scholarly journals Argument-based validation of a high-stakes Listening test in Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Diep Tran
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Statistical Characteristics ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Validity Argument ◽  
Listening Test ◽  
Test Items

<p>More than a decade ago, the Vietnamese Government announced an educational reform to enhance the quality of English language education in the country. An important aspect of this reform is the introduction of the localized test of English proficiency which covers four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This high-stakes English test is developed and administered by only a limited number of institutions in Vietnam. Although the validity of the test is a considerable concern for test-takers and test score users, it has remained an under-researched area. This study aims to partly address the issue by validating a listening test developed by one of the authorized institutions in Vietnam. In this thesis, the test is referred to as the Locally Created Listening Test or the LCLT.  Using the argument-based approach to validation (Kane, 1992, 2013; Chapelle, 2008), this research aims to develop a validity argument for the evaluation, generalization and explanation inferences of the LCLT. Three studies were carried out to elicit evidence to support these inferences. The first study investigated the statistical characteristics of the LCLT test scores, focusing on the evaluation and generalization inference. The second study shed light on the extent to which test items engaged the target construct. The third study examined whether test-takers’ scores on the LCLT correlated well with their scores on an international English test that measured a similar construct. Both the second and third study were carried out to support the explanation inference.  These three studies did not provide enough evidence to successfully support the validity argument for the LCLT. The test was found to have major flaws that affected the validity of score interpretations. In light of the research findings, suggestions were given for the betterment of future LCLTs. At the same time, this research helped to uncover the impacts of certain text and task-related factors on the test-takers’ performance. Such insights led to practical implications for the assessment of second language listening in general. The results of this research also contributed to the theory and practice of test localization, a relatively new paradigm in language testing and assessment.</p>

scholarly journals Argument-based validation of a high-stakes Listening test in Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Diep Tran
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Statistical Characteristics ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Validity Argument ◽  
Listening Test ◽  
Test Items

<p>More than a decade ago, the Vietnamese Government announced an educational reform to enhance the quality of English language education in the country. An important aspect of this reform is the introduction of the localized test of English proficiency which covers four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This high-stakes English test is developed and administered by only a limited number of institutions in Vietnam. Although the validity of the test is a considerable concern for test-takers and test score users, it has remained an under-researched area. This study aims to partly address the issue by validating a listening test developed by one of the authorized institutions in Vietnam. In this thesis, the test is referred to as the Locally Created Listening Test or the LCLT.  Using the argument-based approach to validation (Kane, 1992, 2013; Chapelle, 2008), this research aims to develop a validity argument for the evaluation, generalization and explanation inferences of the LCLT. Three studies were carried out to elicit evidence to support these inferences. The first study investigated the statistical characteristics of the LCLT test scores, focusing on the evaluation and generalization inference. The second study shed light on the extent to which test items engaged the target construct. The third study examined whether test-takers’ scores on the LCLT correlated well with their scores on an international English test that measured a similar construct. Both the second and third study were carried out to support the explanation inference.  These three studies did not provide enough evidence to successfully support the validity argument for the LCLT. The test was found to have major flaws that affected the validity of score interpretations. In light of the research findings, suggestions were given for the betterment of future LCLTs. At the same time, this research helped to uncover the impacts of certain text and task-related factors on the test-takers’ performance. Such insights led to practical implications for the assessment of second language listening in general. The results of this research also contributed to the theory and practice of test localization, a relatively new paradigm in language testing and assessment.</p>

scholarly journals REFLECTIONS ON PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Madkur ◽  
Abdullah Farih ◽  
Ahmad Ridho Rojab ◽  
Andini Linarsih ◽  
Beny Hamdani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Educational Theory ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Great Effort ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Face To Face

This is a great effort to summarize bright ideas about educational theory and practice, especially English language education and teaching, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This anthology book will be very useful for teachers, lecturers, students, and education practitioners, especially language education, to gain experience that can be directly practiced in online, face-to-face classes, or a combination of online and faceto-face. Hopefully, this small effort that has great benefits can be continued by IELA (Indonesian English Lecturer Association) in particular and seminar organizers in general to produce important writings containing theoretical and practical ideas that are useful for the advancement of education, especially language education in Indonesia. By sharing this knowledge and experience, we can transfer these smart ideas to fellow teachers and lecturers, researchers, and practitioners to be able to solve some teaching problems with this solution.

scholarly journals ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: KEEPING UP WITH THE TIMES

2020 ◽  
pp. 40-57
Author(s):  
Olga Ilchenko ◽  
Natalia Kramar
Keyword(s):  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Academic Publishing ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Methodological Principles

English language education, especially in light of the status of English as present-day lingua franca, has become a prolific field of research, and no less prolific area of practical application internationally. Through a critical literature review, the current study addresses one of its most prominent subfields – English for Academic Purposes – with special emphasis on academic writing. We briefly touch upon its evolution and identify the terminological ambiguities involved in EAP conceptualization within the broader framework of ESP (English for Specific Purposes). By examining the changes that academic English is undergoing today due to the overwhelming influence of L2 speakers’ varieties (termed “similects” by Anna Mauranen), we elucidate how English as a Lingua Franca movement can benefit and enrich EAP pedagogic practice. We also discuss how EAP fits within the latest CEFR guidelines, paying close attention to mediating skills, critical thinking and integrative thinking skills, which, as we argue, need to be more extensively incorporated into academic writing instruction. We discuss the rationale and the methodological principles of English for Research Publication Purposes as a new offshoot of EAP, which combines genre-based instruction with the exploration of multiple non-linguistic issues, involved in academic publishing, such as interaction with editors and gatekeepers, choosing a suitable journal, navigating the review process. We hope to demonstrate that EAP teaching, and especially academic writing instruction, is in need of major revision to overcome the yawning gap that currently exists between theory and practice.

Translanguaging Theory and Practice: How Stakeholders Perceive Translanguaging as a Practical Theory of Language

RELC Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003368822093922
Author(s):  
Yang Liu ◽  
Fan Fang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
English Only ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Students First

This article explores the recent development of translanguaging from the perspective of multilingualism. This is in light of the multilingual turn in the field of foreign language teaching, particularly English language teaching (ELT), which challenges the fixed and traditional monolingual framework for foreign language education. In particular, this article reviews stakeholders’ attitudes towards the implementation of translanguaging in foreign language classroom settings. It is found that stakeholders generally hold positive attitudes towards translanguaging practices in various ELT contexts. This review highlights the importance of re-examining the significance of translanguaging in ELT practices, for example, by challenging the monolingual English-only language policy and recognizing students’ first language as a linguistic resource to facilitate language learning in both English language and content learning. The article concludes by offering some practical pedagogical implications for both policy makers and language practitioners.

The Role of Order and Sequence of Options in Multiple-choice Questions for High-stakes Tests of English Language Proficiency

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Talip Karanfil ◽  
Steve Neufeld
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
High Volume ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Proficiency Tests ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Two Factors

High-stakes and high-volume English language proficiency tests typically rely on multiple-choice questions (MCQs) to assess reading and listening skills. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, more institutions are using MCQs via online assessment platforms, which facilitate shuffling the order of options within test items to minimize cheating. There is scant research on the role that order and sequence of options plays in MCQs, so this study examined the results of a paper-based, high-stakes English proficiency test administered in two versions. Each version had identical three-option MCQs but with different ordering of options. The test-takers were chosen to ensure a very similar profile of language ability and level for the groups who took the two versions. The findings indicate that one in four questions exhibited significantly different levels of difficulty and discrimination between the two versions. The study identifies order dominance and sequence priming as two factors that influence the outcomes of MCQs, both of which can accentuate or diminish the power of attraction of the correct and incorrect options. These factors should be carefully considered when designing MCQs in high-stakes language proficiency tests and shuffling of options in either paper-based or computer-based testing.

Practicing or Preaching? Teacher Educators and Student Teachers Appropriating New Literacies

2010 ◽  
pp. 147-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Lo ◽  
Matthew Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
New Literacies ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Bachelor Of Education

This chapter examines the implementation of a new 12-hour course on ‘New Literacies’ during the final year of a Bachelor of Education in English language education in Hong Kong. Specifically, it examines the authors’ attempts to create a community of practice around New Literacies teaching and learning. As part of this endeavour, the authors sought to embody – and to encourage their student teachers to appropriate as part of their evolving teaching selves – the ‘insider mindset’ (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006) of new literacies practices, as the authors planned and implemented the course. They hoped that experientially connecting theory and practice of New Literacies would provide affordances for teacher educators, and for student teachers, to capitalise on the powerful potential of digital technologies in order to rethink how curriculum might be implemented in ways that are more multimodal, participative, and collaborative. As the authors discuss below, their attempt encountered unanticipated challenges, reflecting the power of existing institutional structures and unarticulated assumptions. The final part of the chapter examines lessons from the authors experience that may have resonance in other contexts and explores how they might approach the challenges they encountered differently in the future.

scholarly journals Extensive Listening in ESP: An Experiment in the Course of “English for Tourism 2” at Dalat University

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Truong Quynh Nhue ◽  
Truong Thi My Van ◽  
Nguyen Vu Long
Keyword(s):  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
English Language ◽  
Design Procedure ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Listening Test ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Oxford University Press

This article presents the results of an experimental study on the practice of extensive listening strategy (EL) for the third-year students at the Faculty of Tourism, Dalat University, when studying the course of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) “English for Tourism 2”. The students of the experimental group spent eight weeks conducting searching listening materials, listening outside the classroom independently and with their team, taking weekly listening tests designed by other teams before taking the final listening test; the results of which would be used to compare with the English listening results of the control group performing traditional listening practice activities. The results of the final listening test, survey and interview responses revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between the application of EL during the course period with the English listening competence of the students, researchers also investigated the perception of these students about the application of this listening strategy. This study implies improvements in the design for future implementations of EL, including the length of practising EL activities and the enhancement of students participation in these listening activities Keywords English for Specific Purposes (ESP); Extensive listening (EL); Listening skills References 1. Bruce, I., Introduction to EAP: Key issues and concepts, in Theory and concepts of English for academic purposes2011, Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire, UK. p. 3-14.2. Field, J., Special issue: Listening in EAP. Journal of English for academic purposes, 2011. 10(2): p. 73-78.3. Beall, M.L., et al., State of the context: Listening in education. International journal of listening, 2008. 22: p. 123-132.4. Bommelje, R., J.M. Houston, and R. Smither, Personality characteristics of effective listeners: A five factor perspective. International Journal of Listening, 2003. 17: p. 32-46.5. Conaway, M.S., Listening: Learning tool and retention agent., in Improving reading and study skills, A.S. Algier and K.W. Algier, Editors. 1982, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA. p. 51-63.6. Ridgway, T., Listening strategies - I beg your pardon? ELT Journal, 2000. 54(2): p. 179-185.7. Brown, S., Teaching listening2006, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.8. Ediger, M., Listening in the integrated curriculum. Reading Improvement, 2012. 49(1): p. 3-5.9. Richards, J.C. and R. Schmidt, Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. 3rd ed2002, Harlow, England: Pearson Education Ltd.10. Bruce, I., The EAP and teaching the listening skill, in Theory and concepts of English for academic purposes2011, Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire, UK. p. 154-176.11. Flowerdew, J. and L. Miller, in Second language Listening: Theory an practice2005, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England.12. Harmer, J., Listening., in The practice of English language teaching2007, Pearson Education: Essex, England. p. 303-322.13. Thiele, A. and G. Scheibner-Herzig, Listening comprehension training in teaching english to beginners. System, 1983. 11(3): p. 277-286.14. Chang, A.C.S., Gains to L2 listeners from reading while listening vs. listening only in comprehending short stories. System, 2009. 37(4): p. 652-663.15. Brett, P., A comparative study of the effects of the use of multimedia on listening comprehension. System, 1997. 25(1): p. 39-53.16. Brown, R., Extensive listening in English as a foreign language. Language Teacher, 2007. 31: p. 15.17. Ferrato, T. and M. White, Ring the bell - It's time for EL! ETJ Journal, 2009. 20: p. 20-21.18. Siegel, J., Thoughts on L2 listening pedagogy. ELT Journal, 2011. 65(3): p. 318-321.19. Harmer, J., Teaching language skills., in The practice of English language teaching2007, Pearson Education: Essex, England. p. 265-282.20. Mayora, C.A., Extensive listening in a Colombian university: Process, product, and perceptions. HOW, 2017. 24(1): p. 101-121.21. Cohen, L., L. Manion, and K. Morrison, Tests., in Research methods in education2011, Routledge: Oxon, England. p. 476-495.22. Richards, J.C., Listening Comprehension: Approach, Design, Procedure. TESOL quarterly, 1983. 17(2): p. 219-240.23. Foddy, W. and W.H. Foddy, Constructing questions for interviews and questionnaires: Theory and practice in social research1994: Cambridge university press.24. Kiany, G.R. and E. Shiramiry, The effect of frequent dictation on the listening comprehension ability of elementary EFL learners. TESL Canada Journal, 2002. 20(1): p. 57-63.25. Harding, K. and P. Henderson, High Season2000, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.26. Walker, R. and K. Harding, in Tourism 12006, Oxford University Press: Oxford, England. p. 93.

Innovation and Change in English Language Teaching: Theory and Practice

English Today ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-60
Author(s):  
Chen Ou
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Innovation And Change

The book is an edited collection of 18 chapters written by a total of 21 authors from around the world. Chapter 1, which serves as an introduction, outlines the book's structure and scope. The editors, Ken Hyland and Lillian L. C. Wong, define the book's purpose as ‘to offer readers a range of different ways of thinking about innovation in English language education, and different methods of investigating the impact of innovation’ (p. 2). The remaining 17 chapters, which are divided into four sections, discuss a range of topics including theoretical frameworks for education, teacher training, curriculum development, and teaching practice.

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