University Students’ Perceptions of and Attitudes Toward (Online) Peer Assessment

The use of peer assessment (PA) as an alternative form of evaluation method is reported to be helpful in learning and is increasingly being adopted in higher education settings. Through collecting data from 280 university students in Taiwan, a 20-item instrument was developed to investigate university students’ attitudes toward and perceptions of PA and online PA. Four subscales, Positive Attitudes, Online Attitudes, Understanding-and-Action, and Negative Attitudes, were extracted and reliabilities were calculated. Results revealed that participating students held positive attitudes toward the use of PA activities, but they viewed online PA as a technical tool to facilitate assessment processes, rather than as a learning aid. Male students had more positive attitudes toward PA than females did, and students with previous PA experiences had less negative attitudes toward PA. A majority of these students suggested that the PA score should be counted as a small part of the total course grade, and there was an effect of the perceived importance of PA score on students’ attitudes toward these four subscales.     

基于英语写作测试样本分析的学科育人思考

写作是语言运用能力的反映,更是人文素养的重要体现。剖析初中学生英语写作所体现的思想内容,对学生核心素养发展及品德教育具有现实意义。本研究基于北京师范大学中国基础教育质量监测协同创新中心区域教育质量监测项目的测试数据,分析48份初中学生英语写作样卷,揭示学生在语用意识与语言礼仪、国际视野与跨文化理解、尊重与自重、学习态度与兴趣以及学习策略与自我效能等方面存在的问题,并提出教学与评价建议,以期为学生核心素养及品德教育提供启示。     

同伴互评在非英语专业写作教学中的实证研究

同伴互评是过程写作教学中必不可少的一个环节。国内外的相关研究结果论证了它的优点和局限性。在此基础上,用实证研究的方法探讨在中国非英语专业写作教学中引入同伴互评的可行性和有效性。研究结果表明:学生认可同伴互评的方式,信任同伴具有客观评价他人作文的能力。同伴互评不仅有效地提高了学生的写作水平,同时还培养了学生对写作的兴趣以及责任感和合作学习精神。     

A longitudinal quantitative investigation into the concurrent validity of self and peer assessment applied to English-Chinese bi-directional interpretation in an undergraduate interpreting course

One of the productive lines of research on self-assessment (SA) and peer assessment (PA) concerns their concurrent validity with respect to a criterion measure. However, similar research has rarely been conducted for spoken-language interpreting. This article therefore reports on a longitudinal study that investigated the validity of self and peer ratings on three performance dimensions of English-Chinese consecutive interpretation (i.e., information completeness, fluency of delivery, and target language quality), taking teachers’ ratings as a yardstick. Major findings include: although the students as a group were unable to replicate teachers’ ratings, they were able to rank-order their performances in a fairly accurate manner and improved their SA and PA accuracy over time. Interpreting directionality seems to moderate the correlational strength of self/teacher ratings and peer/teacher ratings. These results are discussed in relation to previous literature, and pedagogical suggestions are provided to improve SA and PA for bi-directional interpretation.     

Formative Assessment in EFL Writing: An Exploratory Case Study

In second‐language writing, assessment has traditionally focused on the written products and how well (or badly) students perform in writing. Teachers dominate the assessment process as testers, while students remain passive testees. Assessment is something teachers ‘do to’ rather than ‘with’ students, mainly for administrative and reporting purposes (i.e. summative). Such assessment, being more retrospective than prospective, holds little value for teaching and learning. In recent years, with a major paradigm shift in assessment and evaluation in English language teaching, writing assessment informed primarily by a product and summative orientation, is considered increasingly inadequate. Such assessment, which focuses on measurement – i.e. marking, monitoring and checking, fails to capture the formative potential of assessment for promoting learning. A formative approach to assessment, on the other hand, focuses more on inquiry – i.e. discovering, diagnosing and understanding, as well as the opportunities assessment provides for improving teaching and learning. To harness the potential of formative assessment in the writing classroom, it is axiomatic that classroom assessment practices be geared towards maximizing student learning. This provides the impetus for my study, which investigates an EFL teacher's attempt to implement formative assessment in her writing classroom and its impact on her classroom practice and students' beliefs and attitudes to writing.     

基于归纳法的大学英语写作纠错

大学英语写作一直以来被认为是大学英语教与学中比较薄弱的一个环节,而写作能力又是衡量学习者语言综合运用能力的一项重要指标。本文运用错误分析理论并结合实证调查与研究,提出在大学英语写作教学中使用归纳法帮助学生纠正语言错误以促进语言的学习。     

Incorporating formative assessment in Iranian EFL writing: a case study

Undergraduate students' experience of assessment in universities is usually of summative assessment which provides only limited information to help students improve their performance. By contrast, formative assessment is informative and forward-looking, possessing the leverage to inform students of their day-to-day progress and inform teachers of how to better tailor their instruction to students' immediate learning needs. Despite these potentials, studies carried out on the use of formative assessment in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts are somehow rare. The current study reports on incorporating formative assessment in an L2 writing course in Iran. The analysis of data from pre- and post-study writing tasks, pre- and post-study questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews revealed that first-year undergraduate students were offered opportunities to improve various aspects of their writing and to develop positive attitudes toward writing as well as formative assessment. However, the students reported several challenges that could have implications for the further implementation of formative assessment in similar contexts.     

EFL Writers' Attitudes and Perceptions toward F-Portfolio Use

Atitudes toward and perceptions of using Facebook as a portfolio-keeping tool in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) writing. In general, existing research reveals primarily positive effects of Facebook on educational activities, and research on portfolio keeping in EFL writing shows both benefits and problem areas. Thus, the current study aims to investigate EFL writers’ attitudes toward using Facebook as a portfolio (F-Portfolio) tool and their perceptions regarding its benefits and problems. The sample group consisted of 101 EFL learners. A portfolio attitude scale, portfolio contribution questionnaire and a portfolio problem questionnaire were used to collect data. Four results were obtained from the study: (1) EFL writers have positive attitudes toward the use of F-Portfolios in EFL writing; (2) F-Portfolios improve EFL learNo results have been reported regarding at- ners’ knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, as well as their research, reading and writing skills; (3) EFL learners perceive some problems during the F-Portfolio process; and (4) some independent variables are significantly correlated with a limited number of items in the scales.     

Students’ perceptions of teachers’ interpersonal behaviour across four different school subjects: control is good but affiliation is better

Many researchers have pointed out that teachers’ interpersonal behaviour relates to students’ positive attitudes towards schooling. However, only few studies have examined whether students’ perceptions of their teachers’ interpersonal behaviour relates to students’ subject-related attitudes across different school subjects. In this study, it was investigated to what extent the interpersonal behaviours of secondary school teachers are perceived differently by the students as a function of the school subject being taught and whether such perceptions coincide with students’ attitudes towards the subject matter, after controlling for students’ achievement. To address these research questions, 2305 adolescent students (47.1% males; M_age = 17.85; SD = 1.09) from grades 9 to 11 and their teachers (N = 42; 38.1% males; mean years of teaching = 14.2; SD = 1.25) from one urban high school in Turkey were surveyed. The students completed the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction and attitude questions. Multilevel data analysis showed that Control related to positive attitudes among students in classes grouped under the science, and literature and language domains, but not in classes grouped under the arts and sports domain. Perceived Affiliation, on the other hand, was positively associated with all the four subject domains (science, social sciences, literature and language, and arts and sports). These results show the importance of taking a multidisciplinary perspective in in-service training programmes for secondary school science teachers as they emphasise the differential roles that control as an interpersonal behavioural style may play on students’ attitudes in certain subject matters.     

Clarifying an Elusive Construct: a Systematic Review of Writing Attitudes

Although research recognizes that student attitudes toward writing have the potential to influence a variety of writing outcomes, there is no consensus as to what writing attitude signifies. Further, disparities between conceptualizations of writing attitude make the extant literature difficult to reconcile. In the present study, we systematically review writing attitude research published between 1990 and 2017. Our search procedure and quality analysis led to the retention of 46 articles examining the writing attitudes of students and teachers. Relatively few studies (n = 10) provided an explicit definition of writing attitudes. Further, although the authors of many studies (n = 16) conceptualized writing attitude as including a measure of liking/disliking writing, there was considerable variability in both conceptualization and operationalization throughout the literature, with some studies including measures of self-efficacy, perceived value, and other related constructs. Student writing attitudes were measured in a majority of the included studies (n = 33), and teacher writing attitudes were measured in substantially fewer studies (n = 6). Based on the findings of this review, we offer suggestions for researchers making inferences from studies of writing attitudes. Themes of the reviewed literature and implications for future research are also discussed.     

Promoting self-regulated learning through portfolio assessment: testimony and recommendations

Portfolio assessment (PA) has been extensively adopted for writing development in the past three decades. Much research on PA primarily investigates students’ and teachers’ perceptions of its benefits, and how it influences students’ motivation and general writing abilities. Despite its purported effectiveness, not much has been done to understand the relationship between PA and self-regulated learning (SRL) especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL) writing research. This paper contends that PA can productively foster SRL in EFL writing classrooms, and, more specifically, it develops a conceptual model of SRL within the context of writing portfolios and iterative feedback processes. Supporting evidence emphasising how PA can facilitate SRL is discussed and evaluated. The paper ends with six recommendations and implications proposing how SRL can be promulgated in EFL portfolio-based contexts. Finally, possible future research is suggested.     

Student attitudes that predict participation in peer assessment

Peer assessment has been widely applied to actively engage students in learning to write. However, sometimes students resist peer assessment. This study explores reviewers’ attitudes and other underlying factors that influence students’ participation in online peer assessment. Participants were 234 Chinese undergraduates from two different academic backgrounds: engineering majors (n = 168) and English majors (n = 66). Gender, academic background and prior experience with peer assessment were all related to participation levels. Moreover, factor analyses revealed three attitudinal factors: (1) positive attitude (a general endorsement of the benefits of peer assessment), (2) interpersonal negative (concerns about the negative effects on interpersonal relationships), and (3) procedural negative (doubts about the procedural rationality of peer assessment). Among the attitudinal factors, procedural negative was negatively associated with participation, as expected. Interestingly, interpersonal negative was associated with greater participation, and positive attitude was associated with lower participation, in part because students worked hard on each review rather than doing many reviews superficially. Implications for instruction are discussed.     

Contributions of word-level and verbal skills to written expression: comparison of learners who speak English as a first (L1) and second language (L2)

The study investigated the role of word-level and verbal skills in writing quality of learners who spoke English as a first (L1) and second (L2) language. One hundred and sixty-eight L1 and L2 learners (M = 115.38 months, SD = 3.57 months) participated in the study. All testing was conducted in English. There was a statistically significant L1 advantage on the measures of writing quality and verbal skills (i.e., vocabulary, verbal working memory, and semantic fluency) but not on word-level skills (i.e., spelling and word reading). Results from the multi-sample structural equation modeling analysis showed that the word-level and verbal skills made independent contributions to writing quality of L1 and L2 learners and the strength of these relationships was invariant (equivalent) across the two samples. The educational implications of research on L2 learners who are learning to write in a majority language were discussed.     

South African Teachers’ Attitudes toward the Inclusion of Learners with Different Abilities in Mainstream Classrooms

This research sought to examine South African teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of learners with different abilities in their hypothetical mainstream classrooms. Participants were 93 South African teachers who responded to the Teachers’ Attitudes and Expectations Scale, a measure developed for this study, regarding four vignettes depicting learners with different types of impairments. Overall, teachers reported that inclusion would benefit learners’ social development (mean scores from 2.57 to 3.35) more than their intellectual development (mean scores from 2.14 to 2.83). It also was found that teachers overwhelmingly were more confident about including learners with Down syndrome into their hypothetical mainstream classes when compared with the inclusion of learners with other disabilities, F(3, 90) = 9.59, p < 0.01. The results suggest that providing teachers with sufficient resources within the classroom and training that includes hands-on experience with children with disabilities could positively influence their attitudes toward the inclusion of learners with disabilities in their classrooms.     

Fostering writing in upper primary grades: a study into the distinct and combined impact of explicit instruction and peer assistance

As writing is a complex and resource demanding task, high-quality writing instruction is indispensable from primary grades on to support beginning writers in developing effective writing skills. Writing research should therefore provide teachers and schools with evidence-based guidelines for teaching writing in daily practice. In this respect, the present study first investigates the distinct and combined effectiveness of two instructional writing practices (i.e., explicit instruction and writing with peer assistance). Second, the present study aims to examine differential effects for students with different background characteristics (i.e., gender and general achievement level). Eleven teachers and their 206 fifth and sixth-grade students participated in the study and were randomly assigned to either one of the four experimental conditions (i.e., EI + IND: explicit instruction + individual writing, EI + PA: explicit instruction + writing with peer assistance, IND: matched individual practice comparison condition, and PA: matched peer-assisted practice comparison condition) or the business as usual condition. Multilevel analyses showed that EI + IND, EI + PA, and PA students outperformed the business as usual students. As to the distinct impact of explicit instruction, EI + IND students outperformed IND students at posttest, revealing the effectiveness of explicit instruction. As to the effect of peer-assisted writing, there were no significant differences between the individual writing conditions (EI + IND and IND) and the peer-assisted conditions (EI + PA and PA respectively).     

Student teachers’ engagement in Facebook-assisted peer assessment in an initial teacher education context: speaking 2.0

Although peer assessment (PA) has been explored and implemented in higher education, little is known about how it is carried out through such a virtual platform as Facebook in an initial teacher education (ITE) context. To fill this practical void, this article showcases the brief portrait of Facebook-assisted PA in an English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. This in-practice article shows how Facebook as an online platform serves as virtual engagement in PA among English student teachers in the EFL speaking classroom. This virtual engagement not only created an interactive virtual speaking classroom, but also it encouraged students to become critical reflective language learners.     

Success,Personality, and Intelligence

Abstract

Sixty students were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups or to a control group. Both experimental groups were instructed with learning activity packages in French culture. These packages were designed to enhance listening comprehension, speaking proficiency, reading comprehension, and writing proficiency and to stimulate positive attitudes toward the French people, the language, and the course. The control group was instructed in a more traditional grammar-oriented program utilizing audiolingual learning activity packages. These packages stressed language skill proficiencies similar to those of the two experimental groups and, more importantly, emphasized mastery of designated principles of French grammar and structure. Students were pre- and posttested on their four language skill proficiencies and their attitudes. When compared with the control group, both experimental groups demonstrated greater growth in three of their language skills and in their development of positive attitudes toward French.     

‘How do I do it if I don’t like writing?’: Adolescents’ stances toward writing across disciplines

This research embedded in the National Study of Writing Instruction examines higher- and lower-achieving adolescents’ stances toward content-area writing through a qualitative discourse analysis of interviews with 40 students in California, Kentucky, New York, and Texas secondary schools. The study asked: (1) How do students’ stances toward writing compare in general and across disciplines? (2) How do stances compare among middle and high school students and among students with different achievement histories? Results suggest that adolescents generally hold positive attitudes toward writing that allows for the expression of subjective stances, which they report is more commonly assigned in English language arts classrooms. Implications for the adoption of new US standards for disciplinary writing are discussed.     

外语写作中新型的评估方式

考试是对学生语言能力进行评估的有效方式之一,而在外语写作教学里,考试的作用具有很大的局限性。针对这一现状,本文介绍了一些既可以减轻教师的工作负担,又可以充分调动学生的主观能动性的新型、有效的评估方式。结合实际的教学,作者重点探讨了个别检查、学生自评、同学互评和学期作品评估这四种评估方式的原理、方法、优点及运用中的局限性。文章认为,将这些评估方式介绍到英语写作教学中,能有效提高学生的外语写作能力。