La innovación docente y el fomento del uso del inglés en el contexto universitario como impulsores de la investigación cualitativa

The “Promotion of English Use” (FUI) initiative and the interest of the School of Industrial Production Engineering and the School of Languages and Social Sciences in improving the skills and opportunities for their students led to the teaching of an industrial production engineering course entirely in English. This effort also included the development of a research activity titled “Exploratory Case Study on the Teaching-Learning Process of the Course PI-5302 Experimental Design in the Industrial Production Engineering Program, taught 100% in English for the first time during the first semester of 2024 at the San Carlos Local Technological Campus of the Costa Rican Institute of Technology”. The goal was to explore the perceptions, experiences, and factors that positively or negatively influenced the teaching-learning process of 14 students, the laboratory assistant, and the professor. This research was carried out with an exploratory methodology and thematic analysis.The course was planned towards the end of 2023 and was taught in the first semester of 2024, entirely in English, including lectures, evaluations, laboratories, the final course project, presentations, and even extracurricular activities such as talks, academic tours, and sometimes office hours outside class. The results showed a high degree of satisfaction among the participating students, no impact on their grades, and improvement in their language skills, as well as soft skills such as teamwork, communication skills, and self-confidence.It was evident that the collaboration between different schools and committed professionals, a work environment based on respect and tolerance, and the support of the institution allow initiatives like this to move forward positively. Furthermore, it is clear that teaching and research can, if they so desire, work in harmony and achieve significant results