scholarly journals The Distinguishing Characteristic of Task-based Language Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 688-695
Author(s):  
Majeed Noroozi ◽  
Seyyedmohammad Taheri
Keyword(s):  
Language Teaching ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Distinguishing Characteristic ◽  
Essential Characteristic ◽  
Assessment Measure ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Growing Body

Since its advent, the principles of Task-Based Language Teaching have been extended to assessment giving rise to Task-Based Language Assessment. Despite the growing body of research on the efficacy of Task-Based Language Teaching in instruction, the application of the assessment based on the tenets of Task-Based Language Teaching has been mainly neglected in some studies owing to their lack of use of Task-Based Language Assessment to measure the effectiveness of Task-Based Language Teaching (viz., Li, et al., 2016). The present study emphasizes the importance of Task-Based Language Assessment and highlights the feature that distinguishes this type of assessment from other assessments. The study concludes that while the performance-referenced feature of Task-Based Language Assessment is an essential characteristic thereof, it is, in fact, the holistic and direct feature of Task-Based Language Assessment that distinguishes it from other assessments. The more the assessment measure is incorporated in the performance of assessment tasks, the more the assessment tasks are based on the tenets of Task-Based Language Assessment. Therefore, the holistic and contextualized assessment tasks improve the confidence with which language teachers could generalize the results of the assessment tasks to real-life situations.

scholarly journals Incorporating Communicative Competence in Assessment and English Language Teaching in Multilingual Settings

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-13
Author(s):  
Ella Yuzar
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Test Validity ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Language Testing ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
English Language Teaching

There has been a high level of agreement among scholars that communicative competence should be integrated within language learning and assessments. The study attempts to unravel the issues of how communicative competence can be assessed and measured in multilingual environments and how communicative language testing can be promoted. Using the content analysis approach as the qualitative method, it begins with the historical review of communicative competence that started at the beginning of 1970s to the most current concept involving intercultural communicative competence. Then, some practical models of communicative competence that can be used to propose a measurement of communicative competence are presented. Later, this article argues that there is an upsurge need to shift the paradigm of language testing and language assessment towards communicative competence. Moreover, the nature of language testing should not only concern linguistic or knowledge competence but also recognize the different varieties of English. This study implies that, in the field of language testing, language test designers should encompass the concept of communicative competence in the test construct to include real-life language use, and by extension, to increase test validity. As for teachers, a reform integrating communicative competence in classroom language assessment has become essential within the scope of language teaching.

Using Inter-Rater Discourse to Trace the Origins of Disagreement: Towards Collective Reflective Practice in L2 Assessment

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822097737
Author(s):  
Joshua Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Written Texts ◽  
Assessment Decisions

This article explores how the analysis of inter-rater discourse can be used to support collective reflective practice in second language (L2) assessment. To demonstrate, a focused case of the discourse between two experienced language teachers as they negotiate assessment decisions on L2 written texts is presented. Of particular interest was the discourse surrounding the raters’ most divergent assessment decisions, which in this case were those relating to Task Achievement. Thematic analysis indicated that rater discourse predominantly focused on explicit objective factors, primarily the L2 texts and the rating scale; however, rater discourse also focused on more subjective, rater-centred factors. The discourse surrounding these rater-centred factors was often central to the identification and resolution of rating disagreements. The paper argues that the subjective dimension of language assessment needs to be more directly and systematically reflected upon in language teaching contexts and that analysis of rater discourse, especially discourse focused on points of disagreement between raters, provides a valuable mechanism to facilitate this.

Task-Based Language Teaching

2020 ◽  
pp. 83-98
Author(s):  
Gökhan Kayır
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Teaching Approach ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Teaching Models

Task-based language teaching is one of the newest language teaching models and has popularity among language teachers as it brings real-life situations to the classroom. Based on main principles of communicative language teaching approach, the method provides student-centered, flexible, and authentic real-life classroom environments. Not only the output but also input and learning processes are important for the teachers using this approach. Students are in the center of teaching and learning process, while the teachers are mentor and facilitator. The TBLT uses educational tasks to teach a language. Educational tasks are duties that are structured for an educational purpose. Each task has a language focus that can be assessed. As a result, having the flexibility and being a student-centered approach, TBLT will be used and adapted by many language instructors.

Applied Linguistics in the Classroom

PMLA ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
William G. Moulton
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Method ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
General Topic ◽  
And Linguistics ◽  
As If

When our Secretary, George Winchester Stone, asked me last July to address this meeting on the general topic of language teaching and linguistics, it was only with considerable hesitation that I finally agreed to accept. There has been far too much loose talk recently about the application of linguistics to language teaching, and I did not wish to add to it. In some circles linguistics has turned into a sort of fad. There are those who talk of the “linguistic method” of language teaching, as if to oppose it to some hypothetical “non-linguistic method” used in the benighted past. And at meetings of language teachers, bright young things walk up to me and ask, apparently in all seriousness: “Excuse me, professor, but would you please tell me how linguistics handles the subjunctive?” Needless to say, I have no answers to such questions; they merely embarrass me. Linguistics is not a teaching method, but a growing body of knowledge and theory; and though it may offer helpful answers to some of the problems of language teaching, it surely does not know all the answers.

scholarly journals Language Assessment Literacy for Pre-service Teachers: Course Expectations from Different Stakeholders

2018 ◽  
pp. 56-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Giraldo ◽  
Daniel Murcia
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Assessment Literacy ◽  
Research Cycle ◽  
Development Of Language ◽  
The Impact

In the field of applied linguistics, for the past fifteen years, there have been discussions about language assessment literacy (LAL) —the knowledge, skills, and principles related to assessing language ability— (Davies, 2008; Fulcher, 2012). However, the field lacks research on the professional development of language teachers, particularly pre-service language teachers, through training in language assessment. Our paper focuses on the preliminary findings of an action research study whose goal is to identify the impact of a language assessment course for pre-service teachers in a language teaching program in a state university in Colombia. Data collection for the diagnostic stage of the action research cycle used a multiple-choice questionnaire for student needs and wants, an open questionnaire for professors, an interview with an expert, and researchers’ journals. Preliminary findings indicate that there is a need to combine theory and practice of language assessment, with an emphasis on current methodologies for language teaching, assessment in bilingual education, and local policies for assessment. The paper highlights recommendations and challenges when designing a language assessment course based on insights from existing literature and includes implications for professional development.

scholarly journals Conceptualizations of English in the discourses of Brazilian language teachers: Issues of mobility, empowerment and international ownership

English Today ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-37
Author(s):  
Eduardo H. Diniz de Figueiredo
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
The Media ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Language Schools

The present study is an investigation of how English has been conceptualized in the discourses of ten Brazilian English language teachers with diverse language teaching experiences. Discourses of major agents in Brazilian English language teaching (ELT) – mainly the media, language schools, and the Ministry of Education through its national guidelines – usually associate English with notions of mobility, empowerment, and international ownership. The understanding of how English language educators conceptualize the language thus provides a valuable perspective on how these discourses may be taken on and reproduced by teachers. Such understanding is also relevant because educators have first hand experience in what actually goes on inside schools, thus being able to provide important accounts that are based on real life examples of their practices.

scholarly journals A Survey of the Issue of Generalizability in Task-based Language Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 884-890
Author(s):  
Majeed Noroozi
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Life Situation ◽  
The Real ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Real Life Situation ◽  
Assessment Performance ◽  
The Cost

The use of authentic tasks in Task-Based Language Assessment seems to facilitate the extrapolation of assessment performance to the real-life situation. The question arises as to how effective Task-Based Language Assessment is in predicting test-takers’ performance in the real-life situation based on their task performance in the assessment settings and what proposals there are to improve the generalizability of Task-Based Language Assessment. The study draws upon Bachman and Palmer (1996) and Douglas’s (2000) frameworks in order to identify the fixed and varied characteristics of assessment tasks and conditions in the Target Language Use (TLU) situation. These frameworks function as a template by presenting an organized list of the items to compare and contrast the assessment tasks with the real-life target tasks. The present study proposes standardizing the fixed conditions present in both the assessment and the TLU situation, such as setting and equipment. However, since the standardization of the varied conditions could undermine the extrapolation inferences at the cost of improving the reliability of assessment, the study concludes that the assessment procedure should standardize a set of short tasks or observation conditions that are representative of the TLU domain rather than just one specific type of task or condition.

LEARNING MATERIALS: THE “NUCLEUS” OF LANGUAGE TEACHING

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Desy Damayanti ◽  
Adin Fauzi ◽  
Azizatul Mahfida Inayati
Keyword(s):  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Authentic Materials ◽  
Authentic Texts ◽  
Radio Broadcasting ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Level Of Understanding

Among some components of effective language classroom, learning materials indisputably play a focal role. They improve the quality of language teaching; facilitate teachers in doing their duties, and lead students to a higher level of understanding in learning. This research aims to discuss the notion of materials in language teaching. It made use of works of literature to outline the importance of materials in language teaching, and to analyze kinds of materials, which are relevant to language teaching. The analysis resulted in the classification of materials into two broad categories namely (1) created materials, which include course book, audio materials, and video materials; and (2) authentic materials, which cover authentic texts, movie/film, radio broadcasting, television program, graphs, maps, tables, and charts. This paper serves as an invaluable resource to facilitate language teachers in selecting appropriate materials for effective language teaching.

Penerapan Pendekatan Kontruktivisme dalam Pembelajaran Bahasa Indonesia di SMP Negeri I Remboken

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Femmy Tresje Pelealu
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Development Model ◽  
Strategy Model ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

This study is conducted in order to describe the development model ofconstructivistic teaching in Indonesian language for the sake of maximizing thestudents’ attitude in critical thinking. Operationally this study is done inorder to describe the concept and strategy model and the materials of constructivisticIndonesian language teaching developed by the teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Rembokenfor the sake of maximizing the students’ attitude in critical thinking. TheIndonesian language teachers’ concept on the planning and the conduction ofconstructivistic teaching related to what Indonesian language teaching is, howthe textbook and the materials are used, the purpose of Indonesian languageteaching is, the role of the teacher, the role of the students in the teachingand learning process, the use of teaching methods and media, and the procedureof the conduction of constructivistic Indonesian language teaching and learningprocess in the classroom, was not done by the teachers when they were observed.Their constructivistic teaching attitude is very minimal.

scholarly journals Inverse translation and the language student: A case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-193
Author(s):  
Lucía Pintado Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Inverse Translation ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis article explores the agency of the student in translation in language teaching and learning (or TILT). The purpose of the case study discussed here is to gain an overview of students’ perceptions of translation into the foreign language (FL) (also known as “inverse translation”) following a module on language and translation, and to analyse whether there is any correlation between students’ attitude to translation, its impact on their language learning through effort invested, and the improvement of language skills. The results of the case study reveal translation to be a potentially exciting skill that can be central to FL learning and the analysis gives indications of how and why language teachers may optimise the implementation of translation in the classroom. The outcome of the study suggests that further research is needed on the impact of translation in the language classroom focussing on both teachers’ expectations and students’ achievements.

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