teaching planning, reinforcing the advantages obtained from the actions implementedand trying to improve the deficiencies found.
