- Brunfaut, Tineke. (2014). Interview: A Lifetime of Language Testing: An Interview with J. Charles Alderson. Language Assessment Quarterly, 11, 103-109.
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摘要:Professor J. Charles Alderson is interviewed. Adapted from the source document
关键词: applied linguistics, language testing and assessment, Interviews, Linguists, Teachers, Language Tests
- Yang, Y. (2014). Preparing language teachers for blended teaching of summary writing. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 27(3), 185-206.
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摘要:Research on preparing language teachers for blended teaching of summary writing, a mix of on-site and online instruction for college students to grasp the gist of the texts, is scarce in higher education. This study examined the problems encountered and solutions proposed by six language teachers, who altogether instructed 214 college students on summary writing. The findings of this study are based on content analyses of the teachers' interview transcripts, the teachers' observation of college students' progress in on-site and online instruction, and the interactions among the students recorded in the log files of the online system. The results show that the language teachers' problems in blended teaching of summary writing fell into three categories: instructional processes, community concerns, and technical issues. The four main themes that emerged from the three categories include the following: (1) the changing roles of the teachers and students, (2) little sense of community building, (3) lack of training in blended teaching of summary writing, and (4) an unfamiliarity with the new systems or technologies. The language teachers' perspectives on solving these problems were to (1) distinguish the significant differences between on-site and online language teaching contexts, (2) identify strategies and techniques to facilitate students' blended learning in summary writing, and (3) develop community building skills to encourage teachers and students to actively participate in collaborative learning. These solutions shed light on the preparation of language teachers in blended teaching of summary writing. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, writing instruction, acquisition, processes, and testing, Teachers, Teaching Methods, Computer Assisted Instruction, Written Language Instruction, Higher Education, Teacher Education, Content Analysis
- Fulcher, Glenn. (2012). Assessment literacy for the language classroom. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9, 113-132.
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摘要:Language testing has seen unprecedented expansion during the first part of the 21st century. As a result there is an increasing need for the language testing profession to consider more precisely what it means by 'assessment literacy' and to articulate its role in the creation of new pedagogic materials and programs in language testing and assessment to meet the changing needs of teachers and other stakeholders for a new age. This article describes a research project in which a survey instrument was developed, piloted, and delivered on the Internet to elicit the assessment training needs of language teachers. The results were used to inform the design of new teaching materials and the further development of online resources that could be used to support program delivery. The project makes two significant contributions. First, it provides new empirically derived content for the concept of assessment literacy within which to frame materials development and teaching. Second, it uncovered methodological problems with existing survey techniques that may have impacted upon earlier studies, and solutions to these problems are suggested. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, language testing and assessment, Language Tests, Surveys, Teachers, Occupations, Language Teaching Methods, Teacher Education
- Kang, Okim. (2012). Impact of rater characteristics and prosodic features of speaker accentedness on ratings of international teaching assistants' oral performance. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9, 249-269.
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摘要:Few prior studies have examined degree of fidelity between raters' assessments of oral performances and objectively observable prosodic indices of accentedness. Prosodic indices of accentedness quantify trait-relevant variance, whereas rater background variables represent trait-irrelevant variance. The present study, therefore, investigated the extent to which raters' background characteristics and instrumentally measured prosodic indices of speakers' accentedness jointly influenced the rating of oral performances. Seventy U.S. undergraduate students rated the speaking and teaching proficiency of 11 international teaching assistants (ITAs). Using the PRAAT computer program, 5 min of continuous speech from each of the ITAs were instrumentally analyzed for a number of indices of speech rate, pausing, stress, and intonation. Dependent variables were undergraduates' ratings of ITA oral proficiency and instructional competence. Rater background variables such as the listener's native speaker status and experience as a language tutor explained 7-9% of the variance in oral performance ratings, whereas 18-19% was attributable to the prosody variables. These findings suggest that U.S. undergraduates are sensitive to trait-relevant indicators of ITA oral proficiency. At the same time, their speech evaluations are subject to substantial bias based on their own backgrounds. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, language testing and assessment, Prosodic Features, Foreign Accent, Teachers, Stress, Second Language Tests, Test Validity and Reliability, Speech Rate, Pauses, Intonation
- Comas-Quinn, A. (2011). Learning to teach online or learning to become an online teacher: An exploration of teachers' experiences in a blended learning course. Recall, 23(3), 218-232.
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摘要:A key role in the successful implementation of any learning approach is played by teachers, so how well blended learning works will depend largely on how well teachers make the transition from their traditional face-to-face classroom roles to the wider more complex role that blended learning requires. The additional skills and the forging of a new professional identity might not come easily to all practitioners. This paper evaluates the impact that the introduction of blended learning in a distance language learning course has had on teachers. It presents and discusses findings from a small-scale evaluation study which compared quantitative and qualitative data gathered through a survey and a small number of interviews with participant observations from the researcher and the institutional end-of-course debriefing report. The paper argues that whilst technological challenges and the sheer amount of change that teachers were faced with were largely responsible for some of the negative attitudes reflected in teachers' opinions about the course, a less obvious, broader explanation for the difficulties that teachers encountered might be found in the way that learning, teaching and training are conceptualised by both teachers and the institution. It is proposed that a transmission of knowledge approach to training fails to acknowledge and properly support the transformation of teachers' identity that results from moving from traditional classroom-based teaching to online teaching. The shift goes beyond the acquisition of ICT skills and requires a pedagogical understanding of the affordances of the new medium and an acceptance by the teacher of his or her new role and identity. Adapted from the source document
关键词:interpersonal behavior and communication, technology and communication, Teachers, Teacher Attitudes, Student Teacher Relationship, Classroom Communication, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Surveys
- Zhang, Ying, & Elder, C. (2011). Judgments of oral proficiency by non-native and native English speaking teacher raters: Competing or complementary constructs. Language Testing, 28(1), 31-50.
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摘要:This paper reports the findings of an empirical study on ESL/EFL teachers' evaluation and interpretation of oral English proficiency as elicited by the national College English Test-Spoken English Test (CET-SET) of China. Informed by debates on the issue of native speaker (NS) norms which have become the focus of attention in recent years, this study addresses the question of whether judgments of language proficiency by non-native English speaking (NNES) teachers, who are currently used to assess performance on the CET-SET, correspond to those of native English speaking (NES) teachers or whether the two groups draw on different constructs of oral proficiency. Data for the study were derived from two sources: unguided holistic ratings given by a group of 19 NES and 20 NNES teachers to CET-SET speech samples from 30 test-takers, and written comments to justify the ratings assigned. Results yielded by both quantitative (MFRM) and qualitative analyses of teacher data, revealed no significant difference in raters' holistic judgments of the speech samples and a broad level of agreement between groups on the construct components of oral English proficiency. However, the analysis of raters' comments revealed both quantitative and qualitative differences in the way NES and NNES teachers weighed various features of the oral proficiency construct in justifying the decisions made. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the study's findings for debates about the native speaker norm as the target for language learners and test-takers. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications, Ltd., copyright holder.]
关键词:applied linguistics, language testing and assessment, Teachers, Speech Tests, Language Tests, Language Proficiency, English as a Second Language Instruction, Nonnative Speakers, Native Speakers, China, English Proficiency
- Boeckmann, K. (2011). Majority language instruction as a basis for plurilingual education-mehrheitssprachenunterricht als basis plurilingualer erziehung. Language Teaching, 44(3), 404-406.
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摘要:The Majority language instruction as a basis for plurilingual education/Mehrheitssprachenunterricht als Basis plurilingualer Erziehung (MARILLE) project, affiliated with the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML), is briefly highlighted. MARILLE specifically focuses on 'majority' languages, also referred to as 'national' or 'official' languages, that are used as 'language(s) of schooling.' The project focuses on classrooms in which the majority language is taught as a school subject, where teachers have generally been trained for monolingual mother tongue teaching but may be challenged by the increasingly diverse linguistic backgrounds of their students. The MARILLE project examines these teachers' strategies for dealing with such challenges and the ways school systems have found to support them. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, native language instruction, Native Language Instruction, Official Languages, Language of Instruction, Language Teaching Methods, Teachers
- Dixon, D. (2011). Recent literature concerning the support of initiatives promoting language learner autonomy around the world. Language Teaching, 44(2), 266-276.
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摘要:A review essay is presented that covers the following books: (1) Andrew Barfield and Stephen H. Brown [Eds], reconstructing autonomy in language education: Inquiry and innovation (Basingstroke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007); (2) David Gardner [Ed], Learner autonomy 10: Integration and support (Dublin: Authentik, 2007); (3) Terry Lamb and Hayo Reinders [Eds], Supporting independent language learning: Issues and interventions (Franfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2006); (4) Richard Pemberton, Sarah Toogood, and Andy Barfield [Eds], Maintaining control: Autonomy and language learning (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2009); and (5) Terry Lamb and Hayo Reinders [Eds], Learner and teacher autonomy: Concepts, realities and responses (Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2008).
关键词:applied linguistics, non-native language learning languages other than English, Second Language Learning, Language Acquisition, Self Instruction, Teachers, Students, Language Teaching Methods
- Cheng, Stephanie W. (2012). "That's it for today": Academic lecture closings and the impact of class size. English for Specific Purposes, 31, 234-248.
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摘要:The present study investigates the rhetorical structure of academic lecture closings, and the impact of class size on this part genre. A framework of stages and strategies is developed to analyze the rhetorical structure of lecture closings. Large and small classes are further compared to find how class size may influence the ways lecturers close their lectures. Personal pronouns I, you, and we are also examined to explore interpersonal dynamics. Results show that lecturers use a wide range of strategies in closings, yet with great variation. Three strategies-explicitly indicating the end of lecture, explaining course plans for the next class, and dismissing the class-are most frequently used. Large and small classes differ in both stages and strategies. Strategies tend to concentrate at the Ending Stage in large classes, but at the Pre-ending and Post-ending Stages in small classes. Interestingly, students and lecturers in small classes have frequent, informal interaction on non-course-related issues. Lecturers may use personal pronouns flexibly and strategically, referring to a variety of semantic referents, to enhance student engagement and mitigate potential disfavor. These findings demonstrate the impact of class size on lecture closings, which provide an opportunity for lecturers to establish close rapport with students. [Copyright The American University; published by Elsevier Ltd.]
关键词:interpersonal behavior and communication, interpersonal and group communication, behavior, and relationships, Classroom Communication, Pronouns, Language Usage, Discourse Strategies, Teachers, Rhetoric
- Thoegersen, J., & Airey, J. (2011). Lecturing undergraduate science in Danish and in English: A comparison of speaking rate and rhetorical style. English for Specific Purposes, 30, 209-221.
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摘要:This paper investigates the consequences of L2 use in university lectures. Data in the study stem from parallel lectures held by the same experienced lecturer in Danish (L1) and English (L2). It is found that the lecturer takes 22% longer to present the same content in L2 compared to L1, and that the lecturer speaks 23% more slowly in L2 than in L1. In the second part of the paper these differences are investigated through a qualitative analysis of parallel extracts from the same data set. Here it is found that when teaching in English the lecturer uses a higher degree of repetition and adopts a more formal and condensed style as compared to the rhetorical style in L1. Finally, the potential consequences of these quantitative and qualitative differences for student learning are discussed. We analyse five science lectures: three in Danish (L1) and two in English (L2). The same lecturer takes 22% longer to present the same content in L2. The lecturer speaks 23% more slowly in L2. The lecturer uses a higher degree of repetition in L2. The lecturer has a more formal and condensed style in L2. [Copyright The American University; published by Elsevier Ltd.]
关键词:applied linguistics, language for special purposes, English, Danish, English as a Second Language, Rhetoric, Discourse Strategies, Language of Instruction, Classroom Communication, Teachers, Higher Education
- Gun, B. (2011). Quality self-reflection through reflection training. ELT Journal, 65(2), 126-135.
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摘要:This research study discusses the importance of 'reflection training' in teacher education programmes. The main premise of the study is that although teachers are constantly encouraged to 'reflect' on their teaching they are unable to do so effectively unless they are specifically trained in how to reflect (they tend to 'react' rather than 'reflect'!). It is known that teachers can increase their ability to identify their strengths and weaknesses and take action towards improving themselves as better teachers when they receive feedback from different sources -- for example through trainer, colleague, and learner observations -- as well as from watching their own video-recorded lessons. The best results for their development are obtained when teachers are also provided with focused input sessions related to reflecting on different aspects of their classroom teaching as well as having the opportunity to watch videos of themselves teaching. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, Second Language Teachers, Teachers, Feedback, Teacher Education
- Macalister, J. (2011). Today's teaching, tomorrow's text: exploring the teaching of reading. ELT Journal, 65(2), 161-169.
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摘要:Most learners experience the teaching of reading in the classroom in the form of intensive reading activities, where learners are provided with support, typically by the teacher, to make sense of texts that are too difficult for the learners to read successfully by themselves. After reading learners are usually expected to answer a series of comprehension questions. The problem with this approach, critics say, is that it does not in fact teach learners how to read. While comprehension questions can be used effectively in the teaching of reading their effectiveness depends on the teacher having a clear understanding of the goal of the reading lesson and the conditions that need to be met if learning is to take place. This article discusses and exemplifies these concerns and proposes a framework that can assist teachers plan lessons that help learners to read better. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, reading instruction and remediation, Teachers, Reading Instruction, Reading Comprehension, Teaching Methods
- Dooly, M., & Masats, D. (2011). Closing the loop between theory and praxis: new models in EFL teaching. ELT Journal, 65(1), 42-51.
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摘要:This article will discuss the development of a teaching unit designed for initial secondary teacher training (specializing in foreign languages). The unit not only exemplified the theory of project-based learning (PBL) for the student-teachers but also involved them in a hands-on experience, thus fully engaging them in the development of the necessary management skills to be able to implement PBL in their own future classrooms. The unit was designed to help shift student-teachers' understanding of teaching approaches towards pedagogies that promote autonomous language learning and collaborative problem solving. We consider how English language teachers can capitalize on the language learning benefits of project work by first examining the characteristics of PBL and then by considering how this approach can be integrated into EFL training. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, Teacher Education, English as a Second Language Instruction, Teaching Methods, Teachers, Problem Solving
- Lee, I. (2011). Feedback revolution: what gets in the way?. ELT Journal, 65(1), 1-12.
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摘要:Feedback in writing has in recent years attracted the attention of an increasing number of writing researchers. While much feedback research focuses on the act of feedback per se, little attention has been paid to the issue of teacher readiness to implement change in feedback. Using data gathered from Hong Kong secondary teachers attending a teacher education seminar on feedback in writing, this article investigates teachers' readiness to implement change in feedback as well as their perceptions of the factors that may facilitate or inhibit change. The findings show that while teachers may be cognitively aware of the need for a feedback revolution, there are obstacles that get in the way of innovation. The article concludes that if teachers are to start a feedback revolution a number of issues have to be addressed, including enhancing teacher training and empowering teachers. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, writing instruction, acquisition, processes, and testing, Feedback, Teachers, Written Language Instruction, Teacher Attitudes, Hong Kong, Teacher Education
- Willy, A. R., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2011). Teacher, the tape is too fast! Extensive listening in ELT. ELT Journal, 65(1), 52-59.
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摘要:For many years, research effort has been devoted to understanding the nature of listening strategies and how listening strategies used by good listeners can be taught to so-called ineffective listeners. As a result of this line of research, strategy training activities have now become a standard feature of most modern listening coursebooks. However, in this article, we maintain that given the lack of evidence of success with this approach to teaching lower proficiency EFL learners and the fact that strategy training places a heavy burden on teachers, an extensive listening approach in the same vein as an extensive reading approach should be adopted. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, Listening, Language Teaching Methods, Listening Strategies, Reading Instruction, English as a Second Language Instruction, English as a Second Language Learning, Teachers, Listening Comprehension
- Chen, H. H. (2011). Developing and evaluating a web-based collocation retrieval tool for EFL students and teachers. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 24(1), 59-76.
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摘要:The development of adequate collocational knowledge is important for foreign language learners; nonetheless, learners often have difficulties in producing proper collocations in the target language. Among the various ways of learning collocations, the DDL (data-driven learning) approach encourages independent learning of collocations and allows learners to directly use corpora and tools to search for proper collocations. Concordancers have been one of the key tools in the DDL approach. However, based on the findings of empirical studies, many existing web concordancers have not been very helpful in retrieving collocations. To help EFL students and teachers quickly locate proper collocates, this article introduces a web-based collocation retrieval tool, WebCollocate, which is based on a large part of speech-tagged Gutenberg corpus. To determine if the new tool can facilitate the searching of collocations, this tool and the Hong Kong Polytechnic web concordancer were used by two groups of college EFL students to find proper collocates in a translation task. The results showed that the students who used the WebCollocate tool found more proper English collocates. In addition, a group of 35 pre-service English teachers were also invited to evaluate the effectiveness of this collocation tool. These EFL teachers indicated that they could easily find proper English collocates with the help of WebCollocate. However, they also suggested that the search options and the presentation of search outcomes of this tool can be further improved. It seems that a more dedicated collocation retrieval tool can facilitate collocation teaching and learning, but the functions of this tool can be further enhanced. The findings of this study can be useful for language teachers, researchers, and developers of corpus-based tools. Adapted from the source document
关键词:descriptive linguistics, computational/mathematical linguistics and machine translation, applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, Collocations, English as a Second Language Learning, Teachers, English as a Second Language Instruction, Students, Second Language Learning, College Students, Corpus Linguistics, Computer Assisted Language Learning
- Jauregi, K., Canto, S., de Graaff, R., Koenraad T., & Moonen, M. (2011). Verbal interaction in Second Life: Towards a pedagogic framework for task design. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 24(1), 77-101.
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摘要:Within a European project on Networked Interaction in Foreign Language Acquisition and Research (NIFLAR), Second Life was used as a 3D virtual world in which language students can communicate synchronously with native speakers in the target language, while undertaking action together. For this context, a set of design principles for interaction tasks was developed aiming at maximizing authentic social interaction and intercultural awareness, while exploiting the specific affordances of the virtual environment being used. These design principles were applied and tested in a case study in which two foreign language learners of Spanish and two pre-service teachers carried out four interaction tasks in the virtual world of Second Life. In this article we first present and discuss the framework for task development and assessment. We then show the results of the case study conducted in Second Life which aimed at: (1) applying and assessing the design principles for task elaboration, (2) analyzing the kind of interaction the tasks elicited in the virtual world, (3) exploring whether the specific affordances of the virtual environment were adequately used for enhancing interaction, and (4) studying whether and how the condition anonymity versus familiarity may play a role in modeling virtual interaction. Adapted from the source document
关键词:descriptive linguistics, computational/mathematical linguistics and machine translation, applied linguistics, non-native language instruction languages other than English, Second Language Learning, Case Studies, Teachers, Second Language Instruction, Spanish, Computer Software, Students
- Rivard, L. P., & Levesque, A. (2011). Three francophone teachers' use of language-based activities in science classrooms. The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 67(3), 323-350.
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摘要:Research suggests that language-based activities should be an integral part of science teaching and learning and that these are even more important in minority-language contexts. The present cross-case study investigates how literacy is enacted in francophone science classrooms. Three francophone teachers were observed while they taught Grade 9 science classes. An observation protocol was used to record instructional events. Most reading was guided by questions while students scanned the textbook for answers. Writing involved few words, short phrases, or copying notes and never included any extended writing. Talking was predominantly used to engage in conversations with the teacher and rarely with peers for knowledge construction. Using more language-based activities has the potential to enhance science learning for minority-language students. Teachers seem willing to use these if provided with support, both through specially developed support materials and through professional development opportunities for enhancing instructional effectiveness. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, language for special purposes, Teachers, Learning Environment, Literacy, Minority Languages, Secondary Education, Language for Special Purposes, Teaching Methods, Classroom Communication
- Kong, S., & Hoare, P. (2011). Cognitive content engagement in content-based language teaching. Language Teaching Research, 15(3), 307-324.
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摘要:This article reports a study of aspects of pedagogy that can bring about students' cognitive engagement with academic content and, thus, use of the academic language in content-based language lessons in three middle schools in Xi'an, China. Two criteria -- academic content level and depth of processing -- were used to determine cognitive content engagement by students. A detailed analysis of three lessons taught by the same teacher is presented in this article. These are selected to highlight the differences between teaching that facilitated engagement and the use of the academic language and teaching that failed to do so. The analysis shows that engagement seemed to occur when the teacher focused the content on challenging technical academic knowledge and helped students explore this content in depth. She focused on relationships between meanings rather than facts in isolation and demanded the processing of knowledge in different ways, which created the space for the use of academic language. She structured her lessons in a cyclical manner and exploited the feedback moves in the predominantly initiation- response-feedback (IRF) classroom interaction pattern to facilitate deep processing. She also had clear content and language learning objectives. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright holder.]
关键词:applied linguistics, language for special purposes, English for Academic Purposes, Academic Language, Teachers, Junior High School Education, Language Teaching Methods, China, Content Area Instruction, Classroom Communication
- Tan, M. (2011). Mathematics and science teachers' beliefs and practices regarding the teaching of language in content learning. Language Teaching Research, 15(3), 325-342.
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摘要:This article presents data from a study examining secondary mathematics teachers' and science teachers' implementation of a language of instruction policy in Malaysia, which made English the medium for mathematics and science instruction. It explores the beliefs of math, science and language teachers, and how these beliefs influence their pedagogical practices in content-based language instruction classrooms. The study uses a mixed-methods approach for data collection and data analysis. Data is analysed using perspectives from content-based language teaching (CBLT) and from research on mathematics and science instruction for English language learners (ELLs). The results indicate that teachers' beliefs about their respective roles as only content teachers or only language teachers limit students' language learning opportunities. Factors such as curricular requirements, exam pressure and time constraints also shape classroom interactions, and have implications for student learning as well. The findings reveal the lack of collaboration between content and language teachers, and the need for sustained professional development concerning content and language integration for both groups of teachers. This study extends work on content-based language teaching to the previously unexamined Malaysian context. Its findings contribute to the ongoing work of improving instructional practices in content-based classrooms to integrate and maximize content and language learning for English language learners. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright holder.]
关键词:applied linguistics, language for special purposes, Teacher Attitudes, Teachers, Content Area Instruction, Mathematics, Scientific Technical Language, English for Special Purposes, English as a Second Language Instruction, Language of Instruction, Malaysia