Volume 5, Number 1, June 2008
Mohamed Ridha Ben Maad
Time Pressure and Within-task Variation in EFL Oral Performance (pp. 5–12)
This article reports a study of variability in the oral performance of 17 English as a foreign language (EFL) students in a Tunisian university. Time pressure, long ignored by research community as a key element in the process of language learning, was operationalized as the prime factor in order to give evidence of variable output during task engagement. Analysis of the subsequent performances on the same task showed that time pressure pushed learners towards varied results, that is, higher rates of complexity, decrements in accuracy and mixed patterns in fluency. The results were found to be verifiable in light of the established task-based literature and the processing-based theory whose main tenet is attention as a limited resource.
Kenichi Yamakawa, Naoki Sugino, Hiromasa Ohba, Michiko Nakano, and Yuko Shimizu
Although the last couple of decades have seen great theoretical developments in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), many studies have focused on single grammatical features, and have assumed interrelationships among features are granted by a given linguistic theory. One of the weaknesses of the grammaticality judgment task, the most common measurement tool in SLA, is its reliability. Since the data obtained from different studies are sample- and test-dependent, it is difficult to compare the findings. In order to compensate for this weakness, we employ IRT (Item Response Theory) to equate the data from different grammaticality judgment tests. Since the parameters of IRT models provide a theoretical justification for equating scores, comparison of acquisition among different grammatical items on the same scale is possible with a high degree of reliability. Approximately 1,200 adult native speakers of Japanese learning EFL in Japan participated in our study. These participants were given grammaticality judgment tests in order to examine acquisitions of various English grammatical features such as unergative verbs, unaccusative verbs, psych verbs, relative clause constructions, wh-question constructions, to infinitives, and dative alternation. On the basis of our findings, we discuss the appropriateness and benefits of using IRT in SLA research, and
explore interrelationships among these grammatical features in participants’ acquisition process.
Leonard B. M. Nkosana
Importance of Education Officers’ Attitudes and Perceptions in Curriculum and Assessment Reform (pp. 41–67)
This paper first presents and then discusses the attitudes and perceptions of education officers with regard to the introduction of a school-based continuous assessment of speaking in the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) English as a Second Language (ESL) examinations as provided for in the BGCSE English syllabus in Botswana. Three categories of education officers responsible for developing and evaluating syllabuses, teaching supervision (quality assurance), and assessment of the BGCSE ESL curriculum in senior secondary schools in Botswana were interviewed, using an interview guide. The findings indicate that there are two opposing views held by the various categories of education officers regarding the assessment of speaking in the Botswana situation. While on the one hand Curriculum Development & Evaluation officers (CDEOs) and Senior Education Officers (SEOs) said it would not be too difficult to assess speaking as recommended in the syllabus, Examinations Research and Testing Division officers (ERTDOs) said it would be due to problems such as logistics and resources.
Manfred Man-fat Wu
Language Learning Strategy Use of Chinese ESL Learners of Hong Kong - Findings from a Qualitative Study (pp. 68–83)
Qualitative data on the use of language learning strategies (LLSs) from 10 Chinese ESL learners studying at a vocational institute were gathered. Results reveal that research participants used a wide variety of metacognitive, cognitive and social/affective LLSs. Social/affective LLSs were found to be more popular than metacognitive and cognitive LLSs among the participants. The more popular LLSs found were: the metacognitive LLSs of advance organization, advance preparation, organizational planning and selfmanagement; the cognitive LLSs of resourcing, grouping, note-taking, summarizing, and translation; and
finally the social/affective LLSs of questioning for clarification, co-operation, and positive self-talk. Besides, research participants were found to use different LLSs for different tasks and in different situations. Three contextual factors, namely the role of English in Hong Kong, the education system, and Confucianism, in addition to some learner characteristics, are suggested as possible influences on LLS use. This paper will also discuss the implications of these findings for classroom teaching to Chinese ESL learners. It is recommended that, in promoting the use of LLSs and providing LLS instruction to learners, teachers should take into considerations the influence of contextual factors.
Linda Kwok
Students’ Perceptions of Peer Evaluation and Teachers’ Role in Seminar Discussions (pp. 84–97)
Peer evaluation is considered as an alternative to teacher-based evaluation and its effects on writing assessments have been widely researched. This study aims at gauging students’ perceptions of peer evaluation in a seminar discussion by a group of second-language university learners. With the imminent evolution in teachers’ role in evaluation, this study also tries to explore teachers’ role from the students’ perspective in evaluation. The qualitative and quantitative responses suggest that although minimal evaluation training was offered to students, their evaluation and comments were considered fair, useful and sufficient by peers. Nevertheless, the students preferred teachers to peers to evaluate their performance in the discussion and they wanted to get more instructive comments from the teacher. The teacher’s possible roles in evaluation are presented at the end of the paper.
Mizuho Iinuma & Hiroaki Chiyokura
Use of 3D Computer Graphic Contents: Content-based Language Instruction in Japan (pp. 98–113)
The teaching of multi-modal literacy in the classroom environment is a field of emerging interest in education (Jewitt & Kress, 2003; Kress, 2003). Incorporating multimodality in second/foreign language teaching to meet the expectations of the new media age is becoming an important issue. In this study, we designed a textbook for foreign language learners of higher education in Japan. We have used the textbook with a class of twenty-two intermediate to high intermediate level English as a foreign language students. The theme of the textbook is Frank Lloyd Wright who designed the Imperial Hotel in Japan. This article shows the 3D models of the Imperial Hotel, used as a resource in the textbook, discusses the creation of the book, and presents how we have utilized the 3D models as part of content-based instruction for English education in a Japanese university. A survey showed that the 3D models is perceived by students to help them in learning content knowledge of English through context-embedded academic activities.