STEAM and English For specific purposes : online courses For Brazilian students in technology

Abstract

Nowadays, we have an increase in informal online courses in Brazil with a variety of subjects, according to the students’ needs and interests. These informal courses could complement the knowledge learned in schools and universities, associating formal and informal learning, as defended by the Education 4.0 model. Additional languages, especially the English language, represent a great part of these courses as our society now understands the importance of English in a digital and technological world. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is an area of English teaching-learning that takes into consideration the student’s needs in the curriculum design, focusing on a context where learners will use the language in real life. This area is also interdisciplinary because it connects linguistic structures with professional fields. For this reason, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education could be an interesting approach in ESP courses by providing an integrative method. Thus, this paper aims to analyze three informal online English courses designed for Brazilian students/professionals in technology considering the ESP and STEAM approaches and compare them with university learners’ needs. After the analysis, we understand in this paper that informal English courses, particularly ESP ones, should be designed by an interdisciplinary group of professionals, such as language teachers and specialists in the area, in order to show a meaningful learning experience. Besides, it is important to go beyond a list of vocabulary, integrating the four language skills and working with genres connected to the students’ own areas of study.