Language Enhancement for Capstone Projects Using Interactive Apps

This project, comprising co-investigators from five UGC-funded tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, aims to achieve two major objectives: 1) to enhance the English abilities that undergraduate students in different disciplines need to complete their capstone projects, and 2) to develop a mobile app for students to organize their capstone project ideas and to practise the English required at different stages of capstone projects, e.g. the English needed to write the abstract, literature review, methodology, findings, conclusion and recommendations of their report, and the English skills they need to verbally present and defend their thesis.To achieve these two objectives, the project will bring together English languageteachers and discipline academics/project supervisors, as well as experts in mobile app design, be they staff, students or experienced app developers. Language resources that are specific to the use of English for capstone projects in different disciplines will be developed. General language resources that address common English needs will also be produced. These resources will then be delivered to students via a mobile app. Students from different disciplines will have access to a capstone project English app that is developed specifically for them. This app will offer in-app and push notifications so that students will receive project reminders and relevant English resources at each stage of their capstone project process. Students can personalize the app for themselves and they can use other functions on their phones to help them generate ideas for their capstone project. This proposal addresses some crucial needs and gaps because many UGC-funded institutions do not offer specific English language training for capstone projects for different disciplines, and even for those institutions that do, the deliverables of this project can supplement the language training, which is not necessarily in the semester when they write their final report. The final year is an important year for students as they strive to complete their degree programmes and relate their projects to their future career or study. The capstone project is the demanding learning task that students have to complete in their final year, and maintaining their English standard through working on their capstone projects can build their confidence and help them to effectively showcase the knowledge and skills acquired in their university education.