An Analysis on the Reasons for the Cultivation of Nonverbal Communicative Competency Being Neglected in FLT

Cross-cultural nonverbal communicative competency constitutes a very important part of foreign language proficiency. However, for many reasons, the cultivation of cross-cultural nonverbal communicative competency has for a long time been neglected in the process of Foreign Language Teaching (FLT). This paper is devoted to analyzing the reasons for the cultivation of nonverbal communicative competency being a blind area in FLT.     

Counting the Cost of International Assessment: why universities may need to get a second opinion

University academics and educationists have taken the lead in advising on testing practice in the state education system. They have encouraged the development of a multiple judgement assessment system in which the requirement for test ‘reliability’ has been viewed as inappropriate. They have also supported the growing practice amongst examination boards of downgrading the importance of test reliability in another critical area of educational assessment, that of English language proficiency testing. This paper critically examines the case that is being presented by such experts in support of this type of development in English language proficiency testing. It suggests that both the experts and the examination boards they advise, may be following a hidden agenda. It goes on to review the evidence that their advice is being heeded and that there is a growing disregard for reliability estimation amongst the English language proficiency test producers. It argues that in light of this departure, universities, which are the largest users of scores derived from the assessment of the English language proficiency of international students, must move quickly towards the adoption of an appropriate multiple‐judgement approach. It attempts to identify appropriate alternative sources of relevant information in such an assessment, and seeks to show that such a system would need to differ radically from that introduced in the state sector. It concludes by outlining a number of reasons why universities might not wish to deal with an issue, which is of real importance to the educational health of the 400,000 international students who seek admission to the tertiary sector in the UK.     

英语语言能力在英语教育实习中的作用探究

以问卷为调研方法,从自身认同和建构主义理论,探究英语教育专业学生在英语教育实习中英语语言能力的作用。研究结果表明,学生在英语教育实习期间,英语语言能力影响自身认同、交际模式和英语语言情感的变化。研究证明,在英语教育实习中,较高的英语语言能力对学生有着积极的影响。     

基于“通用手语”的听障人员普通话水平替代性测试信度、效度分析

听障人员普通话水平替代性测试是指以"通用手语"为语言工具,采用与普通话水平测试相同的结构与内容测试听障人员普通话水平的一种测试。替代性测试对保障听障人员语言权利和促进国家通用语言文字应用都具有重要意义。为验证听障人员普通话水平替代性测试的科学性和有效性,以中国盲文手语推广服务中心2018年至2021年共432份听障人员普通话水平替代性测试试卷为样本,运用教育测量学方法,重点分析基于"通用手语"的听障人员普通话水平替代性测试的难度、区分度、信度和效度。研究结果表明,各指标均在合理范围内,即替代性测试是科学的、有效的。     

Deafness, language skills, and rehearsal: a model for the development of a memory strategy

We review a series of studies that evaluate the role of developing language skills as a prerequisite to spontaneous rehearsal use in deaf populations. We propose a theoretical model that summarizes the contribution of language skills by highlighting the interrelations among age, language proficiency, and automatized language skills. In an initial test of the model, an index of deaf children's language experience was found to be an almost complete mediator of strategy use. Increasing language proficiency, therefore, was implicated as a critical variable in predicting children's spontaneous rehearsal use, minimizing any direct contribution from age per se. In a more direct assessment of the link between general language proficiency and rehearsal use, pragmatic language skills (as measured by the Language Proficiency Profile: LPP-I) were found to be a nearly complete mediator of rehearsal use, with the remaining contributions of age and language experience being nonsignificant. Language proficiency, therefore, was identified as a strong and necessary prerequisite for rehearsal to be used spontaneously as a memory strategy. The additional hypothesis that the automatization of these general language skills, measured by a rapid automatized naming task (RAN), contributes to spontaneous rehearsal was also evaluated. Automatized language emerged as a partial mediator of the language proficiency → rehearsal use relation but additional language-processing variables were implicated. We discuss these findings as they relate to issues around the nature of language proficiency and the identification of those automatized language skills involved in rehearsal.     

Graduating as a ‘native speaker’: international students and English language proficiency in higher education

The current concern about low levels of English proficiency among international students who graduate from degree courses – that students’ English language skills are not being developed during their higher education experience – reflects negatively on the quality of Australian higher education and its graduates. More careful selection of students and increased use of English language testing are among the solutions put forward. These debates over English language proficiency tend to construct English language as a skill that can be applied in any context and ‘native‐speaker’‐levels of language ability as essential for employment. Within such a formulation international students can only ever be defined as in deficit. Drawing on socio‐cultural theories of language learning and academic literacy, alternative understandings of language proficiency in internationalized higher education are explored. Improved communication skills among graduates are likely to be achieved through a better understanding of issues beyond classroom instruction, such as barriers to social integration with native‐speakers, which reveal many international students unable to access adequate levels of language experience. Without wider perspectives on the debate over English language proficiency in higher education, the many benefits of having international students in higher education institutions are obscured by negative attitudes and unrealistic expectations.     

大学校本英语水平考试中的几个核心语言能力构念

本文首先讨论大学英语教学的语言能力目标和课程定位、中国人的英语能力以及中国人英语学习的目标语等,接着讨论大学校本英语水平考试设计中的几个核心能力构念,即语言能力的可分性、语言能力的工具性与人文性、跨文化交际语言能力与思辨能力等.认为,如果考试设计成员对这些核心理念或者能力构念模糊不清、观点不明,就会直接影响考试设计的质...     

Competency level of Nigerian Primary 4 pupils in life skills achievement test

One of the goals of education in Nigeria is to develop in children the ability to adapt to their changing environment. This goal could be achieved through competency in life skills. Therefore, this study examines the competency level of Nigerian Primary 4 pupils in the life skills achievement test. The test was administered on a sample of 22,638 pupils. The results show that the competency level of the majority of the pupils in life skills is below the national benchmark (50%). Boys are more competent than girls. Pupils in urban areas are more competent than the pupils in rural.     

The cognitive contribution to the development of proficiency in a foreign language

The present paper reports results of a longitudinal research project studying the contribution of cognitive skills and other factors to proficiency in a foreign language (L2) in the Hungarian educational context. The larger project aims to describe the levels of L2 proficiency of school-aged populations in order to explore the conditions and factors contributing to processes and outcomes in foreign language education in public schools. For this purpose, paper and pencil tests were administered in English and German as a foreign language to nationally representative student samples. The project also aims to find answers to some theoretical questions; therefore, a questionnaire and other assessment instruments complemented L2 tests to provide insights into how participants' cognitive, affective and first language (L1) variables, as well as their social and school variables interact with one another over time. Students' general thinking and learning abilities were assessed with an inductive reasoning test.In the present paper we focus on the relationship between students' proficiency in English or German and inductive reasoning skills to show how general cognitive abilities interact with levels of L2 proficiency. We use a multivariate context to explore complex relationships between L2 levels in English and German and inductive reasoning skills if influences of other variables are controlled. We present results of multiple regression analyses on L2 listening, reading, and writing tasks in the two target languages. In the present paper we use both cross-sectional and longitudinal data to examine the relationships between students' L2 proficiency in the first phase (2000) and two years later (2002). Thus, a longitudinal research design was implemented by repeating cross-sectional assessment at a two-year interval.     

Moral Task of the Teacher According to Students,Parents and Teachers

In this longitudinal study, we examined the effects of the use of English as the language of instruction in the first 4 years of secondary education in The Netherlands on the students' language proficiency in English and Dutch, and achievement in subject matters taught through English. Compared to a control group in regular secondary education, students attending this form of bilingual education showed higher scores for their English language proficiency in terms of oral proficiency and reading comprehension. No effects have been found for receptive word knowledge and no negative effects have been found with respect to the results of their school leaving exams at the end of secondary education for Dutch and subject matters taught through English.     

The impact of bilingual preschool education on the language development of Spanish-speaking children

This study addressed the question of what effect bilingual preschool education has on the Spanish and English language development of Spanish speaking children. This question was addressed by measuring the language proficiency of children enrolled in a bilingual preschool program and children who stay at home during the day. Three dimensions of language proficiency were examined: language reception, production, and verbal complexity. Using a repeated measures design, it was found that children enrolled in preschool gained proficiency in English at a faster rate while maintaining a similar level of Spanish proficiency as those children who stay at home during the day. Results of this study are discussed in terms of current issues in the early childhood education of non-English-speaking children.     

Developing academic literacy through a decentralised model of English language provision

ABSTRACT

Students entering English-medium universities frequently struggle to cope with the language demands of their degree programmes, despite having met the English language entry conditions stipulated by their receiving institutions. This can have significant repercussions for the teaching-learning process, for the student experience and for universities’ reputations. Most universities, therefore, have in place some form of in-sessional English language support to develop students’ language proficiency. Such provision tends to be centralised and to offer English for general academic purposes rather than language development that responds in a more nuanced way to the particular literacy needs of students’ disciplines. In this article we report on an alternative, decentralised model of language support, implemented in a School of Nursing and Midwifery, and which seeks to develop students’ competency in the language skills required for their Nursing studies and professional practice. Results to date have been encouraging and provide further evidence that such tailored provision offers a potentially fruitful language development strategy.     

对我国双语教育的几点思考

改革开放以来,一种以提高外语水平为主要目的的双语教育在我国蓬勃兴起,然而,国内对双语教育的本质和内涵缺乏较为深刻的认识。国际上较为认可的双语教育一般为双重任务:一是实现教育目的的手段,二是教育目的本身。双语教育的基本类型主要为过渡性、单语识字、部分平衡发展、完全平衡发展四种。我国双语教育基本分为保持少数民族语言和提高学生外语水平两种类型,其效果都得到了肯定。当前,我国双语教育发展过程中应注意对双语教育本质的认识,加强对双语习得理论的探讨,把文化教育与语言教育紧密结合。     

高职高专公共英语“1＋X”测试体系的构建

高职高专公共英语“1＋X”测试体系既考察了学生的普通英语素质,又兼顾了对其专业英语技能与素养的考核,符合高职高专公共英语教学的人才培养目标。该测试体系强调测试方式的灵活与多元,具有一定的实用性与可操作性,能够对公共英语教学发挥正面反拨作用。     

本族语教师对我国英语教师专业发展的作用探析

我国英语师资现状与社会对大学生英语交际能力的要求及中小学英语课程标准改革的要求很不相称,英语教师专业发展成为必然趋势。本文认为本族语教师对我国英语教师在英语专业知识的提高和丰富,以及探索、更新、引进英语教学理念和教学方法,提高教学实践能力等方面可以发挥重要作用,并提出了发挥本族语教师作用的途径和模式。     

Effects of Learning and Teaching in a Foreign Language

In countries with a small ‘language area’, internationalization may lead to increased use of foreign languages in engineering education. This paper investigates the possible effects of learning and teaching in a foreign language. To arrive at an answer, it reviews research into the relationship between academic success and foreign language proficiency. It concludes that, for engineering programmes, learning and teaching in a foreign language will reduce the quality of education. Not only should a considerable drop in study results be expected, but also an increased workload for both students and teachers.     

Predictive validity of the IELTS in an English as a medium of instruction environment

As access to a university education has increased globally, there have also been increases in the number of universities that use English as a medium of instruction (EMI) and in the number of non‐English‐speaking students studying in English‐speaking countries. Correspondingly, the English language proficiency of students studying in EMI environments is becoming increasingly significant. Using a large sample of 953 undergraduate students at an EMI university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this paper examines the predictive validity of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as it pertains to the academic success of students as determined by grade point average and addresses implications and appropriateness of further language support. Results indicate that IELTS scores are a meaningful predictor of academic success, especially in the EMI environment that exists in the UAE. Lower than the IELTS guidelines, an IELTS 6.0 seems to be a key benchmark that predicts academic success. It may be that this more moderate English proficiency score is a better fit for non‐English‐speaking countries, but that further language support embedded into degree programmes is necessary except at the highest proficiency levels, and that a bilingual option should be considered at the lowest proficiency levels.     

Language proficiency and language policy in South Africa: Findings from new data

This study explores new data from 2008 on language proficiency and labour market outcomes in the context of South Africa's language-in-education policy. We show that the economic returns to English language proficiency are large and higher than those to home language proficiency for the majority of employed South Africans. This helps explain why there is little incentive to switch to an African language as the language of instruction in schools. However, we show also that African adults are significantly more likely to be proficient in English if they are proficient in their home language. This finding supports the arguments of additive bilingualism, which identify the benefits of extended mother-tongue education for the acquisition of second-language skills.     

英语ESL差异教学行动策略初探

英语 ESL（English Studyas Second Language）是上海中学国际部以英语为非母语的学生为教育对象,关注学生基础英语素养在最快的时间内夯实与培育,旨在帮助来自不同国家与地区的学生,英语学习背景有巨大差异的学生提升基础的英语素养。通过长期的教育教学实践,英语ESL差异教学行动策略有：创设富有层次性的情境,提高学生英语学习兴趣;加强语言教学比较研究,关注英语教导多样性;习题安排突出开放性,注重对学生及时分类指导;促进英语教学评价多元,对学生进行针对性辅导反馈。其差异教学的行动策略对于我国的英语差异教学能提供借鉴与启迪。