Vietnamese Learners’ Performance in The IELTS Writing Task 2

IELTS is popular in Vietnam thanks to its reliability and applicability. Writing task 2 has been acknowledged to be the most challenging for IELTS learners. However, in Vietnam, not much research has attempted to investigate in an in-depth manner as to what are the problems, causes, and consequently the suggestions of such a notion. The research hence aims to investigate the phenomenon in a more thorough, empirical manner. To this end, the study employed the participation of 205 IELTS learners from two language centers in Ho Chi Minh city to provide their opinions regarding the problems, causes, and recommendations deemed the most pressing, acute, and beneficial, respectively. With convenience sampling and survey being the chosen research design, the research was quantitative in nature, producing numerical data as a result. Further analysis conducted via comparing the means of the items listed in the questionnaire yielded based on the IELTS band descriptors managed to discover a series of problems, causes, and suggestions considered the most relevant to the Vietnamese learners concerning IELTS writing task 2. The research thus served as the basis for teachers and learners of IELTS writing task 2 to identify the recurrent issues and provide relatable approaches.

The development of Emirati university students' intercultural sensitivity

PurposeThis study investigated the effects of an intercultural communication (IC) course on Emirati university students' intercultural sensitivity (IS).Design/methodology/approachThe participants were 89 Emirati students. The course required student involvement in a variety of tasks and activities, both inside and outside the classroom. The development of the students' IS was tracked using two instruments: the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) and a reflective writing task.FindingsThe difference between the students' overall pre-test and post-test scores was at a statistically significant level. The data from the reflective writing papers showed that the course developed the students' IS with a particular effect on their awareness of other cultures, barriers to effective communication and self-confidence.Originality/valueIn an increasingly globalized world, the findings of this study highlight the importance of a course designed to enhance university students' IS and therefore intercultural competence. They also indicate the need for more experiential learning to bridge in-class and out-of-class experiences which facilitate the development of students' intercultural competence.

L2 writing development through two types of writing task repetition

This study investigated whether any remarkable effects emerge in terms of overall complexity, complexity by subordination, accuracy, and fluency in two types of writing task repetition during a single academic semester (16 weeks). The Cognition Hypothesis states that tasks involving different cognitive demands will lead to different L2 output. Thus, this study explored whether any significant differences existed between two task types: descriptive and argumentative essays. The results revealed different patterns in the two types of writing tasks. For the descriptive essays, despite the improvements in overall complexity, complexity by subordination, and fluency with a large effect size, no significant findings were confirmed for accuracy. In contrast, in the argumentative essays, the learners improved all the linguistic aspects, but with a medium effect size. This study also unraveled developmental trajectories to demonstrate how different variables interacted in the two different types of writing tasks throughout the measurement period.

The Influence of Single-Clause Sentences on IELTS Writing Task 2 Band Score

This research aims to investigate the frequencies of single-clause sentences (SS) and multi-clause sentences (MS) used by IELTS test-takers in writing task 2 and the relationship between their use of single-clause sentences and band score in this section. The researcher used the descriptive comparative research design and the quantitative method design with convenient sampling with fifty (50) sample essays mainly sourced from the set of Cambridge English IELTS Academic books. After collecting the data, the researchers analyzed the data using statistical and descriptive analysis. The result shows that the percentages of single-clause and multi-clause sentences in the range between 0 and 6.0 bands are relatively equal. On the other hand, these percentages in the range of 6.5-9.0 have a significant difference. Additionally, the results of Pearson Correlation Analysis show that the frequency of single-clause sentences has an insignificant negative relationship with the IELTS writing task 2 band score. Therefore, IELTS writing task 2 compositions with more single-clause sentences are potentially graded with a lower band score.

Evidence of Delayed, Recursive Benefits of Self-Affirmation on Anxiety in Socially Anxious University Students

Introduction: Persons with social anxiety disorder (SAD) often experience social interactions as threatening and commonly avoid them or perform poorly in them (Asher et al., 2017). Self-affirmation is an intervention shown to help individuals engage effectively in situations they perceive as threatening (Sherman & Hartson, 2011). We hypothesized that self-affirmation would allow socially anxious individuals to participate in more social activities, do so more effectively, and with less stress and anxiety. Methods: Following completion of baseline measures, 75 socially anxious university students were randomly assigned to complete a self-affirming or control writing task. They subsequently completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G), and received SAD psychoeducation designed to promote social engagement over the coming month, after which they were reassessed on baseline measures of social anxiety. Results Self-affirmation demonstrated no benefit at the time of engagement in the TSST-G. However, at follow-up, self-affirmed students reported significantly less discomfort, anxiety, and distress related to a variety of social behaviors as well as more engagement in those behaviors, relative to baseline, compared with non-affirmed students. Moreover, significantly more affirmed than non-affirmed participants reported clinically significant reductions in symptoms of SAD at follow-up. Discussion These results help to broaden our conceptualization of self-affirmation and provide support for its potential utility in treatment for those with SAD.

Does Prewriting Planning Positively Impact English L2 Students’ Integrated Writing Performance?

This study compared English L2 writers’ (N = 111) performance on an integrated writing task from the Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Assessment under three prewriting planning conditions: required self-timed planning required fixed time planning, and suggested (i.e., optional) planning. The participants’ integrated essays were scored according to the CAEL writing bands by raters at Paragon Testing Inc. The effect of planning condition on the participants' planning time, writing time, and integrated writing scores were analyzed using MANOVA. The student interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The results indicated that planning time was the only variable impacted by planning condition, with students in the required self-timed planning condition taking more time to plan before beginning to write. Students’ perceptions about prewriting planning are discussed in terms of implications for the teaching and assessment of L2 integrated writing.

Automated extraction of revision events from keystroke data

Revision plays an important role in writing, and as revisions break down the linearity of the writing process, they are crucial in describing writing process dynamics. Keystroke logging and analysis have been used to identify revisions made during writing. Previous approaches include the manual annotation of revisions, building nonlinear S-notations, and the automated extraction of backspace keypresses. However, these approaches are time-intensive, vulnerable to construct, or restricted. Therefore, this article presents a computational approach to the automatic extraction of full revision events from keystroke logs, including both insertions and deletions, as well as the characters typed to replace the deleted text. Within this approach, revision candidates are first automatically extracted, which allows for a simplified manual annotation of revision events. Second, machine learning is used to automatically detect revision events. For this, 7120 revision events were manually annotated in a dataset of keystrokes obtained from 65 students conducting a writing task. The results showed that revision events could be automatically predicted with a relatively high accuracy. In addition, a case study proved that this approach could be easily applied to a new dataset. To conclude, computational approaches can be beneficial in providing automated insights into revisions in writing.

A behavioural study of obedience in health professional students

Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) is a field of study suggested to improve team functioning and patient safety. However, even interprofessional teams are susceptible to group pressures which may inhibit speaking up (positive deviance). Obedience is one group pressure that can inhibit positive deviance leading to negative patient outcomes. To examine the influence of obedience to authority in an interprofessional setting, an experimental simulated clinical scenario was conducted with Respiratory Therapy (RT) (n = 40) and Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP) (n = 20) students. In an airway management scenario, it was necessary for students to challenge an authority, a senior anesthesiologist, to prevent patient harm. In a 2 × 2 design cognitive load and an interventional writing task designed to increase positive deviance were tested. The effect of individual characteristics, including Moral Foundations, and displacement of responsibility were also examined. There was a significant effect for profession and cognitive load: RT students demonstrated lower levels of positive deviance in the low cognitive load scenario than students in other conditions. The writing task did not have a significant effect on RT or ACP students’ behaviour. The influence of Moral Foundations differed from expectations, In Group Loyalty was selected as a negative predictor of positive deviance while Respect for Authority was not. Displacement of responsibility was influential for some participants thought not for all. Other individual variables were identified for further investigation. Observational analysis of the simulation videos was conducted to obtain further insight into student behaviour in a compliance scenario. Individual differences, including experience, should be considered when providing education and training for positive deviance. Simulation provides an ideal setting to use compliance scenarios to train for positive deviance and for experimentation to study interprofessional team behaviour.

“The Story is My Life”: Bridging Symbol to Self in a Novel Creative and Reflective Writing Task

This article describes the development and testing of a novel creative and reflective writing task. Following the rationale of sand-tray and play therapies, participants were asked to meaningfully incorporate four objects from a randomly generated matrix of options into a creative short story. They then composed a second story that incorporated four possessions from home associated with important memories. Afterwards, participants produced interpretive statements or reflections on what the stories meant to them. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted based on narrative data from 15 young adult participants in Canada. Our goals were to: (a) explore the extent to which object familiarity was associated with qualitative differences in stories and interpretations, and (b) investigate for connections between features of participants’ stories and depth of interpretation. Analysis of creative stories resulted in a scheme of four response categories with ten subcategories. Participants’ interpretations of their own stories were coded based on self-described sources of inspiration, such as critical life episodes or popular media. Results are accompanied with excerpts of participants’ stories and reflections, and percentage comparisons are reported. Findings are presented in dialogue with established interpretive frameworks originating in depth psychology. Manipulation of object familiarity resulted in demonstrable differences at the levels of word length, point of view, narrative forms and features, self-disclosure, and reflection. Use of familiar objects in such a task appears to be a largely untapped resource that shows promise as a route to insight.