Detecting development of speaking proficiency with a group oral test: A quantitative analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Leaper ◽  
James R. Brawn
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Oral Test ◽  
Oral Discussion ◽  
English Major

This paper is an investigation into the use of the group oral discussion test (GOT) to detect changes in speaking proficiency over a two-year period. In this test, three or four test-takers discuss a topic for up to 10 minutes without outside intervention. The performance of 53 Japanese university English major students on this test was videoed before their classes started and at the end of their first and second years of study. Indices of complexity, accuracy, and fluency were calculated and interactive function was analysed to create indices that tracked initiating, responding, developing, and collaborating functions. Improvements were detected in most of the indices over the three administrations, with varying patterns of development. However, the test-takers’ scores in five rated scales only improved significantly in the second administration. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed, as are the implications this study has for the GOT format and its administration.

scholarly journals An Acoustic Study of Communication Apprehension during English Oral Presentations by Japanese University Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Hiroko Nakamura ◽  
Kazuhiro Nomura ◽  
Namie Saeki
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Communication Apprehension ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Oral Performance ◽  
Speech Anxiety ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
English Major

This study investigated the influence of communication apprehension and anxiety in second-language (L2) learning on oral performance of Japanese university students in terms of F0 (fundamental frequency) analysis. The participants were English-major students (3 males and 6 females) who presented at an oral communication festival for university students. The F0 analysis consisted of a mean F0 and F0 range. The participants’ utterances were digitized and analysed with Praat. Participants also completed two structured closed-ended questionnaires: a Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) and a Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). One subscale of PRCA is Speech Anxiety (SA) that measures apprehension in public speaking. Acoustic analysis of F0 was conducted of the utterances provided by the students and their F0 data during rehearsal and the actual performance settings. The results revealed a significant difference in mean F0 between the rehearsal and actual performance. Mean F0 was significantly correlated with SA. These results suggest that students tend to show higher speech anxiety during an actual performance setting that is also reflected by a higher speaking F0.

scholarly journals ORAL PRESENTATION STRATEGY FOR ENHANCING ENGLISH SPEAKING PROFICIENCY TO NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-48
Author(s):  
Thao Hieu Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Oral Presentation ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Dynamic Learning ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
English Major ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Student Grades ◽  
Oral Presentations

This paper presents an integratedskill approach of using oral presentations as an interactive teaching tool in non-English major classrooms, specifically in the context of Tra Vinh University. This paper has the following sections: (1) introducing the context of teaching and learning English and the factors affecting students’  speaking ability in Vietnam and in several other countries; (2) presenting the benefits of integrating oral presentation in the classroom; (3) proposing suggestions that help EFL teachers to apply this approach effectively. The result shows that four main factors, which affect students’ speaking ability, are a lack of topical  knowledge, low self-esteem, limited chances of practice and the overuse of mother tongue. By giving presentation, students have a higher level of confidence, speak correctly, use more vocabularies, and develop other language skills as well as soft-skills. However, teachers need to instruct students clearly; reduce pressure on student grades and make effective feedback to individual. Besides, students need encouragement to create dynamic learning environment. It is hoped that the pedagogical ideas presented in this paper can help teachers effectively employ oral presentations as a means of improving students’ English speaking ability.

scholarly journals ORAL PRESENTATION: AN EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO ENHANCE NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PROFICIENCY

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (35) ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
Thao Hieu Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Oral Presentation ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Dynamic Learning ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
English Major ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Student Grades ◽  
Oral Presentations

This paper presents an integrated-skill approach of using oral presentations as an interactive teaching tool innon-English major classrooms. This paper has the following sections: (1) an introduction of the context of teaching and learning English and the factors affecting students’ speaking ability in Vietnam and in several other countries; (2) a presentation of the benefits of integrating oral presentation in the classroom; and (3) suggestions to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers to apply this approach effectively. The researcher applied this approach to two groups of medical students. The result shows that four main factors, which affect students’ speaking ability are a lack of topical knowledge, low selfesteem, limited chances of practice and theoveruse of mother tongue. By giving presentations, students have a higher level of confidence, speak correctly, use more vocabulary, and develop other language skills as well as soft-skills. However, teachers need to instructstudents clearly, reduce pressure on student grades and give effective individual feedback. Furthermore, students need encouragement to create a dynamic learning environment. It is hoped that the pedagogical ideas presented in this paper can help teachers effectively employ oral presentations as a means of improving students’ English-speaking ability.

The impact of teaching approach on growth in L2 proficiency and self-efficacy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Harris ◽  
Paul Leeming
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Teaching Approach ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Teaching Approaches ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Despite the increasing popularity of task-based language teaching (TBLT) among researchers and teachers, further classroom-based empirical evidence is needed to support its use over more traditional teaching approaches such as presentation practice production (PPP). The argument that TBLT is ‘legislation by hypothesis’ (Swan, 2005), is yet to be completely refuted (Ellis, 2018). Four intact classes of Japanese university students taking a one-year oral English course were randomly assigned to either a TBLT or PPP teaching condition. Speaking proficiency and speaking self-efficacy were measured three times during the year to discover the differential impact of teaching approach on growth. Student interviews provided insights into their views on the different approaches. Results showed that students in TBLT and PPP classes experienced growth in both proficiency and self-efficacy, and there was no difference in final outcomes for the two conditions. However, patterns of growth for the groups were different.

scholarly journals LANGUAGE LEARNER AUTONOMY AND LANGUAGE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES INSIDE AND OUTSIDE CLASSROOM

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoang Nguyen Thu Trang
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
English Major ◽  
Degree Of Control ◽  
Emerging Themes

This study aims at investigating the degree of control that non-English major first-year students exercise over their learning processes, resources and contexts in and out of the classroom. Data were obtained from questionnaires with 63 students, 30-to-60-minute interviews with three students, and the researcher’s notes of her observation during classroom lessons. The results from quantitative analysis for Mean and frequency and content analysis for emerging themes of the data reveal variation among the learners and withing each learnerregarding the degree of their control over their language learning processes and resources in different contexts of learning and using the language. This suggests the need of helping learners to create learning opportunities both inside and outside the classrooms.

An Improved Quantitative Image Analyser

1977 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 226-227
Author(s):  
J.P. Fallon ◽  
P.J. Gregory ◽  
C.J. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Feature Extraction ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Frequency Content ◽  
General Sense ◽  
Physical Measurements ◽  
Quantitative Image ◽  
Image Analyser ◽  
Automatic Methods ◽  
Quantitative Results

Quantitative image analysis systems have been used for several years in research and quality control applications in various fields including metallurgy and medicine. The technique has been applied as an extension of subjective microscopy to problems requiring quantitative results and which are amenable to automatic methods of interpretation.Feature extraction. In the most general sense, a feature can be defined as a portion of the image which differs in some consistent way from the background. A feature may be characterized by the density difference between itself and the background, by an edge gradient, or by the spatial frequency content (texture) within its boundaries. The task of feature extraction includes recognition of features and encoding of the associated information for quantitative analysis.Quantitative Analysis. Quantitative analysis is the determination of one or more physical measurements of each feature. These measurements may be straightforward ones such as area, length, or perimeter, or more complex stereological measurements such as convex perimeter or Feret's diameter.

Quantification of Silica Uptake by Alveolar Macrophages - An Emperical Scanning Electron Microprobe Method

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 332-333
Author(s):  
V. V. Damiano ◽  
R. P. Daniele ◽  
H. T. Tucker ◽  
J. H. Dauber
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Alveolar Macrophages ◽  
Bulk Sample ◽  
Silica Particles ◽  
Empirical Method ◽  
Phagocytic Cells ◽  
Calibration Standards ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Accurate Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Scanning Electron

An important example of intracellular particles is encountered in silicosis where alveolar macrophages ingest inspired silica particles. The quantitation of the silica uptake by these cells may be a potentially useful method for monitoring silica exposure. Accurate quantitative analysis of ingested silica by phagocytic cells is difficult because the particles are frequently small, irregularly shaped and cannot be visualized within the cells. Semiquantitative methods which make use of particles of known size, shape and composition as calibration standards may be the most direct and simplest approach to undertake. The present paper describes an empirical method in which glass microspheres were used as a model to show how the ratio of the silicon Kα peak X-ray intensity from the microspheres to that of a bulk sample of the same composition correlated to the mass of the microsphere contained within the cell. Irregular shaped silica particles were also analyzed and a calibration curve was generated from these data.

Lateral resolution of the electron microbeam analysis

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 542-543
Author(s):  
H.J. Dudek
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Depth Resolution ◽  
Lateral Resolution ◽  
Cylindrical Particle ◽  
Correction Procedure ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Element Concentrations ◽  
Microbeam Analysis ◽  
The Matrix

The chemical inhomogenities in modern materials such as fibers, phases and inclusions, often have diameters in the region of one micrometer. Using electron microbeam analysis for the determination of the element concentrations one has to know the smallest possible diameter of such regions for a given accuracy of the quantitative analysis.In th is paper the correction procedure for the quantitative electron microbeam analysis is extended to a spacial problem to determine the smallest possible measurements of a cylindrical particle P of high D (depth resolution) and diameter L (lateral resolution) embeded in a matrix M and which has to be analysed quantitative with the accuracy q. The mathematical accounts lead to the following form of the characteristic x-ray intens ity of the element i of a particle P embeded in the matrix M in relation to the intensity of a standard S

An example of spectrum imaging used for comparison of EELS quantitative analysis techniques on Al-Li

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 726-727
Author(s):  
John A. Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Difference Spectrum ◽  
Large Data Sets ◽  
Foil Thickness ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
Spectrum Imaging ◽  
Normal Spectrum ◽  
Electron Energy Loss

Spectrum-imaging is a useful technique for comparing different processing methods on very large data sets which are identical for each method. This paper is concerned with comparing methods of electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) quantitative analysis on the Al-Li system. The spectrum-image analyzed here was obtained from an Al-10at%Li foil aged to produce δ' precipitates that can span the foil thickness. Two 1024 channel EELS spectra offset in energy by 1 eV were recorded and stored at each pixel in the 80x80 spectrum-image (25 Mbytes). An energy range of 39-89eV (20 channels/eV) are represented. During processing the spectra are either subtracted to create an artifact corrected difference spectrum, or the energy offset is numerically removed and the spectra are added to create a normal spectrum. The spectrum-images are processed into 2D floating-point images using methods and software described in [1].

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document