Rater variation in pragmatic assessment: The impact of the linguistic background on peer-assessment and self-assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85
Author(s):  
Sunni L. Sonnenburg-Winkler ◽  
Zohreh R. Eslami ◽  
Ali Derakhshan
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Social Rules ◽  
Language Background ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe present study investigates variability among raters from different linguistic backgrounds, who evaluated the pragmatic performance of English language learners with varying native languages (L1s) by using both self- and peer-assessments. To this end, written discourse completion task (WDCT) samples of requesting speech acts from 10 participants were collected. Thereafter, the participants were asked to assess their peers’ WDCTs before assessing their own samples using the same rating scale. The raters were further asked to provide an explanation for their rating decisions. Findings indicate that there may indeed be a link between a rater’s language background and their scoring patterns, although the results regarding peer- and self-assessment are mixed. There are both similarities and differences in the participants’ use of pragmatic norms and social rules in evaluating appropriateness.

scholarly journals Impact of Formative Assessment Practices on Student Motivation for Learning the English Language

2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-41
Author(s):  
Anita Muho ◽  
Gentjana Taraj
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Student Motivation ◽  
English Language ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
School Students ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed at exploring the impact of formative assessment practices on student motivation for learning the English language. As Leahy, Lyon, Thompson, and Wiliam (2005) stated, education needs to change its function from collecting the results of right or wrong, and to encourage teachers in gathering information that will affect the educational decisions. This study is a non-experimental, correlational study, to describe the relationship between formative assessment practices and motivation for leaning. The instrument used was a questionnaire on high school students from public and private schools, who were selected randomly by stratified sampling. They belonged to three major high schools of Durres, Albania. The findings of this study showed that factors like strategic questions used by the teacher during formative assessment, student’s portfolio, self-assessment, and peer assessment affected positively the motivation for learning the English language. The results of the regression equation revealed that from four independent variables, the factor that had the greatest impact on motivation for learning were strategic questions used by the teacher during formative assessment, followed by self-assessment, peer assessment and student’s portfolio. This study identified ways of intervention to promote motivation for learning the English language. The study will contribute in the Albanian context showing how assessment practices made an impact on student motivation. It will help educational institutions and policy makers, foreign language teachers in improving the assessment practices to promote student motivation in learning the English language.

scholarly journals Deviation in Academic Speech of Pakistani English Language Learners: A Corpus-Based Study

2020 ◽  
Vol V (II) ◽  
pp. 127-134
Author(s):  
Aqsa Aslam ◽  
Aniqa Rashid ◽  
Amna Aziz
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Academic Context ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Phonetic Features ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Basic English

Pakistani English language learners' speech in an academic context has been evaluated in the present research. A catalogue of 350 words that fluctuate in pronunciation from the Basic English pronunciation of these words has been instructed in the present study. Wordlist founded on a remark made over six months has been formulated along with the transcription of these words according to the British, American, and Pakistani phonetic variants to bring out the unique pronunciation of educated Pakistani speakers of English. The deviation may be an outcome of learning rifts or the impact of their native languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Pashtu and Saraiki. The general contours in the Pakistani pronunciation of these English words have also been examined. The study may not only assist in acquainting the global audience with the distinctive phonetic features of Pakistani English but also make the Pakistani teachers and learners concentrate on these words while teaching or learning how to pronounce them.

Finding Talent Among Elementary English Learners: A Validity Study of the HOPE Teacher Rating Scale

2021 ◽  
pp. 001698622098594
Author(s):  
Nielsen Pereira
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Teacher Rating ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Invariance Testing ◽  
Scale Scores ◽  
The One

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the HOPE Scale for identifying gifted English language learners (ELs) and how classroom and English as a second language (ESL) teacher HOPE Scale scores differ. Seventy teachers completed the HOPE Scale on 1,467 students in grades K-5 and four ESL teachers completed the scale on 131 ELs. Measurement invariance tests indicated that the HOPE Scale yields noninvariant latent means across EL and English proficient (EP) samples. However, confirmatory factor analysis results support the use of the scale with ELs or EP students separately. Results also indicate that the rating patterns of classroom and ESL teachers were different and that the HOPE Scale does not yield valid data when used by ESL teachers. Caution is recommended when using the HOPE Scale and other teacher rating scales to compare ELs to EP students. The importance of invariance testing before using an instrument with a population that is different from the one(s) for which the instrument was developed is discussed.

Group Counseling for English Language Learners to Promote Academic Navigational Capital

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 2156759X2097956
Author(s):  
Adonay A. Montes ◽  
Erika Ramos
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Group Counseling ◽  
English Language Learner ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Ell Students ◽  
Academic Settings ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Minimal Research

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of an 8-week academic navigational capital group with English language learner (ELL) students. Minimal research exists examining ELL students’ acquisition of navigational capital skills (skills needed to navigate and succeed in academic settings) in school. We used a pre- and postintervention survey to measure the impact of the group. Results showed growth in the academic navigational capital skills of all participants. Such increases represent a starting blueprint to consider when working with ELL students.

scholarly journals Results Analysis of Russian Students’ Participation in the Online International Educational Project X-Culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Zakharova ◽  
Aleksandra Kobicheva ◽  
Natalia Rozova
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
English Language ◽  
International Project ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Intercultural Communications ◽  
Project Participant ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

The purpose of the paper is to assess the experience of Russian students in the online project class. The authors studied the impact of the international project “X-Culture” on the level of development of socio-cultural competencies of students and their knowledge of the English language. An additional aspect of the analysis was the question of the connection of students’ perception of the goal of participation in the international project “X-Culture” with their self-motivation and self-assessment of the success of the results achieved. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods—student testing, database analysis provided by the project “X-culture”, and focus group records. The result of the participation has been inconsistent. As expected, such sociocultural competence as the level of proficiency in English increased among the majority of students, as confirmed by the values of the student’s criterion for the results of language testing, conducted before and after the project. At the same time, average indicators of sociocultural competences such as “interpersonal skills”, “creativity”, “leadership”, and “friendliness” have deteriorated during the project that is confirmed by the trends lines of time series. The focus group revealed differences in terms of participation in the X-Culture project, their connection with self-motivation, and student satisfaction with the results achieved. Students who have achieved high levels of sociocultural competences have set themselves the goals of participation in the project related to the improvement of professional competencies and intercultural communications. At the same time, students were most satisfied with their activities in the project and the results achieved, aimed at obtaining new professional knowledge and skills, and students whose goal was simply to obtain an international certificate of the project participant.

scholarly journals The impact of pre-task planning on speaking test performance for English-medium university admission

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan O’Grady
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Planning Time ◽  
University Admission ◽  
The Impact

This study investigated the impact of different lengths of pre-task planning time on performance in a test of second language speaking ability for university admission. In the study, 47 Turkish-speaking learners of English took a test of English language speaking ability. The participants were divided into two groups according to their language proficiency, which was estimated through a paper-based English placement test. They each completed four monologue tasks: two picture-based narrative tasks and two description tasks. In a balanced design, each test taker was allowed a different length of planning time before responding to each of the four tasks. The four planning conditions were 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes. Trained raters awarded scores to the test takers using an analytic rating scale and a context-specific, binary-choice rating scale, designed specifically for the study. The results of the rater scores were analysed by using a multifaceted Rasch measurement. The impact of pre-task planning on test scores was found to be influenced by four variables: the rating scale; the task type that test takers completed; the length of planning time provided; and the test takers’ levels of proficiency in the second language. Increases in scores were larger on the picture-based narrative tasks than on the two description tasks. The results also revealed a relationship between proficiency and pre-task planning, whereby statistical significance was only reached for the increases in the scores of the lowest-level test takers. Regarding the amount of planning time, the 5-minute planning condition led to the largest overall increases in scores. The research findings offer contributions to the study of pre-task planning and will be of particular interest to institutions seeking to assess the speaking ability of prospective students in English-medium educational environments.

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