The present study aimed to establish a test development and validation framework of reading-into-writing tests to improve the accountability of using the integrated task type to assess test takers' ability in Academic English. This study applied Weir's (2005) socio-cognitive framework to collect three components of test validity: context validity, cognitive validity and criterion-related validity of two common types of reading-into-writing test tasks (essay task with multiple verbal inputs and essay task with multiple verbal and non-verbal inputs). Through literature review and a series of pilot, a set of contextual and cognitive parameters that are useful to explicitly describe the features of the target academic writing tasks and the cognitive processes required to complete these tasks successfully was defined at the pilot phase of this study. A mixed-method approach was used in the main study to establish the context, cognitive and criterion-related validity of the reading-into-writing test tasks. First of all, for context validity, expert judgement and automated textual analysis were applied to examine the degree of correspondence of the contextual features (overall task setting and input text features) of the reading-into-writing test tasks to those of the target academic writing tasks. For cognitive validity, a cognitive process questionnaire was developed to assist participants to report the processes they employed on the two reading-into-writing test tasks and two real-life academic tasks. A total of 443 questionnaires from 219 participants were collected. The analysis of the cognitive validity included three stands: 1) the cognitive processes involved in real-life academic writing, 2) the extent to which these processes are elicited by the reading-into-writing test tasks, and 3) the underlying structure of the processes elicited by the reading-into-writing test tasks. A range of descriptive, inferential and factor analyses were performed on the questionnaire data. The participants' scores on these real-life academic and reading-into-writing test tasks were collected for correlational analyses to investigate the criterion-related validity of the test tasks. The findings of the study support the context, cognitive and criterion-related validity of the integrated reading-into-writing task type. In terms of context validity, the two reading-into-writing tasks largely resembled the overall task setting, the input text features and the linguistic complexity of the input texts of the real-life tasks in a number of important ways. Regarding cognitive validity, the results revealed 11 cognitive processes involved in 5 phases of real-life academic writing as well as the extent to which these processes were elicited by the test tasks. Both reading-into-writing test tasks were able to elicit from high-achieving and low-achieving participants most of these cognitive processes to a similar extent as the participants employed the processes on the real-life tasks. The medium-achieving participants tended to employ these processes more on the real-life tasks than on the test tasks. The results of explanatory factor analysis showed that both test tasks were largely able to elicit from the participants the same underlying cognitive processes as the real-life tasks did. Lastly, for criterion-related validity, the correlations between the two reading-into-writing test scores and academic performance reported in this study are apparently better than most previously reported figures in the literature. To the best of the researcher's knowledge, this study is the first study to validate two types of reading-into-writing test tasks in terms of three validity components. The results of the study proved with empirical evidence that reading-into-writing tests can successfully operationalise the appropriate contextual features of academic writing tasks and the cognitive processes required in real-life academic writing under test conditions, and the reading-into-writing test scores demonstrated a promising correlation to the target academic performance. The results have important implications for university admissions officers and other stakeholders; in particular they demonstrate that the integrated reading-into-writing task type is a valid option when considering language teaching and testing for academic purposes. The study also puts forward a test framework with explicit contextual and cognitive parameters for language teachers, test developers and future researchers who intend to develop valid reading-into-writing test tasks for assessing academic writing ability and to conduct validity studies in such integrated task type.

TITLE: Teaching English to Pupils With Dysorthography AUTHOR: Bc. Monika Reslerová DEPARTMENT: Department of English Language and Literature SUPERVISOR: Mgr. Klára Uličná, Ph.D. ABSTRACT: The thesis relates the issue of dysorthography in connection to EFL instruction with a special attention paid to lower secondary schools. The theoretical part of the text contains basic information on special educational needs, followed by a chapter on Specific Learning Difficulties, their causes and symptoms. The concept of dysorthography is explained and its possible consequences on acquisition of English spelling and grammar described, followed by a list of recommended approaches, methods, techniques and aids which can be useful for teaching English to dysorthographic pupils. The practical part of the text gives an account of a multiple-case study which was carried out among experienced English teachers at schools that pay special attention to children with SEN. The research is focused on the teachers' experience and know-how and compares the obtained data to the recommendations given in the theoretical part. KEYWORDS Specific Learning Difficulties, Dyslexia, Dysorthography, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, grammar, spelling

IN ENGLISH Along growing international cooperation, multicultural interconnectedness and generally improving social situation in Europe a number of international volunteering activities is growing. Much has already been written regarding motivation for such activities as well as about general perception od necessity to help others as a component of well developer civic society but until now there has not been described in detail how such long term international volunteering experience is perceived by volunteers themselves. This Diploma Thesis is a qualitative case study analysing experience of volunteering of six international volunteers from the European Union countries as well as from the countries out of the European Union. The research of their opinion and attitudes shows how they in relation with those opinion value benefits and losses in the Framework of their volunteering experience. In the triangualtion to the perspective of the volunteers, a perspective of all involved pupils and teachers is further analysed. Volunteers'experience is studied based on semi structured interviews, semantic diferential, time lines and their authorial products. To assess the perspective of pupils who reguraly met with the volunteers two anonymous questionnaires were issued. The perspective of involved teachers...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T18:23:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana M Linguevis.pdf: 4865670 bytes, checksum: 3d16c471812aa80559aede4081337443 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-05-18 / For a long time both private schools and language institutes have been teaching English for kindergarteners and nowadays we face this phenomenon also in the public schools in the State of Sao Paulo. This research aims to describe and interpret the phenomenon of teachinglearning English for children. The theoretical framework that orients the research is: Theories proposed by Vygotsky (1930/1998;1934/1987;1925/2001), Bakthins concept of language (1929/2004;1979/2003), the role of a foreign language expressed by the Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais - Língua Estrangeira (Brasil, 1998), the Referencial Curricular Educação Infantil (1998), Escola Tempo Integral (2006), Celani (2001;2003;2004), Freire (1986;1993;1996), Kumaravadivelu (1994;2001), Canagarajah (2002), Claxton (2000), Allwright (2003), and Higgins (2003). This study is based on the Hermeneutic-Phenomenological Approach proposed by van Manen (1990). The results of the interpretations reveal that the phenomenon in focus shows the need of a pedagogical practice of learning-teaching English that includes a vision of language that guides the children towards the ownership of the language (Higgins, 2003) and shows that the structure of the phenomenon in focus consists of one major theme: inquiries / Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de descrever e interpretar o fenômeno de ensino-aprendizagem de Língua Inglesa em uma sala da Educação Infantil-II em uma escola particular da região Grande São Paulo, de forma a propor uma reflexão sobre visões de ensino-aprendizagem e de linguagem desvinculadas do contexto sócio-histórico-cultural. Fundamenta-se nas concepções de ensino-aprendizagem e na concepção de arte de Vygotsky (1930/1998; 1934/1987; 1925/2001); nas concepções de linguagem e de arte e no conceito de exotopia de Bakhtin (1929/2004; 1979/2003); nas concepções de ensino-aprendizagem de língua estrangeira de Kumaravadivelu (1994; 2001), Canagarajah (2002), Higgins (2003), Allwright (2003; 2006), Claxton (2000); nos estudos da educação reflexivo-crítica apresentados por Celani (2001; 2003; 2004) e Freire (1986; 1993; 1996); no papel das línguas estrangeiras na educação segundo os Parâmetros Curriculares de Língua Estrangeira (1998); nas indicações sobre a educação de crianças presentes no Referencial Curricular de Educação Infantil (1998) e nas diretrizes da Escola de Tempo Integral (2006) que asseguram a inserção de Língua Inglesa nas primeiras séries do ciclo I do Ensino Fundamental na escola pública do estado de São Paulo. O caminho metodológico seguido para a descrição e interpretação dos dados gerados foi o hermenêutico-fenomenológico (Van Manen, 1990). A descrição e interpretação dos dados gerados apontam a necessidade de uma prática pedagógica de ensino-aprendizagem de Língua Inglesa somada a uma visão de linguagem que valorize e oportunize (Higgins,2003) o que de fato as crianças fazem na Educação Infantil e revelam que o fenômeno de ensinoaprendizagem de Língua Inglesa para crianças da Educação Infantil se estrutura neste momento sócio-histórico no macro-tema questionamentos que se manifesta no âmbito das diferentes inter-relações

The present study examined a hypothesized relationship between the following variables: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as described by Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), integrative and instrumental orientation (Gardner & Lambert, 1972), attitudes toward pronunciation, and accent in English-speaking late learners of Japanese. Data collection occurred in two steps: First, English-speaking participants completed three questionnaires designed to measure their motivation and attitudes toward pronunciation; they then provided speech samples in Japanese. Native speakers of Japanese then rated these speech samples holistically on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating a strong foreign accent, and 5 indicating a native accent. Scores on the questionnaires were then correlated with the accent ratings. None of the English-speaking participants were judged as native or near-native speakers of Japanese. However, results demonstrated a significant positive correlation between ratings of accent and two variables: Intrinsic Motivation Toward Accomplishment and attitudes toward pronunciation. The statistical analysis also revealed a positive correlation between integrative and instrumental orientation and extrinsic motivation, suggesting a relationship between measures of orientation and extrinsic motivation as well. These results highlight the importance of including Self-Determination Theory in the area of second/foreign language acquisition research, as well as clarifying the role of motivation and attitudes toward pronunciation in the present context of late learners of Japanese.

This field study proposes a basis for the establishment of a professional development program for Vietnamese high school teachers. The social background and the problems of teaching and learning English in Vietnamese high schools are discussed, including the students' goals in learning English in high schools; the teachers' qualifications and the methods of teaching commonly used; the coursebooks and how they are used; learning facilities, and the attitudes and policy decisions of education authorities. To develop effective solutions to these problems, it is necessary also to know the background to teaching and learning English in Hanoi Foreign Languages Teachers' College. In-service training is of vital importance in the education of all nations. A review of what other people have done in this field is included with particular reference to the problems which are relevant to the situation in Vietnam. Given the constraints of funding and work procedures, a short full-time in-service course would be the most practicable for the Vietnamese situation. A survey of the needs of high school teachers in their professional development has been carried out and is discussed in relation to the priorities to be given to various components of an in-service syllabus. The priorities were found to be: to improve the language, teaching techniques and awareness of a communicative approach to teaching and learning language of high school teachers in Vietnam. These priorities having been identified, the study considers: iv 1 - the syllabus model. 2 - the development of specific goals. 3 - the development of content. 4 - possible modifications of the syllabus in the future. The solution to the problem of professional development must take into account not only the work of internationally known authorities, but also the needs of Vietnamese teachers. The proposed course suggests ways of finding out and meeting the needs of participants and points to possible future development.

The increasing number of economic and cultural aid programmes for Vietnam to reconstruct its war-torn economy in recent years from the United Nations Development Programme and other international and governmental organizations has created a great demand for English language teaching and learning in Vietnam. The language problems that face Vietnamese scientists and technicians working in these aid programmes have been a major concern of many educational institutions in Vietnam and a reason for the author of this Study Report to take up this study. Chapter one of this study covers major stages of development of the teaching of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and various factors that influence the teaching of ESP. Chapter two discusses some current issues in the teaching of ESP in Vietnam with special reference to course organization, syllabus and material design at the Hanoi Foreign Language College. It also points out some misunderstanding and misconception in the teaching of English to Vietnamese scientists and technicians. Chapter three looks at major language problems that Vietnamese students meet when they go to study at different colleges or universities in English speaking countries. A close investigation will be carried out over a number of Vietnamese veterinary doctors studying at the university of Queensland in Australia. Chapter four is concerned with the selection of suitable syllabus models for ESP/EAP courses at HFLC and also attempts to work out appropriate syllabuses for EAP courses for Vietnamese students going to study overseas. The final chapter suggests some further considerations for organizing ESP/EAP courses at HFLC especially for material production, ESP teacher training and ESP testing. It is hoped that this Study Report will give language teachers in the ESP Department at the Hanoi Foreign Languages College a clearer picture of what ESP is all about and provide some guidelines for successful organization of teaching ESP and EAP to Vietnamese students.

Increasing development of the relationship between Vietnam and other countries has resulted in a great demand for English language teaching (ELT) throughout the country. The need is ever greater for a considerable number of people who can use English effectively in their work. However, at present ELT in Vietnam is still far from satisfactory. There exists a common problem of communicative incompetence in Vietnamese learners. ELT in the Hanoi Foreign Languages Teachers' College (HFLTC) is taken to illustrate the fact that even after five years of training, students frequently remain deficient in the ability to actually use the language, to understand its use in normal communication, and to carry out their teaching adequately afterwards. That existing situation demands a critical look at ELT in all institutions to work out suitable materials and methods to be used in the Vietnamese setting. This work has been undertaken as an exploratory study of this problem. To provide a context for the study, the background to ELT in Vietnam is reviewed. Following it is a detailed description of different approaches used in ELT with reference to the teaching and learning situations in Vietnam. Special emphasis is placed on the differences between conventional approaches and the currently influential one - the Communicative Approach. A detailed comparison is made between two lessons taken from structuralbased and functional/notional-based textbooks representing two distinct approaches. This comparison will be examined from the methodological point of view, investigating, for example, how language is treated in the two approaches, how different types of activities are used, and the role of teacher and learner in the two approaches in order to highlight a possible fresh approach for Vietnamese coursebook designers, teachers and learners in ELT. A sample lesson based on the Communicative Approach is finally provided to assist any attempts to teach and learn English communicatively. It is hoped that this survey will contribute to reducing the existing problem of inadequate communicative competence in Vietnamese learners.

With the increase in international communication and the growing demand for foreign language professionals in the last decade, the teaching of foreign languages, especially English, has gained considerable prominence in Chinese education. Despite the long history of English teaching in China, there are still significant deficiencies in this area. If these deficiencies are to be addressed, then methodology is a crucial variable worthy of examination. Many of the TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) methods developed in the last twenty years are unknown to the Chinese teachers, although they may be introduced to China in the future. Since these methods are products of Western experience, a scrutiny of their relevance to the Chinese teaching situation is necessary. In particular, it is important to focus on the psychological appropriateness of these methods to the Chinese setting. A number of the most crucial psychological issues, such as learner's motivation, aptitude, personality and learning style, are discussed in CHAPTER 2, together with those social and cultural influences which may affect the learner's psychological attributes. CHAPTER 3 provides a detailed, yet not exhaustive, description of a range of TEFL methodologies, which may provide potential solutions to the deficiencies that have been identified. Here the emphasis is on psychological theories that underlie these methods and on their psychological impact on the learner. CHAPTER 4 moves to a specific investigation of the psychological attributes of Chinese students. To this end, data have been obtained from a study specifically designed for this paper, and used as a basis for evaluating the motivation, personality, affect and learning style of English majors at ERWAI (Peking Second Foreign Language Institute). This evaluation is further supplemented by the views of foreign visitors to China and by the results of some published studies of Chinese nationals in America. Based on the discussion in the previous chapters, the fifth and final chapter concludes with an overview of the appropriateness of TEFL methodologies to the Chinese situation.

This study examines the listening comprehension difficulties of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language at the tertiary level by means of two listening comprehension tests that were specifically designed for this paper and administered to 50 students in the English Department of ERWAI (the Peking Foreign Language Institute No. 2). The students' listening comprehension ability is evaluated on the basis of the results of multiple-choice test items, and the students' oral performance in answering questions, all of which have been recorded and transcribed in full. Proceeding from the date and from the theory and practice of language teaching and learning, suggestions relating to this area are discussed. Chapter 1 introduces the background to the problem, in which some basic facts concerning the teaching of English as a foreign language at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels in China are provided. This serves as a general review of tertiary students' entry behaviour in learning English as a foreign language. In addition, the aims and objectives of foreign language teaching based on ERWAI students' future professional needs are discussed. Chapter 2 moves to a discussion of the format and procedures of the two listening comprehension tests, followed by the description and interpretation of the test results. Chapter 3 discusses the nature of the listening process and surveys the listening strategies needed for successful communication. In Chapter 4, proposals for improving the teaching of listening comprehension at ERWAI are recommended.