English Certification Research Articles

Pioneers in Dermatology and Venereology: An Interview with Professor Danilo V. Stevanovic.

Pioneers in Dermatology and Venereology: An Interview with Professor Danilo V. Stevanovic.

Associated screening for HCV and SARS-Cov2 infection in an urban area of Southern Italy: A cohort study.

The SARS-Cov2 pandemic led to reorganize the clinical activities in Italy, reducing the available resources to manage other diseases. In particular,important milestones achieved towards HCV elimination are now at risk of being nullified. Moreover, the burden of SARS-Cov2 asymptomatic carriers remains still an unresolved issue. To associate those two screenings, in order to respond to these clinical needs seems of actual interest. A prospective cohort study was set-up in an urban area of the Naples province, in which a contemporary screening for HCVAb and SARS-Cov-2-Ab rapid blood tests was performed. Of the 3556 eligible subjects,2740(77.05%) participated.Of them,1.4% resulted SARS-Cov2-positive, none resulting positive for SARS-Cov2-RNA, whereas 1.5% were HCVAb-positive and 0.18% HCVRNA-positive. Of those HCVAb positive,87.8% were already aware and treated in 88.8% of cases .Of the other 4 patients aware of their positivity,2(50%) were HCVRNA-positive. Of the 5 HCVAb-positive unaware of their positivity, 2 were HCVRNA-positive. HCVAb-positivity was only detected in patients of >41 years. The screening in an urban area of Southern Italy showed a seroprevalence of SARS-Cov2-Ab and HCV-Ab of 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively,whereas 0.18% had an active HCV infection. This demonstrates how the pandemic can be an opportunity to promote prevention activities for HCV.

WASHBACK EFFECT OF YEMENI GENERAL SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATE ENGLISH EXAMINATION ON TEACHERS' TEACHING PRACTICES AND CLASSROOM TESTING

The new trends in language testing towards the effect of testing in language learning and teaching helped in emerging a new concept ''washback'' or ''backwash'' to reflect the vital role that tests play, positively or negatively, in language learning and teaching. This study aims to investigate the washback effect of Yemeni General Secondary School Certificate English Examination (YGSSCEE) on teachers' teaching practices and classroom testing. The research methodology was quantitative approach design. Interview was used as a research instrument. The population of this study was 21 of English language teachers at Yemeni secondary schools namely: Aden, Abyan and Lahj. The study used purposive sampling method. The findings of the study revealed that teachers' teaching practices and classroom testing were, negatively, influenced by YGSSCEE. Most of the teachers used grammar translation method instead of implementation of communicative language teaching that was emphasized by Crescent English Course 6 for Yemen (CEC6Ym). Most of the teachers adapted the classroom tests from the past YGSSCEE papers. Reading, writing and grammar were given more emphasis; while listening skill was totally skipped in language teaching and testing. Most of the teachers considered the YGSSCEE as a role model in language teaching and testing in classrooms.

Sense-aware lexical sophistication indices and their relationship to second language writing quality.

The relationship of lexical sophistication to second language (L2) production quality has received much attention in the past few decades. Viewed as a multidimensional construct, lexical sophistication has been measured using indices that tap into various distributional, formal, semantic, acquisitional, and psycholinguistic properties of words and certain n-gram properties (e.g., Kyle et al., 2018). However, existing indices have not systematically accounted for the fact that polysemous words are used with distinct senses in different contexts and that those senses may not be equally sophisticated for L2 learners. The current study addresses this gap by proposing three frequency-based lexical sophistication indices that take into account the reference-corpus frequency of the senses with which polysemous words are used in learner texts and assessing their predictive power for L2 English writing quality both in comparison to and in combination with existing lexical sophistication indices. Results from the analysis of a corpus of exam scripts produced by L2 learners sitting for the Cambridge First Certificate in English (Yannakoudakis et al., 2011) show that two sense-aware indices proposed correlated more strongly with holistic scores of L2 English writing quality than existing indices. Integrating the new sense-aware indices with existing ones in a regression model resulted in higher predictive power for L2 English writing quality than models built with either set of indices alone. The implications of our findings for future L2 lexical sophistication research are discussed.

Age differentials in calibrated items of WAEC English Language Objective test taken by students in Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of age differentials on item difficulty and discrimination indices of West African School Certificate (WAEC) English Language Objective test for May/June 2014 taken by students in Nigeria. The study area was the southern Education Zone of Cross River State. The design used for the study was ex-post facto, justified by the fact that the variable of the study had occurred before being studied and that no manipulation of subjects of study was involved. The 2014 May/June English objective test items were used as they were. The instrument (made up of all the fifty items of the test) was administered to a sample of 100 students selected through accidental sampling procedure. Results of the study indicate that item response to the test depended, among other things, on the age brackets of the students. The older students seem to respond more correctly to items than their younger counterparts. The study recommends more proactive steps in admission of age compliant candidates for terminal examinations in Secondary Schools.

FRAME ANALYSIS OF MICROTEACHING IN A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL

The purpose of this study is to discuss the discourse practice of microteaching in a teaching community consisting mainly of students pursuing the teacher certification in English as an Additional Language in southern Brazil. The study relies on qualitative methods of data generation and analysis as well as on the framework of interactional sociolinguistics. Results suggest microteaching is a highly complex practice, with a recurring pattern. Additionally, they suggest that students who are considered successful in a microteaching session are those who produce such pattern in their micro-classes. We conclude by suggesting that informing participants about the expectations regarding the structure of microteaching before they engage in it is desirable.

Analysis of Socio-Economic Status and Gender Related Differential Item Functioning Using Item Response Theory Approach

The study investigated detecting differential item functioning using item response theory in West African Senior School Certificate English language test in south-south Nigeria. 2 research questions were formulated to guide the study. Using descriptive research survey design for the study, study population was 117845 Senior Secondary 3 students in Edo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa state. A sample of 1309 (604 males, 705 females) drawn through multi stage sampling technique was used for the study. Two valid instruments titled: Socio-economic status questionnaire (SSQ) and WASSCE/SSCE English language objective test (ELOT) were used to collect data for the study. The reliability indices of the instruments were estimated using the Cronbach Alpha method of internal consistency and Richard Kuderson 20 with coefficient values of .84 for the English Language objective test and .71 for the socio-economic status questionnaire respectively. Chi-square and Lord Wald test statistics statistical technique employed by Item Response Theory for Patient Reported Outcome (IRTPRO) was the technique used in data analysis which provided answers to the research questions at.05 level of significance. On analysis, the result revealed that 13 items functioned differently significant between the male and female group and significantly 23 items differentially functioned between High and low socio-economic status group. Thus, this shows 18% DIF based on gender and 32% based on socio-economic status indicating large DIF and items that are potentially biased. Based on the findings, recommendation were made and one among others was that Item Response theory should be used as DIF detection method by large scale public examination and test developers.

Towards a typology of linguistic and stylistic errors in scientific abstracts written by low-proficiency geoscience and mechanical engineering doctoral students in France

To date, few studies have attempted to formulate typologies of errors by non-native speakers in English scientific writing. In this study of 123 doctoral dissertation abstracts written by doctoral students in France, we present a tentative typology of frequent errors that covers issues with general grammar, expert grammar and style. In order to specifically ascertain the errors made by students who experience very significant difficulties, the 123 items of our corpus were chosen after an initial review of 1018 abstracts because they demonstrated low linguistic and stylistic proficiency. The typology of errors was sought in support of an error identification exercise in the Scientific Writing Assessment Program (SWAP), an English language certification recently developed at ENS Paris-Saclay. Although some disciplinary variation was seen in the distribution of errors, a convergence towards six major error types (determiners, syntax, tense choice, compound phrases, collocations and lack of clarity) was observed (62.96% of all errors in geoscience, and 83.89% in mechanical engineering), suggesting that efforts to mitigate errors should primarily focus on these key issues. Another key finding was that, in contrast with previous studies, traditional grammar issues did not represent the bulk of overall errors (52.78% in geoscience and only 37.32% in mechanical engineering), while the overall frequency of stylistic errors was high in both corpora (30.25% in geoscience, 46.05% in mechanical engineering), showing the importance of errors in relation with genre-specific style. We propose a metric of error frequency, the Comprehensive Error Ratio or CER, to assess the overall quality of abstracts written by non-native speakers of English. In conclusion, we suggest that any typology of errors in ESP/EAP contexts results from a trade-off between seeking descriptive specificity and achieving the specific purposes for which a typology is developed.

Our Self-Access Experience in Times of COVID

The coronavirus pandemic has without a doubt had an enormous impact on every possible way of our lives. We have felt its effects on an individual personal level and as family members, at work, as members of a community, and particularly as students and teachers. Even in institutions and departments such as ours where online education has been at the forefront of our work for years now, the challenge to survive a fully virtual new reality has left us with a lot of lessons learned and has opened doors to more opportunities for growth. For years now, the Language Department at ITESO has had its language courses in LMS platforms and has offered courses in blended and fully virtual options alongside face-to-face classes. In the English Certificate Programme, we have regular teletandem sessions with universities in other countries. The Language Hub, our self-access centre, offers writing support through an emailing writing desk service and we run virtual conversation clubs on Zoom alongside face-to-face sessions. We are certainly no strangers to online work, but up until now, that was just an option both students and teachers could consider. As of March, this year, our whole university had to move to online classes and the services of our self-access centre had to be adapted to virtual options as well. This report presents our answer to the questions posed by SISAL for this open call to the special issue on how we have lived the experience of self-access during the pandemic.

Critical Evaluation of two English Language Tests, Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) and University of Cambridge’s First Certificate English (FCE)

Critical Evaluation of two English Language Tests, Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) and University of Cambridge’s First Certificate English (FCE)

An Analysis of TOEIC Scores of State Bengkalis Politechnic Students in Institutional TOEIC Training

In improving students' English competence, Bengkalis State Polytechnic holds TOEIC Institutional training for students who have obtained TOEIC scores above 400 for diploma three and 450 for diploma four. Students must have a good English certificate in order to continue their studies, scholarships and apply for work. This study was conducted to determine whether there are differences in TOEIC scores in Institutional TOEIC Training for students between classes A, B and C. Data analysis was done by Anova using SPSS version 22. The population in this study was 60 students. The results of this study indicate that student learning outcomes or TOEIC scores in the Institutional TOEIC Training between class A, class B and class C are significantly different.

English Needs of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH): The Multinational and National Companies’ Voice in Indonesia

The vast growths of multinational and national companies to world-class companies in Indonesia result in the advanced demand for English mastery in every working sector including Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). This article aims at investigating the needs and actual use of English in a working environment specifically at OSH. This research adopted mix method which use questionnaire and open-ended interview to obtain the data on the needs of English in OSH field matching to the prerequisite test in recruitment as well as the use of English from fifteen multinational and national companies. The result of the investigation revealed that English certification positioned as a prerequisite test and getting a high priority in job recruitment. When recruiting, companies expect at least an intermediate level for English. Recruits at least have to be able to manage communicative competence for daily conversation and perform a solid knowledge and skills of general OSH vocabulary. Productive skills are more required for communicating to expatriates, leading the meeting, doing a presentation, writing a report and designing Standard Operational Procedure (SOP). This research implies that in spite of position as the foreign language in Indonesia, English has a vital role in the working environment.

English Certificate (BEC) Higher – Truth or Dare?

English Certificate (BEC) Higher – Truth or Dare?

ОНЛАЙН ІНСТРУМЕНТИ ДЛЯ ОЦІНЮВАННЯ ІНШОМОВНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ СТУДЕНТІВ ВИЩИХ ЗАКЛАДІВ ОСВІТИ: ЗАРУБІЖНИЙ ДОСВІД

У статті висвітлено проблеми формування та оцінювання іншомовної компетентності студентів вищих навчальних закладів; надано результати аналізу та характеристика основних міжнародних онлайн тестів для об’єктивного оцінювання рівня володіння англійською мовою студентами закладів вищої освіти. Такі тести можуть забезпечувати їхнє самонавчання та самооцінювання. Відтворено структури міжнародних онлайн тестів із англійської мови як іноземної та наведені приклади тестових завдань. Виокремлено, проаналізовано та схарактеризовано основні міжнародні онлайн тести для об’єктивного оцінювання рівня володіння англійською мовою студентами закладів вищої освіти. Виокремлено, проаналізовано та схарактеризовано основні міжнародні онлайн тести, що можуть забезпечувати самонавчання та самооцінювання, для об’єктивного оцінювання рівня володіння англійською мовою студентами закладів вищої освіти, а саме: тести Кембриджської шкали оцінки професійних компетентностей викладачів іноземної мови; тести Кембриджського екзамену, що містить у собі такі тести, як Ключовий тест з англійської мови; Попередній тест з англійської мови; Перший сертифікат з англійської мови; Сертифікат із прогресивним рівнем володіння англійською мовою; Сертифікат із майстерним рівнем володіння англійською мовою; Інтернет орієнтований тест з англійської мови як іноземної та Міжнародна тестова системи англійської мови. Аналіз цих тестів показав, що вони, загалом, складаються з чотирьох частин, таких як читання, слухання, говоріння, письмо, та базуються на Загальноєвропейських рекомендаціях з мовної освіти: вивчення, викладання, оцінювання. Ці тести є зручним інструментом у процесах викладання англійської мови та навчання мові, оскільки забезпечують такі функції: викладачеві – зручну швидку перевірку рівня володіння студентом англійською мовою, можливість переглянути типові помилки та обговорити їх зі студентами для корегування їхнього подальшого плану навчання, можливість підвищити рівень викладання іноземної мови завдяки використанню онлайн тестів; студенту – можливості неперервного навчання англійській мові та постійного підвищення свого рівня володіння мовою для отримання в подальшому необхідного сертифіката. Перспективами подальших досліджень є впровадження міжнародних онлайн тестів в освітній процес закладу вищої освіти для проведення оцінювання рівня володіння англійською мовою та аналіз впливу цих інструментів на рівень іншомовної компетентності студентів.

Group Work and Substitution of Words in Senior School Certificate English Comprehension Examination

This study was conducted on 50 participants, all students at the Senior Secondary level. The purpose was to generate pedagogy for improved teaching of a difficult aspect of comprehension—word substitution. Word substitution is expected to be a reflection of extensive reading as it has to do with how much of vocabulary reservation the candidate possesses and how best he is able to use them. Unfortunately, not many students find this aspect interesting possibly because of the drop in attitude to reading. The researcher, therefore, experimented with Group strategy to find out if working as a group could indeed improve the teaching of word substitution and help more students acquire the skills that would make them work more independently and successfully in tackling comprehension questions. All the four research questions were treated to favor group work and the only one null hypothesis was rejected. Group work is widely recommended for words substitution but learner’s autonomy is equally encouraged.

Teachers’ perceptions of a mentoring cohort model in a program leading to certification to teach English language learners

ABSTRACT This study focused on the perceptions of in-service general education teachers who completed a cohort mentoring program leading to certification in English as a Second Language (ESL) at a large, urban university. Based on interviews with 19 members of a cohort of 28, participants valued both the support and augmented skills-development the mentoring element afforded and the supportive, collaborative environment provided by the cohort model. Many also reported that the ESL-targeted strategies they learned were helpful in teaching all student populations and that program participation contributed to their increased involvement in leading professional development and, for some, to their intention to seek administrative roles. Based on these findings and the literature reviewed, the program examined may represent a model that can help to meet the demonstrated need for more trained ESL teachers in U.S. schools and can contribute to developing school leaders.

The Competency-Based Approach to Passing First Certificate in English

In this article the influence of competency-based approach of foreign language teaching to successful passing First Certificate in English (FCE) has been shown and the empirical analysis of the effectiveness of this approach for students of non-linguistic specialties has been conducted. The range of research methods (theoretical, empirical, statistical) has been used to reach the research purpose and justify the research finding. It has been confirmed that the most relevant type of a competency-based approach to teaching a foreign language for specific purposes is the communicative competency-based one. The linguistic competence, which is considered by authors to be the central multicomponent notion has been defined and characterized from the perspective of teaching English as a foreign language. The linguistic competence is based on five practical competences: Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Use of English. To check the effectiveness of the applying competency-based approach of teaching foreign language (English) for specific purposes the empirical (diagnostic) methods such as: testing (oral and written), observation, discussion were used; the pedagogical experiment was also conducted with the students. Statistical methods (Student’s t-test) helped to evaluate the results of the pedagogical experiment. The t-value result ranged from 3 to 4.7 shows the difference between the sample data and the null hypothesis that is significant, which proves the statistical importance of the obtained results.

The Effect of Summary Training on Intermediate EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension in Individual and Collaborative Conditions

Inspired by Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (SCT), the current study intended to investigate the effect of summary training (i.e., oral and written) on intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension in different conditions (i.e., individual and collaborative). Data collection tools and procedures encompassed PET test, First Certificate in English (FCE) reading pre-test, and post-test. First, to ensure that the instruments, scoring, as well as summary training procedures were reliable, the researchers conducted a pilot test. During the main study, 120 Iranian EFL intermediate male and female learners aged from 16-18 were considered as the main participants. Learners were divided into 6 groups (i.e., three individual and three collaborative conditions). Furthermore, each condition included three groups with oral summary, written summary groups, and no summary group. A post-test followed the treatment that lasted for 6 sessions. A series of ANOVA with follow up pair-wise comparisonsand a series of independent-samples t-tests indicated that: (1) summary training, especially the oral one, was more effective in enhancing the EFL learners’ reading comprehension, and (2) members of the collaborative groups outperformed the members of the individual groups regarding their reading comprehension development. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed concerning enhancing the EFL learners’ reading comprehension.

Differential Item Functioning in English Language Test Using Item Response Theory for Ethnic Groups

The study investigated detecting differential item functioning using item response theory in West African Senior School Certificate English language test in South-South Nigeria. Four research questions and one hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. Descriptive research survey design was employed for the study. The population of the study was 117845 Senior Secondary 3 students in Edo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa states. A sample of 1309 (604 males, 705 females) drawn through multi stage sampling technique was used for the study. One valid instrument titled: WASSCE/SSCE English language objective test (ELOT) was used to collect data for the study. The reliability index of the instrument was estimated using Richard Kuderson 20 with coefficient value of .84 for the English Language objective test Chi square and Lord Wald test statistics statistical technique employed by Item Response Theory for Patient Reported Outcome (IRTPRO) was the technique used in data analysis which provided answers to the research questions and Chi Square test to test the hypothesis at.05 level of significance. On analysis, the result revealed that significantly between Ijaw, and Bini, 20 items were flagged as exhibiting DIF, between Esan and Ijaw, 20 items showed DIF, between Isoko and Ijaw, 15 items showed DIF, between Urhobo and Ijaw, 12 items were flagged as showing DIF and the number of items that function differently was significantly dependent on ethnic groups. This thus shows a total of 95% based on ethnicity indicating large DIF and items that are potentially biased. Based on the findings recommendation were made and one among others was that Item Response theory should be used as DIF detection method by large scale public examination and test developers. Keywords ; Differential item functioning, Item Response Theory, Ethnicity, English language, Examination DOI : 10.7176/JESD/10-6-02 Publication date :March 31 st 2019

Learning through Film: Lessons from Workshops for Teachers and Pre-service Teachers of English

Author(s): McDermott, Kevin; Hinchion, Carmel; McGivern, Alicia; Meade, Della | Abstract: This article looks back on the professional development offered to teachers of English to support them in their teaching of film since the introduction of film into the English syllabus in Ireland in 1998. It focuses on three inter-related elements: the interpretation or reading of film; the pedagogy that supports this interpretation; the potential of exploring issues of social justice and the self-other relation through narrative films. The article outlines four distinct phases in the professional development offered to teachers and shares the emerging findings. The first phase involved the introduction of film and its use in opening up discussion and creating interpretative communities in teacher education workshops for teachers of Leaving Certificate English. The second involved an exploration of film genre in workshops designed for teachers of Transition Year. The third involved the development of a dialogic form of pedagogy in interpreting film in a series of workshops directed at teachers of Junior Cycle English. The fourth involved the use of film in exploring education for justice in a series of workshops for pre-service teachers on Bachelor of Education and Master of Education programmes. The article explores the link among narrative film texts, generative questions, thoughtful interpretation, and the value given to dialog and the movement of question and answer in professional development workshops where narrative films are viewed and interpreted. The article is autoethnographic in character (Holman Jones 2005; Ellis et al. 2010). It involves self-reporting, descriptions of practice and reflection on that practice.