Using Language Games to Enhance EFL Students’ Speaking Skill in Indonesia

This research aims at enhancing EFL students’ speaking skill through the use of language games. The research was designed in the form of Classroom Action Research. It was conducted in two cycles and six meetings. Each cycle consisted of plan, implementation, observation, and Reflection. The researchers employed an observation checklist, field notes, questionnaire, and test to collect the data. The main criterion of success of this research was that the students’ scores on the speaking test should achieve a score of 70, and it must be achieved by 75% of the total number of students. The second criterion was that the lecturer’s classroom performance should meet the “Success” category. The results of the first speaking test showed that from 24 students in the classroom, 15 students got scores of 70 or higher. It was equal to 62.5 %. In cycle 2, the total number of students who got scores of 70 or higher was 21. It was equal to 87.5 %. The result of this research indicated that the use of language games can develop the students’ speaking skills

AN ANALYSIS OF CODE SWITCHING IN STUDENTS’ SPEAKING TEST AS ENGLISH FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNERS

This research aims at finding out types of code switching occurred in students’speaking test of EFL learner, the percentage of each type, and finding out the students’reasons in switching their language.Threetypes of code switching proposed by Poplack (1980); intra-sentential switching, inter-sentential switching, and tag switching were analyzed in this descriptive qualitative study. There was one class as the sample of this research. After gaining the data, the researcher categorized the data based on three types of code switching mentioned above. The result revealed that all three types of code switching appears in the students’ speaking. The first type, intra - sentential switching, it tends to be the main type of switching (69.49%), followed by intra-sentential switching (27.12%). Different from those two types, tag switching seems to occur the least frequent type of switching that appeared in the comments (3.39%). Then, the researcher also classified the data into seven reasons in doing code switching according to Hoffman (1991). There are still some other reasons found by the researcher in conducting the research.

Moroccan EFL Learners' Knowledge of Vocabulary and their Speaking Ability: A Correlational Study

The study seeks to investigate the correlation between students' vocabulary knowledge and their speaking ability. It is carried out in Idriss 1st high school in Kenitra, with the participation of 30 first-year baccalaureate students, including males and females. Vocabulary and speaking tests are used as two main instruments to collect data from the participants. Pearson correlation is used in order to determine the relationship between students' scores in vocabulary and their scores in the speaking test. Based on correlation analysis, the research's major findings revealed a significant positive correlation (r=, 744) between the vocabulary test scores of students and their speaking performance in the speaking test.

Relating a Sustained Monologue Speaking Production Test to CEFR: Towards Alignment

This article evaluates a sustained monologue speaking production test to validate its link to the CEFR model. The monologue test is a low-stakes production test that engages the test taker in sustained monologue tasks targeted at B2-C1 of the CEFR levels. The evaluation of the test included determining the extent to which the monologue speaking tasks and the single assessment criterion-related rating scale developed for the test are valid and reliably aligned to CEFR benchmarked descriptors. The socio-cognitive framework for test evaluation was adopted, and an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design was implemented. The evaluation revealed some contentious points of contrast between the test items and the language demand that each item prompted in production. Consequently, selected items were improved or deleted to ensure the appropriate competency levelled at B2-C1 are correctly prompted. Additionally, the findings underlined the imperative need for test developers to adhere to five inter-related sets of procedures in the justification of a claim that the monologue speaking test is aligned to the CEFR. These include familiarisation, specification, standardisation and benchmarking, standard-setting, and validation. It emerged that thorough familiarity with the CEFR by test item writers and examiners is a fundamental requirement for a test closely related to CEFR construct and levels. Thus, familiarisation training of CEFR and its illustrative descriptors is a mandatory prerequisite for ensuring test items and assessment of the elicited production correspond to the levels and ratings described in the CEFR model.

THE STUDENTS’ FAMILIARITY TOWARD ENGLISH PHRASAL VERBS: A CORPUS-BASED STUDY

A phrasal verb is considered a challenging area for foreign language learners including those who learn English for specific purposes e.g English for tourism. However, to gain a good level of English, the students must learn phrasal verbs as they are commonly used by native English speakers. This study aimed to know the phrasal verb found in English for Tour and Travel Corpus (ETTC) and whether the students are familiar with the phrasal verbs found by differentiating them with prepositional verbs. The students’ familiarity was measured through a questionnaire and their ability to use them in speaking. ETTC was built from 100 articles related to Tour and Travel, and the annotation using CLAWS 7 was conducted to identify the phrasal verb found in the corpus. Then, the phrasal verbs were listed based on the lemma. Based on the result of the analysis, there are 172 multi-word verbs classified as phrasal verbs. The students who were expected to have already been familiar with them were not able to differentiate between phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs. More interestingly, they do not know all the meaning of phrasal verbs found in ETTC and the speaking test result also proved that using phrasal verbs still needed more effort as the students could not use them accurately. The result of this research can be preliminary data for further research, particularly in teaching and learning English for a specific purpose.

The Correlation Between Students Achievement In Vocabulary And Speaking Ability at Grade 8 Junior High School Students

This research aimed to find out the correlation between students’ vocabulary mastery and speaking ability at grade 8 of SMP Negeri. This research was quantitative research which used correlational technique design. The sample of the research was 30 students of grade eight selected by clustering sampling. The instruments used in the research were vocabulary test and speaking test. Vocabulary test consisted of 50 questions of multiple choices, and speaking test in the form of role play. The research data were in the form of interpretation of students’ vocabulary and speaking test results, and their correlation. Based on data analysis, it was found that students’ vocabulary mastery and speaking ability were fair. They were proved by the mean score 65 for vocabulary mastery and 68 for speaking ability. Moreover, there was strong correlation between students’ vocabulary mastery and speaking ability. It was shown by the rvalue = 0,703 . Keywords:Students’ Achievement, Vocabulary, Speaking

Questioning in TOEFL iBT speaking test: a case of washback and construct underrepresentation

Admission in English-medium universities or institutions of higher education depends on the results obtained by candidates in large-scale proficiency tests including Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (iBT). The structure and administration procedure of the TOEFL iBT speaking test leaves no room for carrying out reciprocal interactions and, consequently, examining applicants’ questioning ability. This study highlights the significance of non-native students’ skills to ask oral English questions in academic contexts as experienced by non-native graduates from English-medium universities and in the view of Iranian TOEFL iBT instructors. Further, the washback of the absence of the skill in the TOEFL iBT test was investigated in speaking preparation classes. Twelve non-native graduates and nineteen Iranian TOEFL iBT instructors participated in the study. They were all interviewed about the significance of oral questioning. The instructors’ views were also sought about the consequences of the disregard of questioning in the test. To triangulate the data, two classes of the instructors were also observed. Classroom observations and interviews were analyzed through content analysis. The results indicated that the participants generally assumed questioning as indispensable in academic interactions. Despite their acknowledgment of its significance, as both the interviews and observations unveiled, the instructors, however, tended not to work on their students’ questioning because of the absence of the skill in the test, the students’ reluctance, limited preparation time, and dependence of their professional reputation on the test results rather than target situation performance. The study further discusses the implications of the findings for the test construct representation and preparation courses.