EFL Teachers' Views of English Language Assessment in Higher Education in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 546-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
SALAH TROUDI ◽  
CHRISTINE COOMBE ◽  
MASHAEL AL‐HAMLIY
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Assessment In Higher Education

Cultural Border Crossings in the UAE

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Hatherley-Greene
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
English Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Classroom Culture ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
Learning Program

"Over the course of one academic year, I documented the experiences of new first-year male Emirati students at a college of higher education in a rural location of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Using the metaphor of a cultural border crossing, I found that the congruency between the pre-dominantly Arabic life-world associated with Emirati families and government schooling and the largely dominant Western/English language culture in institutes of higher education was broadly related to the students’ self-perceived level of preparedness for academic study and the competence of Emirati students in their second language, English. Four types of border crossing experiences were described – smooth, managed, difficult, and impossible – with easier and smoother crossing experiences associated with close congruency between the two different cultures. Suffering from the effects of neo-indigeneity, absent parents, poor secondary school experiences, and a disempowering ‘rentier effect’, I found that the failure of male Emirati students to make satisfactory border crossings to college life initiated a process of departure manifested by high absenteeism leading to eventual withdrawal. This occurred more frequently with students placed in the lower levels of an academic bridge program where cultural and linguistic ‘discomfort’ were felt the most - 66% of the new students left college during the year with a staggering 97% drop-out rate in the lowest level alone. Mainly Western teachers who developed a classroom culture based on ‘warm demandingness’ and caring rapport-building appeared to have the most positive impact upon the students. The development of students’ soft-skills in a new experiential learning program was assessed using a Mental Toughness Questionnaire which surprisingly produced lower post-test scores, indicating greater self-awareness and honesty. A key emerging question asks - whose interests are being served (or not) by compelling first-language students to cross cultural borders into higher education colleges and asking them to study using the dominant second-language of English?"

Writing assessment in higher education

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Callies ◽  
Ekaterina Zaytseva ◽  
Rebecca L. Present-Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Assessment ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
The Common ◽  
Assessment In Higher Education

The importance of appropriate assessment methods for academic writing skills in higher education has received increasing attention in SLA research in recent years. Despite this, there is still relatively little understanding of how academic writing skills develop at the most advanced levels of proficiency. Use of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is one way to ensure the comparability of findings across research efforts and continue to move the field forward. This paper presents some key concepts and definitions from the fields of SLA and advancedness research, language assessment and corpus linguistics and introduces several papers that address writing assessment within the context of higher education.

ICT Integration in Post-Secondary English Teaching and Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 179-193
Author(s):  
Christina Gitsaki ◽  
Abbad Alabbad
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Fast Pace

The positive effects of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) have been widely acknowledged in the body of literature. While the majority of studies concern the use of CALL in the West, there is a dearth of research on the use of CALL in the Middle East and in particular in the Arabian Gulf where the English language plays a prominent role and being able to speak English is the passport to attending higher education and gaining employment. This chapter documents two case studies in higher education institutions in the Gulf, one in Saudi Arabia and one in the United Arab Emirates. The studies show how the use of CALL positively affected Arab students’ language skills and their attitudes towards learning English with technology, paving the way for further research in the Arabian higher education context, where the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching and learning is gaining ground at a fast pace.

scholarly journals Technology-enhanced formative assessment in higher education: A voice from Indonesian EFL teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Roghibatul Luthfiyyah ◽  
Aisyah Aisyah ◽  
Gunadi Harry Sulistyo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Assessment In Higher Education ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
The Impact

The integration of information communication and technology in language teaching has been intensely examined in literature works. However, the study which explicitly investigates the advancement of technology for language assessment in higher education level is still underexplored, particularly in a formative assessment area. To fill that gap, the present study aims at investigating the perceptions of EFL teachers towards technology-enhanced formative assessment and how they implement it in the classroom. This study employs a qualitative case study approach. Of three participants from different universities were voluntarily participated in a semi-structured interview. The interview seeks to investigate the perceptions of teachers towards technology-enhanced assessment, the roles of technology in formative assessment, and the impact of technology on language learning. The findings reveal that EFL teachers view formative assessment as well as technology in a positive perception. They admit that technology is a practical tool that has multiple roles and it is deemed as useful and meaningful platform for assessing students. Finally, technology-enhanced formative assessment gives an impact on students� performance, particularly on language accuracy. The further implications are discussed in this paper.�

scholarly journals The Cultural Border Crossing Index: implications for higher education teachers in the UAE

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-45
Author(s):  
Peter Hatherley-Greene
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
English Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Classroom Culture ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Foundation Program

Student transitions from secondary to tertiary education have attracted global attention as universities and colleges of higher education seek to improve student retention. Over the course of one academic year, I documented the transitional experiences of first-year male Emirati students at a college of higher education in a rural location of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this paper I describe four categories of cultural border crossing experiences – smooth, managed, difficult, and impossible – with easier and smoother crossing experiences associated with close congruency (related to the students’ self-perceived attitude and scholastic preparedness as broadly reflected in their competence in their second language, English) between the predominantly Arabic life-world associated with Emirati families and government schooling and the dominant Western/English language culture in institutes of higher education. Additionally, I describe and evaluate students’ cultural border crossing experiences with some Foundation program faculty, finding that those teachers who developed a classroom culture based on Kleinfeld’s (1975) notion of ‘warm demandingness’ and caring rapport-building appeared to have the most positive impact upon the students. Implications from this research have the potential to positively impact both the student and faculty classroom experience in the Gulf tertiary classroom, in addition to improving overall student retention rates.

The Speech-Language Assessment of English Language Learning Students: A Non-Standardized Approach

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Kraemer ◽  
Allison Coltisor ◽  
Meesha Kalra ◽  
Megan Martinez ◽  
Bailey Savage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
English Speaking

English language learning (ELL) children suspected of having specific-language impairment (SLI) should be assessed using the same methods as monolingual English-speaking children born and raised in the United States. In an effort to reduce over- and under-identification of ELL children as SLI, speech-language pathologists (SLP) must employ nonbiased assessment practices. This article presents several evidence-based, nonstandarized assessment practices SLPs can implement in place of standardized tools. As the number of ELL children SLPs come in contact with increases, the need for well-trained and knowledgeable SLPs grows. The goal of the authors is to present several well-establish, evidence-based assessment methods for assessing ELL children suspected of SLI.

EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT EVALUATION IN ENGLISH AS A CRITERION FOR ADMISSION TO MASTER`S DEGREE PROGRAMS IN UKRAINE: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50
Author(s):  
Л. Е. Бєловецька
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Independent Evaluation

The problem of external independent evaluation in English for admission Master`s degree programs in Ukraine is considered in the article. The perspective for further improvement of English teaching and learning standards at Ukrainian universities has been found. The correspondence to the CEFR basic levels and English proficiency has been identified. Conceptual Principles of State Policy on the Development of English in the Field of Higher Education are considered. The study included 1546 participants. The age of students, who studied to gain the first higher education, was between 17 and 20. The students were not familiar with the structure of External Independent Evaluation and they have never passed it. The research was carried out during the period 2018–2019. The relevance of English language competence in the professional context is noted emphasized as a key point of the presented research. The necessity to provide a sufficient competitive level for Ukrainian graduates through improving correspondent English language training has been considered. The study is based on a study of reports by British experts and contemporary scientific publications presented international researchers have focused on the problems of internationalization and perspectives for Ukrainian universities in the English language dimension. The relevance of studying and adaptation of the UK higher education successful practice has been highlighted. The problems and potential ways of improving students` English language proficiency in the given context are identified. In particular, the study contains important recommendations regarding the number of contact hours and the required levels of English proficiency for the main groups of participants in the educational process in higher education according to international standards.

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