Till Örebro universitet

Listening to academic lectures in a second language (L2) can be a daunting task, as the listener faces various challenges related to processing the speech stream, prioritizing the importance of information, and deciding when, where and how to take notes. A host of factors can contribute to student comfort in and ability to take “good” notes during L2 lectures. This study explores student perspectives on personal, speaker, and contextual factors that impact notetaking in L2 lecture settings. To determine the extent to which these factors affect notetaking ability, participants (N = 711) studying on English for academic purposes (EAP) programs in five countries (Indonesia, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and the US) responded to an online survey. The present paper reports results holistically and from a cross-cultural perspective, leading to pedagogic implications and recommendations for stu-dents, EAP teachers, and English medium instruction (EMI) lecturers as well as any teachers who may teach groups with varying language proficiencies.

Taking notes while simultaneously listening to academic content in a second language is a daunting task for many students. While doing so, the note-taker is faced with a number of choices, including when, where, and how to take notes. Choices that students make are related to the overall format and system of notes as well as how to record specific pieces of information. The option of translanguaging, or making use of their multilingual resource, in note-taking is often overlooked by students and teachers in English for academic purposes (EAP) settings. The present article reports results of an international survey of EAP students with respect to their translanguaging habits and preferences when taking notes and presents a range of related pedagogic implications with the intent of preparing students for English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education.

The importance of notetaking for English for academic purposes (EAP) students and teachers is growing due to a rapid increase in the number of universities offering English as a medium of instruction (EMI) courses around the world (e.g. [Teng, H. C. 2011. "Exploring Note-taking Strategies of EFL Listenerst." Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 15: 480-484.]). While there have been several studies on second language (L2) notetaking that focus on the types and styles of notes students take (e.g. [Siegel, J. 2016. "A pedagogic cycle for EFL note-taking." ELT Journal 70 (3): 275-286]; [Crawford, M. 2015. "A Study on Note Taking in EFL Listening Instruction." JALT2014 Conference Proceedings, Tokyo, JALT, 416-424]; Tsai and Wu 2010), student perspectives regarding their stated beliefs about and reported habits related to notetaking remain in need of further exploration. This paper reports on an investigation of notetaking from EAP students' perspectives. It presents the results of a cross-cultural survey on the views and habits expressed by Japanese (n = 256) and Swedish (n = 272) students. Findings from the study demonstrate the similarities and differences between students in the two countries in relation to notetaking in EAP courses.

English medium instruction (EMI) has been increasing in higher education with broad intentions of stimulating internationalization and cross-cultural learning experiences. This form of education presents opportunities and challenges for teachers and students alike. Key challenges involve various levels of second language (L2) speaking and listening abilities among teachers and students operating in EMI contexts. This exploratory study therefore examines the relationship between the main ideas two EMI lecturers in Sweden intended for their students to learn during lectures and the main ideas that EMI students report learning in the same lectures. Prior to six lectures, the teachers summarized to the researcher the main ideas to be included in the respective lecture. Immediately following the lecture, students provided their own summaries of the main ideas. A keyword analysis comparing the teachers' intended messages and students' reports shows that students may not be recognizing and acquiring the main ideas that the teacher intends. Further analysis distinguished two sub-groups of students: those with self-reported Swedish as a first language (L1) and those with self-reported L1s other than Swedish. A binomial proportion test showed that L1 impacted the amount of lecture main idea key words reported by the students in this study. The paper closes with a pedagogic perspective encouraging EMI lecturers to monitor student uptake on a regular basis and adjust their lecture delivery to support better learning and retention of content delivered via EMI.

This paper reviews and discusses research on notetaking during academic listening conducted in both first (L1) and second language (L2) contexts and is organized into two main categories: research that is beginning to impact English for academic purposes (EAP) classrooms and that which has yet to make an impact on EAP, but should. Overall, I assert that, while some relevant research on notetaking is reaching EAPclassrooms, there is an abundance of knowledge from L1 contexts as well as a number of unexplored areas that have potential to improve instruction and student ability. Throughout the paper, I hypothesize why certain research findings are not being applied in classrooms. In concluding, I provide suggestions for how researchers and teachers might further support colleagues in applying research findings.

The importance and presence of notetaking in L2 educational contexts has gradually increased to a point where many now recognize notetaking as an essential academic skill for EAP preparatory and EMI courses worldwide. In order to meet the increasing demand for notetaking, materials writers and commercial publishers have designed and produced a number of notetaking textbooks. Despite their availability on the market and frequent use in EAP and other L2 courses, the ability of the average teacher to discern the quality of materials for notetaking may be underdeveloped. This article presents a series of eight questions that can be used as a basis for evaluating and comparing the quality and content of notetaking textbooks with a view to better preparing teachers to understand what notetaking is, how it can be taught, and what materials can and do offer.