Integrating an Immigration Law Simulation Into EAP Courses

Ana M. Codita

Simulation & Gaming, 2016, vol. 47, issue 5, 684-700

Abstract: Background. Previous research has highlighted the pedagogical effectiveness of a simulation-based approach to EAP (English for Academic Purposes) instruction . Aim. The purpose of the article is describe the use of the ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW simulation in some EAP courses and examine its benefits and drawbacks . Method. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with the instructors and written questionnaires with the students. Results. The findings suggested that although the simulation raised some challenges in terms of design and accessibility of the topic , it brought three benefits to the EAP courses: developing students’ academic language skills , conducting research as a pathway for knowledge construction, and strengthening students’ abilities as critical thinkers . Conclusions. These findings underscore the usefulness of a simulation-based EAP pedagogy to promote students’ use of the language skills to identify the main points of an argument, research and evaluate sources, defend well-organized arguments, and co-construct knowledge of a timely issue. Recommendations. The author concludes with some implications for simulation design and adaption .

Keywords: academic language skills; constructing knowledge; court-hearing; critical thinking; debriefing; English for Academic Purposes (EAP); immigration; language simulation; simulation design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1046878116659201 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:simgam:v:47:y:2016:i:5:p:684-700

DOI: 10.1177/1046878116659201

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Simulation & Gaming
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().