Effects of the differences between native and non-native English-speaking teachers on students’ attitudes and motivation toward learning English

This study presents findings on three research agendas: (1) the difference between native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in students’ attitudes toward and motivation for learning English, (2) the moderating effect of the type of class (i.e., English Conversation vs. Practical English) on the difference in students’ perceived attitudes and motivation, and (3) the difference between NESTs and NNESTs in their self-perception of their teaching practices and the effect of the type of class on this difference. The results indicate significant differences between NESTs and NNESTs in terms of their students’ perceived attitudes and motivation with respect to English learning. However, these differences varied depending upon the type of class. These results provide empirical support for the role of the type of class as a variable moderating the effect of the difference between NESTs and NNESTs on students’ attitudes and motivation. In addition, the type of class moderated teachers’ self-perception of their own teaching practices, providing support for the moderating effect of the type of class on various measures and samples. Theoretical as well as pedagogical implications are discussed.     

The trend of body donation for education based on Korean social and religious culture

Until a century ago, Korean medicine was based mainly on Oriental philosophies and ideas. From a religious perspective, Chinese Confucianism was prevalent in Korea at that time. Since Confucianists believe that it is against one's filial duty to harm his or her body, given to them by their parents, most Koreans did not donate their bodies or organs for education in the past. However, by the end of the 20th century, a unique fusion of Western and Oriental medicines were produced on the Korean Peninsula, revolutionizing traditional perspectives on the human body, mortality, and the relationship of medical science to society. Koreans began to think about others' lives as well as their own by realizing the importance of donating one's organs and bodies for scientific purposes. Since then, the number of people donating their bodies to Korean medical and dental schools for the purpose of improving academic learning has increased dramatically. In response, Korean medical schools have begun to hold various types of funeral ceremonies to honor body donors. We have compared such ceremonies performed in Korea with those performed in the United States of America and Taiwan. These ceremonies are viewed as a suitable way to pay proper respect to the dead and to promote knowledge about body donation programs in Korea. Overall, the transition of religions and social ethics in Korea has greatly facilitated body bequeathal programs, benefiting both medical education and the Korean public health administration.     

Sublexical and lexical processing of the English orthography among native speakers of Chinese and Korean

Comparisons of the effects of typical and atypical typeface on reading performance among readers of different linguistic backgrounds may yield new insights into the psychology of word recognition. A total of 143 adults (i.e., 50 Chinese, 55 Koreans, 38 native English speakers) participated in the study that involved two computer-based naming tests. The tests presented words with letters that varied in size and shape in Experiment 1 and words containing scrambled letters in Experiment 2. Results from Experiment 1 showed that the interference effect of size and shape on word naming accuracy and latency was robust for all readers. Likewise, results from Experiment 2 showed a broad interference effect of scrambled letters on word naming; however, scrambled letters appeared less disruptive to word naming among Chinese readers compared to their Korean and native English speaking counterparts. Taken together, Chinese speakers were less efficient in recognizing atypical words at the sublexical level, but more efficient at the lexical level.     

The effects of writing systems and scripts on cognition and beyond: An introduction

Reading and Writing -     

A psychometric measurement model for adult English language learners: Pearson Test of English Academic

The aim of this study was to apply Rasch modeling to an examination of the psychometric properties of the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic). Analyzed were 140 test-takers' scores derived from the PTE Academic database. The mean age of the participants was 26.45 (SD = 5.82), ranging from 17 to 46. Conformity of the participants' performance on the 86 items of PTE Academic Form 1 of the field test was evaluated using the partial credit model. The person reliability coefficient was .96, and item reliability was .99. The results showed that no significant differential item functioning was found across subgroups of gender and spoken-language context, indicating that the item data approximated the Rasch model. The findings of this study validated the test stability of PTE Academic as a useful measurement tool for English language learners' academic English assessment.     

An analysis of differential response patterns on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IIIB in struggling adult readers and third-grade children

This study examines the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IIIB (PPVT-IIIB) performance of 130 adults identified as struggling readers, in comparison to 175 third-grade children. Response patterns to the items on the PPVT-IIIB by these two groups were investigated, focusing on items, semantic categories, and lexical features, including word length, word class, and word frequency. The score distributional properties of the two groups were different, but there were similarities and differences found in different response patterns. Analyses of word length, word class, and word frequency in the two groups?? performance resulted in counterintuitive findings for the adult participants. The struggling adult learners?? vocabulary repertoire might have been shaped by their real-life experiences rather than formal schooling. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Cross‐language correlates in phonological awareness and naming speed: evidence from deep and shallow orthographies

Phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatised naming (RAN) skills in relation to reading acquisition were examined using two languages, one with a deep orthography (English) and the other with a shallow orthography (Korean). Participants were 50 Korean American children who spoke English as a dominant language (DL) and were learning to read Korean as a sequential language (SL). Parallel measures in English and Korean assessed PA, RAN and reading skills. The results showed the similarities and differences between the DL and SL acquisition patterns for PA and RAN. While PA skills of the DL were a dominant predictor in SL reading achievement, RAN became important for the children with the higher level of SL reading performance. This cross‐sectional study indicates that proficiencies of PA and RAN in the DL are the pathway to reading success in an SL. This suggests that a universal thread exists in learning dual languages, despite dissimilar orthography, phonology and writing systems.     

Measuring adult literacy students’ reading skills using the Gray Oral Reading Test

There are not enough reading tests standardized on adults who have very low literacy skills, and therefore tests standardized on children are frequently administered. This study addressed the complexities and problems of using a test normed on children to measure the reading comprehension skills of 193 adults who read at approximately third through fifth grade reading grade equivalency levels. Findings are reported from an analysis of the administration of Form A of the Gray Oral Reading Tests—Fourth Edition (Wiederholt & Bryant, 2001a, b). Results indicated that educators and researchers should be very cautious when interpreting test results of adults who have difficulty reading when children’s norm-referenced tests are administered.     

Examinees' Perceptions of Feedback in Applied Performance Testing: The Case of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

This study investigated the role of item formats in the performance of 206 nonnative speakers of English on expressive skills (i.e., speaking and writing). Test scores were drawn from the field test of the Pearson Test of English Academic for Chinese, French, Hebrew, and Korean native speakers. Four item formats, including multiple-choice questions asking for a single answer (SAMC), multiple-choice questions allowing for multiple answers (MAMC), gap-filling, and summarizing items, were examined in relation to expressive skills. The results showed that, although the four groups showed different score distributions, their first language itself did not account for a significant variance in the expressive skills. The summarizing item format assessing listening skills accounted for the greatest variance in the test takers' expressive skills. The SAMC format explained consistently a smaller variance than that of MAMC in the expressive skills measured. Unlike the findings of previous research, no gender difference was found.     

Investigating Maternal Self-Efficacy and Home Learning Environment of Families Enrolled in Head Start

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between mothers’ self-efficacy beliefs, their preschool children’s home learning environments, and literacy skills. A sample of 112 mother–child dyads was recruited from Head Start centers in rural and urban communities. The measures included maternal self-efficacy and maternal perceptions of child’s readiness to read as well as the Stipek Home Learning Activities (SHLA) scale, Home-Learning Environment Profile (HLEP), and the Stony Brook Family Reading Survey (SBFRS). Modeling path analysis was performed. Model fit indices indicated that the resulting model was a good fit for the data. Concerning the direct effects of maternal self-efficacy on home learning environment, positive significant effects for the SHLA measure as well as the HLEP were found. However, no direct effect was found with regard to maternal self-efficacy on SBFRS indicating evidence for the domain specificity of efficacy beliefs. Implications of the study include findings that higher maternal self-efficacy is related to creating a more positive home learning environment. Additionally, higher maternal perceptions of child readiness to read mediates the relationships between higher maternal self-efficacy and a more positive home literacy environment. Moreover, these findings highlight the link between home learning environment and children’s receptive vocabulary skills.