<p>This study deals with the testing and grading of Swedish school leaving students’ oral proficiency in English, and with certain aspects of these students’ linguistic competence. The analyses and results are based on material drawn from an assessment project carried out at Gothenburg University in 1993.</p><p>The 29 students taking part in the project were interviewed three times by three different interviewers in tests comprising three tasks, similar in structure but different in content. The interviewers were of three categories: school teachers of English, university teachers of English and native speakers of English. The student production was graded on a five-point scale according to a set of rating criteria.</p><p>The interviewers assigned generally positive but often differing grades to the student performance. The grades were influenced by the students’ ability to communicate and speak with flow, and by gaps in vocabulary and by occurrences of grammatical errors. The students’ use of discourse phenomena and compensatory strategies was also of importance to the grades assigned. Many students were considered to have acceptable intonation and rhythm, but nevertheless an evident Swedish accent. The linguistic features studied comprised the verbal group, vocabulary, discourse markers and pronunciation. </p><p>Differences could be observed between the members of the interviewer categories regarding the grades they assigned to student production. The school teachers seem to have paid special attention to grammatical accuracy, and the native speakers appear to have had a notion of communicative competence where accuracy plays a less important role.</p><p>Differences in the grades assigned could also be explained by the order in which the interviews were made, by some students’ hesitant delivery, by the positive or negative effect of various fillers in the students’ speech, and by the interviewing methods used by the interviewers in the tests.</p>

This qualitative study aims to investigate how teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) work to develop their students’ oral proficiency. The study analyses interviews and pedagogical materials to elucidate how the interviewed teachers regard their students’ oral proficiency, what kind of activities they use for teaching speaking and how they assess oral proficiency. The participants were two licensed English teachers of higher upper secondary education, and different materials that the teachers used were analysed, including a textbook. The teachers regarded their students’ oral proficiency as generally good or very good but noted that significant differences existed in most groups regarding proficiency and that certain students who were less proficient showed an unwillingness to use the target language, which indicates a need of better strategies to involve these students in the learning process. The findings of this study suggest that the interviewed EFL teachers teach speaking according to the communicative approach and that the activities they use more frequently for teaching speaking were discussions, followed by presentations, speeches, role-playing and debates. However, the interviews and the pedagogical materials reflected a lack of focus on the features of spoken language, the importance of which has been proven by findings in corpus linguistics and conversation analysis. These findings indicate a need to raise awareness among teachers about the benefits of focusing on the features of spoken language. Regarding assessment, informal formative assessment in the form of direct observation was the most common form, while formal assessment was used in presentations and examinations in the form of group discussions. The teachers acknowledged some confusion regarding assessment due to the lack of clear guidelines from Skolverket. Moreover, they regarded speaking as being more important than other skills, which indicates the possibility of redefining the value of speaking in the course evaluation.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-03-04Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:55:25Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ducatti_alf_me_sjrp.pdf: 1008397 bytes, checksum: ec6d54076dc5ce3e296f73a8526b5185 (MD5) / O presente estudo, apoiando-se na contribuição das crenças de uma professora de inglês e de seus alunos, envolvidos em contexto de escola pública, objetiva caracterizar o nível de PO dessa docente e o uso da L-alvo na interação verbal (professor-aluno e alunoprofessor) em sua prática de sala de aula, no sentido de (re)definir seu perfil como docente de LI. Estas são questões fundamentais, relacionadas à constatação em pesquisas (PINHEL, 2004; GARCIA, 2001; CONSOLO, 1990) de que grande parte dos professores de LE possui um baixo nível de PO, restrita, na maioria dos casos, à produção oral de alguns comandos na L-alvo, o que pode resultar em um processo de aprendizagem frustrante e deficiente para seus alunos. Dessa forma, esta investigação caracteriza-se como uma pesquisa de bases interacionista e etnográfica, com procedimentos quantitativos, aplicada a um estudo de caso. A professora-participante deste estudo (P) atua na rede pública municipal, tendo 14 anos de prática pedagógica. Os dados analisados sugerem que a visão de linguagem e de ensino e aprendizagem de LI da professora voltada para a forma gramatical, corroborada por fatores sociais adversos presentes no contexto estudado, é coerente com a limitada PO apresentada pela mesma, no teste a que foi submetida e, ainda, com o pouco uso da L-alvo na interação verbal professor-aluno e aluno-professor. Ressalta-se que uma possível mudança relacionada à oralidade provavelmente não ocorrerá, caso a docente em questão não renove suas concepções de linguagem e de ensino e aprendizagem de línguas e não deixe de privilegiar a LM durante as aulas, em detrimento da LI, a qual poderia ser introduzida aos poucos nesse contexto, porém, continuamente, criando-se um ambiente favorável ao ensino de LE. Acredita-se, também, que a valorização do papel do inglês, sobretudo por parte dos alunos, e a busca dessa... / The present work, which had as support the beliefs of an English teacher as well as her students’, both involved in a public school context, aims at characterizing this teacher’s oral proficiency level and the use of the target language during the verbal interaction (teacher-student and student-teacher) in her teaching practice, seeking (re)definition of her profile as an ESL (English as Second Language) teacher. These issues are considered fundamental due to the evidence in many researches (PINHEL, 2004; GARCIA, 2001; CONSOLO, 1990) that the majority of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers have a low level of oral proficiency, restricted, in most cases, to the oral production of some commands in the target language, resulting in a frustrating and inefficient learning process to their students. Thus, this investigation is characterized as a research of ethnographic and interactive analysis traditions, having as well a quantitative focus, and constitutes a case study. The teacher who participated in this study has been teaching in a public school for 14 years. The data collected suggest that this teacher’s conception of language and teaching and learning process concerning grammar, strengthened by adverse factors that can be found in the context in question, is coherent to the limited oral proficiency presented by her when submitted to an oral test and to the insufficient use of the target language during the teacher-student and student-teacher verbal interaction. It is relevant to emphasize that a change related to the oral ability will not show results if the teacher in question does not renew her language learning and teaching conceptions, and continues using her mother language to the detriment of the target one which could be introduced little by little in this context, in a continuous way, producing a favorable environment to the teaching of a foreign language... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-08-09Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:43:25Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 bonvino_mab_dr_sjrp.pdf: 4712358 bytes, checksum: b406d9a6e463b8b8b594adeeeac67c84 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Este estudo teve por objetivo analisar a competência lexical na produção oral em inglês como língua estrangeira (ILE) de um grupo de formandos em Letras, tanto em sala de aula como em situações de avaliação. Pretende-se oferecer um panorama da proficiência oral desses futuros professores, com foco no vocabulário, por meio de instrumentos de avaliação da proficiência oral utilizados tanto em situação de sala de aula como em situação de avaliação, para, com base nos resultados da análise do componente lexical, contribuir para o processo de validação dos descritores de vocabulário de um teste de proficiência destinado a professores de ILE, ainda em sua fase de elaboração. Considerando-se que a avaliação de línguas, no domínio da proficiência oral, tem sido amplamente discutida na literatura internacional de Linguística Aplicada, esta pesquisa envolve questões acerca da proficiência necessária para professores de ILE, ingressantes no mercado de trabalho no contexto de ensino e aprendizagem de LE no Brasil. É sabido que o vocabulário se constitui em um dos componentes mais importantes da proficiência em língua estrangeira (STÆR, 2008), no entanto, no que concerne à competência lexical, a maioria dos estudos tem enfocado o conhecimento de vocabulário em vez de seu uso produtivo (HILTON, 2008). Além disso, pouco se sabe sobre a verdadeira relação entre a produção oral de vocabulário e os níveis de proficiência adotados na avaliação de proficiência oral. Diante desta questão, esta pesquisa, realizada em uma universidade estadual paulista, almeja investigar a competência lexical com base na linguagem produzida oralmente tanto em sala de aula como em situações de avaliação. Uma vez que os testes orais dos consagrados exames FCE e IELTS consideram as várias... / The purpose of this study is to discuss the process of assessing vocabulary oral production in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) of students graduating from English Language and Literature BA courses (henceforth Letters courses). It aimed to analyze students‟ oral proficiency based on vocabulary use, in class and in oral test situations, in order to contribute for the validation of the vocabulary descriptors, based on the results from vocabulary analysis of an oral proficiency test which is still being designed and implemented as a test for teachers. Assuming that the assessment of specific language areas within the domain of oral language proficiency has been discussed in a number of studies from the international literature in the field of Applied Linguistics, this research study addresses the issues regarding the proficiency required for pre-service teachers who are preparing to enter the field of ELT in Brazil. In view of vocabulary, assumed as one of the most important components of foreign language proficiency (STÆR, 2008), most studies have focused on vocabulary knowledge rather than on the productive use of vocabulary when it comes to lexical proficiency (HILTON, 2008) and little is known about the actual relationship between vocabulary oral production and speaking proficiency levels. Based on this rationale, this study was carried out in a pre-service teacher education course at a public university in Sao Paulo state and aims at investigating the process of oral production and assessment of the lexical component in class and in oral test situations. Once the oral tests of the high stakes exams FCE and IELTS reflect a view of speaking ability which involves multiple competencies, lexical proficiency was assessed by means of two mock speaking FCE tests, two IELTS mock tests of the speaking... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

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The Missionary Training Center (MTC), affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, needs a reliable and cost effective way to measure the oral language proficiency of missionaries learning Spanish. The MTC needed to measure incoming missionaries' Spanish language proficiency for training and classroom assignment as well as to provide exit measures of institutional progress. Oral proficiency interviews and semi-direct assessments require highly trained raters, which is costly and time-consuming. The Elicited Imitation (EI) test is a computerized, automated test that measures oral language proficiency by having the participant hear and repeat utterances of varying syllable length in the target language. It is economical, simple to administer, and rate. This dissertation outlined the process of creating and scoring an EI test for the MTC. Item Response Theory (IRT) was used to analyze a large bank of EI items. The best performing 43 items comprise the final version MTC Spanish EI test. Questions about what linguistic features (syllable length, grammatical difficulty) contribute to item difficulty were addressed. Regression analysis showed that syllable length predicted item difficulty, whereas grammar difficulty did not.

Utilizing drama has long been an innovative and dynamic concept as a part of a communicative approach in English classrooms around the world. Teaching languages through drama offers many beneficial opportunities for learners. Nevertheless, traditional methods are still the widely held teaching structures across the globe, which results in an increase in the number of demotivated learners who often hate and fear to practice one of the challenging skills when learning a foreign language- speaking- as it is a productive language skill. Not only do the traditional methods bring negative emotional and psychological outcomes, but it also causes a gradual slowdown in the language acquisition process. The aim of this study was to exclude these problems and to provide a learner–centered atmosphere. This study is intended to gain insights, analyze and better understand the use of script-based and improvisational drama to develop oral proficiency by taking student motivation and attitudes into consideration. The study addressed the following questions: 1) What are learners’ motivations and attitudes toward developing speaking skills before the intervention and after the intervention?; 2) What unique roles do the script-based versus improvisational drama play in fostering learners’ development of oral proficiency?; 3) What are the participants’ reactions to script-based and improvisational drama instructional techniques before and after the intervention?; and 4) How do they make sense of their oral proficiency gains as they reflect on the experience of participating in the creative dramatic activity? In order to investigate these questions, 2 sessions of script-based and 2 sessions of improvisational drama, total of 4 sessions of drama intervention were offered to learners, and the researcher conducted interviews, video recordings, and field observations and notes throughout the intervention. Findings indicated that script-based and improvisational drama helped learners improve their oral proficiency, decrease their negative motivations, reduce their stress, anxiety and shyness levels, and increase their positive motivations. This study contributes to our understanding of the role of script-based and improvisational drama in language learning process.

Detta examensarbete handlar om hur lärare i grundskolans tidigare år ser på arbetet med elevernas muntliga förmågor, och då speciellt i förhållande till skolans demokratiuppdrag. Muntlig förmåga är en viktig del av de kunskaper du behöver besitta för att fungera i en demokrati. I dagens samhälle krävs att du har förmågan att tala för din sak och att du kan försvara din åsikt, dessa förmågor blir allt viktigare i ett allt mer individualiserat samhälle. Enligt skollagen skall skolan ge eleverna de kunskaper och förmågor som krävs för att fungera i livet utanför skolan. Frågan som undersökningen ställer är om yrkesaktiva lärare ser kopplingar mellan demokratiuppdraget och arbetet med elevernas muntliga förmågor. Undersökningen visar att lärarna och forskningen är överens om att det finns starka band mellan dessa områden. Det är svårt att leva och vara aktiv i en demokrati om du inte kan samtala med andra människor. Lärarna i undersökningen förmedlar en oro över många elevers bristfälliga kompetenser vad det gäller att kommunicera genom samtal. Forskningen har påvisat att eleverna behöver träna sina muntliga förmågor mer än vad som görs idag, men att många lärare idag saknar kunskap om hur de skall hjälpa eleverna. / This Exam is about the teacher’s outlook of their student’s oral abilities in relation to the democratic mission of the educational body. Oral abilities are crucial to function in a democratic. To be able to make your point and defend your opinion on different subject, is demanded of you today and these skills are even more important in todays individualized society. According to the school act, the school must implement the knowledge and skills necessary for the students to cope with life outside school. The question this study raises is, do the faculty at school acknowledge the connection between the democratic mission and the oral skills of their students. This study shows that educators and research agree on the strong connections between these areas. It is difficult to be active in a democracy if you are not able to express yourself to other people. The teachers in this study are expressing a concern of the lack of skills regarding the ability to communicate orally that many of the students show. Studies has shown that students do need to practice their oral skills more than it is done today but many teachers lack in knowledge in how to help their students. Keyword: oral proficiency, Oral abilities, school`s previous years, school`s democracy mission, rhetoric at school,

Previous research shows that English teachers in Sweden struggle with the assessment of oral proficiency. The reasons for this are several but most of them have occurred in the gap between the intended and perceived curriculum. English teachers interpret the knowledge requirements within oral proficiency differently because of their pedagogical background and experience. This study investigates teachers’ interpretations of the intended presentation of interaction and fluency in the oral proficiency knowledge requirements. The study also investigates what methods and procedures the teachers use when assessing the two abilities and what views the teachers have on the syllabus and assessment support. Semi-structured interviews were organized with four different English teachers with extensive experience in teaching and assessing English in Sweden. The data from the interviews were analyzed through the use of qualitative content analysis in order to find potential links between results and earlier conducted research. The results suggest that the English teachers interpreted, valued, and assessed interaction and fluency differently in relation to the knowledge requirements. The teachers also promoted the knowledge requirements from the Oral National Test since these simplified the interpretation of aspects such as interaction and fluency. The teachers did not present the syllabus as poor or complex, but their exclusive use of Oral National Test knowledge requirements and assessment material suggested something else. Along with this result, all teachers criticized the assessment support that comes with the knowledge requirements in the syllabus. The assessment support was thus something several of the teachers mentioned as key along with the implementation of co-assessment for future reliability within oral proficiency assessment.

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