1.
Open Educational Resources for
Bridging High School – University Gaps
in Academic English
Ingrid Barth, Jack Barokas Tel Aviv University
Mary Grammatikou, Dimitris Pantazatos National Technical University of Athens
Stasele Riskiene, Ausra Urbaityte Kaunas University of Technology
INTED 2020 - Valencia

2.
Academic English

3.
Introduction
Problem description
 Research on high-frequency words not yet filtered down
to mainstream classrooms - many teachers don’t yet
understand how high-frequency wordlists can help
students to prioritize vocabulary learning.
 Not enough class hours to teach all the high-frequency
general academic vocabulary students need to know.
 Students who graduate from high school at Common
European Framework of Reference (CEFR) level B2
may not learn key academic terms and concepts that
appear only at C1 and C2 level, e.g. ‘distribution’ (C1)
and ‘interpretation’ (C2).

4.
Problem description
1. Many students leave high school without
the high frequency academic vocabulary they
need to understand academic texts in
English.
2. Constantly interrupting reading to look up
unknown words can:
 reduce fluency needed for comprehending
academic texts.
 break concentration.
 add cognitive load, leaving less resources for
critically evaluating text content.

5.
Towards solutions
High-quality open educational resources for
self-paced learning can help students close
their vocabulary gaps on their own –
BUT:
 Self-directed learning requires a
complex mix of motivation, skills and
attitudes.
 High school teachers may not believe
their students have the ‘grit and
resilience’ they need to sustain
self-directed learning.

6.
Research Questions
1. Does students’ level (high school or university) affect English teachers’
skepticism regarding their students’ capacity to benefit from OER-based
self-directed learning?
2. Can continuous professional development (CPD) that emphasizes the
potential contribution of OERs affect possible teacher resistance among
high school teachers?

7.
Closing the academic English gaps -
examples of Up2U’s OERs
1. Roads to Academic Reading
Text analytics-based site lets users upload their own digital texts to identify
which are the high-frequency academic words that they should focus on
learning first.
Site provides:
 Three ‘roads’ or routes to identifying high-frequency words.
 Sets of 3 – 5 exercises with diagnostic feedback for 300 target words that
appear on CEFR and AWL wordlists.

8.
Examples of Up2U’s Academic English OERs
2. List of over 50 exercises
to teach terms that are the
‘building blocks’ of critical
evaluation of information and
academic literacy.

9.
Examples of Up2U’s Academic English OERs
3. Instructional video
on how to write
the Introduction section
of an academic paper,
based on Swales’
CARS model.

10.
Examples of Up2U’s Academic English OERs
4. Free access to Pearson’s University Success (reading edition
CEFR B1-B2) and MyGrammar Lab for Up2U users for 24 months
months.

11.
Methodology
 N = 52 teachers
 36 high school teachers who completed Up2U CPD before the OER survey,
16 university teachers who were not exposed to Up2U CPD.
 Non-random convenience sample of teachers.
 Data collection: Short survey related to OERs – 10 closed questions, 1 open question.

12.
Main Results
1. High school English teachers who completed Up2U’s CPD in Lithuania
and university teachers in Israel showed similar levels of positive beliefs
re their students’ capacity to benefit from academic English OERs.
2. Among both groups, approx. half the teachers believed their students
would use OERs often or very often (4-5 on Likert scale).
3. 11% of high school teachers compared to 50% of university teachers
believed that their students would seldom use OERs to close their
academic English gaps (1-2 on Likert scale).

13.
Discussion
1. Huge amounts of resources have been spent on development of OERs
but:
Not enough data on possible barriers to take-up of OER.
2. Possible barriers to take-up include:
 teachers’ skepticism regarding students’ capacity to engage in OER-based
self-directed learning.
 lack of effective CPD.

14.
Discussion
3. “If we build it, will they come?”
Building OERs does not guarantee take-up:
Projects that provide OERs also need to provide effective CPD to ensure that
teachers know how to help high school students develop the ‘grit and resilience’
they need for self-paced OER-based learning.

15.
What should CPD on OERs include?
1. Creating a shared ‘bank’ of OERs
Each CPD participant shares their ‘big five’ – the 5 OERs they rank
most valuable and use most often.
2. Avoiding ‘re-inventing the wheel’
How to use MERLOT to locate useful OERs for teaching English as a foreign
language at high school level (many resources are already CEFR-aligned).
3. Share and pass forward and share
MERLOT can also be used to share materials that teachers create, specifying
CEFR level.