The Development of STEP, the CEFR-Based English Proficiency Test

This study aimed at developing the Silpakorn Test of English Proficiency (STEP), in alignment with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and in accordance with the theoretical framework established by Alderson et al. (2006). Four major steps were involved in the test construction. First, English language lecturers who served as content specialists were asked to design can-do statements presented in the CEFR. Then the specialists designed the test specification based on the can-do statements. Four skill areas: listening, semi-speaking, reading, and semi-writing were targeted as the test construct. At this juncture, the content specialists were required to write test items in accordance with the test specification. Next, the test items constructed were determined for their validity and reliability. Finally, a standard setting was carried out. The results demonstrated that the framework offered by Alderson et al. (2006) served as an effective reference document for developing the STEP. In terms of validity and reliability, the STEP was of statistical significance, that is, it could be aligned with the CEFR levels and measure test takers’ English proficiency at a specific CEFR level. The current findings provide useful insights for test developers or researchers who wish to design proficiency tests in alignment with the CEFR.

Automating the Generation of Test Items

Increasing demand for knowledge of our workers has prompted the increase in assessments and providing feedback to facilitate their learning. This and the increasingly computerized assessments require new test items beyond the ability for content specialists to produce them in a feasible fashion. Automatic item generation is a promising method that has begun to demonstrate utility in its application. The purpose of this chapter is to describe how AIG can be used to generate test items using the selected-response (i.e., multiple-choice) format. To ensure our description is both concrete and practical, we illustrate template-based item generation using an example from the complex problem-solving domain of the medical health sciences. The chapter is concluded with a description of the two directions for future research.

Use of Digital Content in Ensuring Integrity for Teaching and Learning English at the Secondary Level of Education: Perspective of Bangladesh

The use of digital content (DC) in teaching and learning English has become a buzzword. Infusing DC into the English teaching-learning process is really important as it caters the needs of the contemporary learners. At the same time, the availability of DC allows learners to adopt many unfair means by copy-pasting. So, it is important to ensure the integrity for teaching and learning in today’s world. This study focused on exploring the actual use of DC in ensuring integrity for teaching and learning English at grade IX–X of Bangladesh and finding out the challenges of using DC in ensuring integrity. A mixed method design (Creswell, 2012) has been employed to conduct the study. To accomplish the study, data has been collected from teachers, students and content specialists by using semi-structured interview schedule, semistructured questionnaire, FGD and classroom observation checklist. The data was analysed in mixed approaches using simple statistics and thematic analysis process and presented through tables and graphs. The result and detailed analysis of the study have brought out that most of the teachers use free plagiarism software for tracing out unethical writings in English for ensuring integrity in English subject. This study also brings into light that lack of necessary equipment (there is no plagiarism deduct software in the observed school) and teachers’ negative attitudes toward using DC are the prevalent challenges of using DC in ensuring integrity for teaching and learning English. In this circumstance, the study suggests that schools should be provided with new equipment such as plagiarism deducts software strategically and equitably for frequent and successful trace out, and teachers should get training on how to use DC effectively in ensuring integrity.

English-Medium Instruction and the Expanding Role of Language Educators

This paper highlights the expanding role of university language educators in English-medium content instruction (EMI), a rapidly growing phenomenon in expanding circle countries and regions in recent years. With the growth of EMI, however, there is a reported shortage of qualified faculty who are willing and able to deliver academic content in English effectively. As such, language educators are increasingly taking on that responsibility in one way or another. With EMI still in its infancy in Japan, I find this complementary role professionally rewarding and educationally meaningful. After giving some background information, I examine the situation behind this development using data from recent surveys focusing on EMI faculty. Then I explore a range of roles language educators can play in line with content specialists in such emerging areas as L2 academic content teaching and teacher training. Finally, I propose component elements of EMI practice for collaborative implementation. 本稿は、英語による専門科目の授業（EMI）実践において拡大する、大学語学教員の役割について考察する。近年EMIは拡大円圏国・地域で急速に増える一方で、資格のある教員、すなわち、学術分野を英語で効果的に教える能力と意欲を備えた教員の不足が報告されている。そのため、語学教員がその責務を担うケースが増えているが、日本のEMIは未だ発展初期の段階にあり、そのような語学教員の補完的な役割は専門的にも教育的にも意義あることと筆者は捉える。本稿では、まず背景情報に触れた後、EMI教員に焦点を当てた筆者の最近の調査データを一部活用し、この役割拡大現象の背景事情を押さえた上で、第二言語による学術科目授業や教員研修面で、専門科目教員と歩調を合わせた語学教員の様々な役割について考察する。最後に、両者の連携によるEMI実践の鍵となる構成要素について提案する。

Towards a Sustainable Curriculum for ESAP Teacher Training Program: A Profile of ESAP Content Specialists’ vs. Language Instructors’ Needs

The first and most crucial step towards developing a sustainable curriculum for instructors teaching English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) is a needs analysis. Therefore, the main aim of conducting this study was to investigate the in-service needs of language instructors and content specialists teaching ESAP and to spot the differences between the needs of these two groups in order to provide them with systematic treatments in ESAP teacher training programs. This mixed method study was designed on a qualitative-quantitative survey basis using a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and an observation checklist. The analysis of the data collected from 50 content specialists and 50 language instructors completing the questionnaires reveals that there is a significant difference between the in-service needs of these two groups, that is, language instructors desire more to be trained in an in-service ESAP teaching training program in terms of professional, procedural and personal needs. Furthermore, the results of the data obtained from the semi-structured interview and the observation of 20 of the above-mentioned instructors (i.e., 10 content specialists and 10 language instructors) indicate that language instructors have more difficulty selecting suitable materials, suffer more from low income, attitudinal difficulties and backwash effect compared to their counterparts teaching ESAP courses. It can be inferred that the results of the present study can sufficiently help the researchers to embark on an in-service teacher training program both for ESAP content specialists and language instructors based on their specific needs in the ESAP context.

Evaluating the Psychometric Qualities of a Rating Scale to Assess Pre-Service Teachers’ Lesson Plan Development in the Context of a Secondary-Level Music Performance Classroom

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric quality (i.e., validity and reliability) of a rating scale to assess pre-service teachers’ lesson plan development in the context of secondary-level music performance classrooms. The research questions that guided this study include: (1) What items demonstrate acceptable model fit for the construct of lesson plan development in the context of a secondary-level music performance classroom? (2) How does the structure of the rating scale vary across items? and (3) Does differential severity emerge for academic administrators or music education content specialists across items? Using multiple teacher effectiveness frameworks, the lesson plans in this study were evaluated using a 4-point Likert-type rating scale (e.g., strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree) consisting of five domains: (a) instructional planning, (b) instructional delivery, (c) differentiated instruction, (d) assessment uses, and (e) assessment strategies. Secondary-level school administrators ( n = 8) and music education content specialists ( n = 8) rated 32 lesson plans using a balanced incomplete assessment network. The multifaceted Rasch measurement partial credit model was used in this study. Results suggest higher rater severity among administrators than music specialists. Of the 68 potential pairwise interactions examined in the study, 5 (7.4 %) of those were found to be statistically significant, which indicates that 5 raters demonstrated differential severity across at least one lesson plan. Implications for student teacher preparation, teacher effectiveness, and the validity of measures are discussed.