scholarly journals Washback effects of multiple-choice, cloze and metalinguistic tests on EFL students writing

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 536-544
Author(s):  
Danial Shirzadi ◽  
Majid Amerian
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Current Issue ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Present Perfect ◽  
Target Form ◽  
Test Formats ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Practical Implications

The washback effects of different test formats on the writing performance of students have always been of great importance. However, this area of research has not fully touched upon by researchers of second language testing. Despite the importance of the issue, there is a dearth of empirical studies to unravel the effects of different types of tests on learning. To shed some light on the current issue, the present study intends to look into the washback effects of tests on students who are learning and using some special grammatical points in writing tasks. In order to fulfil this project, we made a set question in three formats of cloze, multiple-choice and metalinguistic on a grammatical form(i.e. present perfect and present perfect continuous)to use after each session of teaching (2 sessions of training) as an activity. The researchers devised and validated three tests on the target form; each test contained 20 questions and was in different formats of cloze, multiple-choice or metalinguistic. At the end of this two-session trainings, two focused writing tasks were implemented. The results indicated that supporting teaching grammatical points with metalinguistic tests yields the highest positive washback on students writing. Finally, some practical implications were suggested.

DISCOVERING TRACES OF THE PAST: STUDIES OF BILINGUALISM AMONG SCHOOL PUPILS IN FINLAND AND IN SWEDEN. ACTA UNIVERSITATIS OULUENSIS, E 23.Olli Kuure. Oulu, Finland: Oulu University Press, 1997. Pp. 82 + 70.

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-157
Author(s):  
Carolyn Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Bilingual Students ◽  
The Past ◽  
Different Types

In this dissertation based on empirical studies conducted by the author and reprinted as a series of articles in the text, Kuure studies the development of different types of bilingualism. The primary purpose of the studies is to determine the significance of age in the acquisition of a second language. Evidence is also provided for describing the acquisition and use of languages in various multicultural and multilingual settings. Data for the studies were obtained from Finnish-Swedish bilingual students between the ages of 13 and 15 for whom Swedish was the second language.

scholarly journals Item Types: Their Effect on the Sensitivity of Multiple-Choice Cloze Tests

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Abby Deng-Huei Lee
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Vocational College ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Item Types ◽  
Comprehension Tests

To evaluate the sensitivity of multiple-choice cloze (MCC) tests that use different types of items—syntactic, semantic, and connective—to assess reading ability, 170 English as a foreign language (EFL) students in a vocational college in Taiwan were recruited. The students were divided into two groups (level A and level B) based on their scores on 4 classroom reading comprehension tests. Both groups then took 9 MCC tests that included a total of 50 cloze questions. Connective items were most sensitive for assessing reading ability. Research results and pedagogical applications are discussed.

Collaborative fashion consumption and its environmental effects

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 468-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira Iran ◽  
Ulf Schrader
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Conceptual Basis ◽  
Collaborative Consumption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide the conceptual basis of collaborative fashion consumption (CFC) as a possible path toward more sustainable clothing. A definition and a typology of CFC are introduced and possible environmental effects of CFC are structured and discussed. This provides a solid conceptual basis for future empirical studies on CFC as an element of more sustainable consumption. Design/methodology/approach This paper is written mainly based on a review of the more recent literature on collaborative consumption, as well as of older papers about related concepts like sustainable service systems and eco-efficient services. The proposed CFC typology and the structure of environmental effects are developed using both a deductive and an inductive process, and then by transferring existing structures to this specific field and challenging them by assigning practical examples. Findings The main contributions of this paper are the definition and typology of CFC and the structure for assessing its environmental effects. Research limitations/implications The findings provide a conceptual basis for future empirical research on CFC. Practical implications For practitioners, the CFC typology and the structure of environmental effects could be used as checklists for future development of more sustainable collaborative consumption offers. Originality/value This paper makes a unique contribution to the concept of CFC. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first paper that has been explicitly dedicated to examining different types and environmental effects of CFC.

A contextualistic approach to antisocial personality

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Carmelo Visdómine-Lozano
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Antisocial Personality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
History Of ◽  
Personality Patterns ◽  
Therapeutic Settings ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a contextualistic account of antisocial responding, with the addition of recent developments on the study of personality. Design/methodology/approach – A behavioural and contextualistic view point is developed to account for antisocial personality and related topics, inasmuch as traditional definitions of antisocial personality disorder as provided on formal diagnostic manuals derive on several and not always coherent classifications of antisocial behaviours. Some of these classifications centre on issues like guilt, impulsivity or aggressiveness for establishing different types of offending and antisocial patterns. This paper focuses on functional personal backgrounds. Findings – A total of five types of “potentiated contingencies” are described as being the main underpinnings involved in antisocial patterns. An analysis of the transformation of aversive functions of antisocial behaviours, leads to specify a distinctive rule-following behaviour that is concerned with that responding. Finally, the exposition of the four verbal clinical contexts that behaviour analysis highlights as taking place at therapeutic settings, serves to propose a fitter contextualistic intervention for antisocial personality patterns. Research limitations/implications – Novel investigations should contrast the functional classification of antisocial responding. Those studies should experimentally demonstrate the way in which the different instances of transformation of antisocial functions the author has described are prompted. Practical implications – The analysis also allows for the anticipation of the behaviour of individuals fitting to every category of antisocial avoidance. And as the functional analysis of “antisocial avoidance” uncovers specific relations between environmental stimuli as they are produced and established in the history of interactions of individuals, a more fitting intervention based upon those relations is feasible. Originality/value – An exhaustive functional taxonomy of antisocial personalities and delinquent behaviours has never been presented before elsewhere. Besides the author reinterprets from a contextualist position traditional empirical studies.

THE INCIDENTAL ACQUISITION OF SPANISH

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
James F. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Production Test ◽  
Future Tense ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Test Input ◽  
Target Form ◽  
Input Processing ◽  
Written Recall ◽  
Formal Properties

The present study examines the processing of Spanish future tense morphology incidentally while reading in a second language. Previous L1 and L2 reading research has demonstrated that readers can acquire new vocabulary as a result of reading, but can they also acquire formal properties of the second language grammatical system? The participants in the present study had no previous knowledge of future tense morphology such that, as they read the passage used in the study, they encountered the target form for the first time, which is an accented á on the end of an infinitive—for example, dependerá “he, she, or it will depend.” Several variables were manipulated: (a) the frequency with which the target form appeared in the input passages (6, 10, or 16 exposures); (b) the learner-readers' orientation to the task (neutral, meaning oriented, or form oriented); and (c) cues to meaning (the presence or absence of future-oriented adverbials). The effects of these variables were measured on both comprehension and input processing immediately after reading, 2 weeks later, and 1 month later. Comprehension was measured with a free-written recall and a multiple-choice comprehension test. Input processing was measured with a multiple-choice form recognition test and a modified cloze-form production test. The results indicate that all three variables have some effect on comprehension and input processing.

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Look into the instruction of Listening Skill in Academic English Programs: A Case Study of two State Universities in Iran

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Hamidreza Babaee
Keyword(s):  
Structured Interview ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Academic English ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Listening Skill ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Interpretive Skills ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Practical Implications

The study reported here thoroughly investigated the instruction of listening skill in academic English programs. This was researched through a semi-structured interview. In this regard, in order to obtain a picture of listening requirements across the academy, data were collected from two different state universities of Iran. To compile the data, five listening lecturers from these two universities were invited to participate in the study. Topics investigated through the interviews included; the importance and objectives of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) listening in university study, the nature of listening in academic English programs, quantity and type of listening prescribed on courses, the integration of listening with other skills, and the evolution of changes in students’ listening requirements and practices. The analysis of the interviews revealed the two types of the courses; academic English-oriented courses and general English-oriented courses, each of them having their own perspectives regarding the various aspects of the listening. Regarding the changes in students’ practices, two types of transformations were found; transformation of the processes from bottom-up to top-down and transformation of the materials from textbook-oriented to more internet-oriented perspectives. The findings of the present study suggest some practical implications for the EFL students and teachers. In this regard, students need to equip and accustom themselves with more interpretive skills of listening and internet-oriented materials in their classes. Teachers are also required to balance between different types of skills and course materials in their classes according to their students’ needs. 

Processing the Spanish imperfect subjunctive: Depth of processing under different instructional conditions

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 477-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
SERGIO ADRADA-RAFAEL
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Test Design ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Depth Of Processing ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Target Form ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Types Of Instruction ◽  
Comprehension Tests

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to examine 88 intermediate learners of second language Spanish’ depth of processing under different types of instruction when being exposed to a complex grammar form, the imperfect subjunctive, on a reading task. Depth of processing was measured by employing think-aloud protocols. Due to the absence of reactivity, six silent and think-aloud conditions were merged into three experimental ones differing in explicitness. The study followed a pre-, post-, and delayed test design with 2 weeks between tests, which consisted of interpretation, controlled-production, and comprehension tests. Overall, results showed that participants in the more explicit condition produced more instances of processing, and that deeper processing correlated with a more accurate production of the target form and with a higher comprehension of the reading passage.

scholarly journals The effect of input modes and number of exposures on the learning of L2 binomials

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Alotaibi ◽  
Ana Pellicer-Sánchez ◽  
Kathy Conklin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Relative Effect ◽  
Formulaic Language ◽  
Formulaic Sequences ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Perceived Familiarity

Abstract Despite the importance of mastering different types of formulaic sequences in a second language, little is known about the relative effect of different input modes on their acquisition. This study explores the learning of a particular type of formulaic language (binomials) in three input modes (reading-only, listening-only, and reading-while-listening) at different frequencies of exposure (2, 4, 5 and 6 occurrences). Arabic learners of English were presented with three stories, each in a different mode, that contained novel binomials (e.g., wires and pipes) and existing binomials (e.g., brother and sister). Two post-tests (multiple-choice and familiarity ratings) assessed learners’ knowledge of the binomials. Results showed that reading-only and reading-while-listening led to better performance on the tasks than listening-only. Frequency of exposure had an effect on the perceived familiarity of binomials.

Production of Subject-Verb Agreement in Spanish as a Second Language

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Nicol ◽  
Delia Greth
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Error Patterns ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Semantic Variables ◽  
Advanced Proficiency

Abstract. In this paper, we report the results of a study of English speakers who have learned Spanish as a second language. All were late learners who have achieved near- advanced proficiency in Spanish. The focus of the research is on the production of subject-verb agreement errors and the factors that influence the incidence of such errors. There is some evidence that English and Spanish subject-verb agreement differ in susceptibility to interference from different types of variables; specifically, it has been reported that Spanish speakers show a greater influence of semantic factors in their implementation of subject-verb agreement ( Vigliocco, Butterworth, & Garrett, 1996 ). In our study, all participants were tested in English (L1) and Spanish (L2). Results indicate nearly identical error patterns: these speakers show no greater influence of semantic variables in the computation of agreement when they are speaking Spanish than when they are speaking English.

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