Oral English Proficiency Research Articles

Analysis of Self-Esteem in Oral English Language Proficiency among Secondary Schools Students: Issues and Challenges

Analysis of Self-Esteem in Oral English Language Proficiency among Secondary Schools Students: Issues and Challenges

The Effect of Using CLT on Developing Student-teachers' Oral Proficiency in English at Al-Baydha University

This study is in response to the immense need for fluent and proficient English teachers in Yemen. It is observed that a majority of Yemeni teachers in various schools tend to use a generous amount of Arabic in teaching English. This in turn affects their students who, after studying English at school level and college level, cannot speak English properly and communicate effectively in real-life situations. This observation led to the assumption that something is inadequate in the course of preparing Yemen student-teachers at Colleges of Education, i.e. use of traditional methods in teaching. To check the validity of the assumption, a modern method of teaching (CLT) was used in teaching the experimental group whereas the control group was taught using traditional methods. Pre/post-tests were used to identify the 'entry level' and 'exit level' of the learners before and after experiment to see the effectiveness of intervention. Speaking Test in Cambridge FCE (First Certificate of English) was adopted for both the pre-test and post-test. It emerges from the study that the performance of experimental group has significantly changed because of the use of CLT whereas no significant change has been found in the performance of the other group.

Failed policy attempts for measuring English speaking abilities in college entrance exams

English as a foreign language education in East Asia has received repeated criticism for its lack of success in developing sufficient English oral proficiency among its students (Muller at al., 2014). In response to the criticism, the governments of China, Japan and South Korea attempted to include assessment of students’ speaking abilities as part of their high-stakes college entrance exams, hoping for positive washback effects in both primary- and secondary-school English education as well as on shadow education (i.e., non-formal private-sector education). These attempts often failed. In South Korea, a new test called the National English Ability Test (NEAT), which included direct assessment of students’ speaking skill among other skills, was developed in 2012. However, the government's plan to use NEAT to replace the current exam – the Korean College Scholastic Aptitude Test (KCSAT) – was quickly dropped before its implementation. In China, the government has tried to promote more communicative methods of English education through incorporating English speaking test in high-stakes tests such as the Gaokao – college admission tests – in addition to reducing the weight of English in the traditional paper-based exams. However, the policies have received heavy resistance at the regional level and have not been implemented at the national level. In Japan, the government asked universities to accept designated external proficiency tests as part of the Common Test, the existing college entrance exam, in order to make up for the exam's missing speaking component. After a mountain of criticism from test users, implementation of the plan is still pending. In this light, the aim of this paper is to discuss why these policy attempts failed. While these policy attempts occurred in three different contexts, we could see striking underlying commonalities. We argue that these policy attempts were made based on a set of beliefs separate from the reality of the stakeholders (e.g., students, parents and teachers). More specifically, the failures can be largely attributed to the governments’ monolithic view of the English language and their insufficient consideration for equity rather than equality.

AN ANALYSIS ON THE ATAMBUA STUDENTS’ MULTILINGUAL BACKGROUND AND THEIR ENGLISH ORAL PROFICIENCY

Multilingualism is the ability of someone to operate more than one language for communication. Atambua people are multilingual since they have more than one language background, it make them difficult in speaking English. This study aims to Analyze the English Oral Proficiency (EOP) of the Atambua students with multilingual background. It is a descriptive qualitative research involving multilingual Atambua students who also speak English. 10 out of 200 as the researcher participants are selected through questionnaire develop by the researcher to know their multilingual background. EOP in form of monologue was employed to the students to know their level using scoring rubric by Brown (2001). Then, analysis was done to see the relation of their level of EOP with their number of language useand age of their English acquisition or learning. The result of this study showed that 2 students with 3 languages use have 3,0 and 3+ levels, (able to participate effectively in formal and informal situation, as well as the professional topics). 5 students with 4 languages use have various level, ranging 1+ (able to satisfy limited social demands) to the 3+ level. 1 student with 5 languages was in level 1+, and 2 students matering 6 languages were in level 1+ and level 2 (able to satisfy routine social demands). 2 students learned English before 10 year-old, and their EOP level was 3+. 8 other students learned English in their 11 up to 14 year-old. Interesting phenomenon found that only 1 out of 8 students with with 3 languages use get the highest level (3) even she learn English over golden age. It indicates that the result of the research is in line with the previous theory stated that multilingual person will face difficult in learning English, Bialystok( 2001).

Reading Wars, Reading Science, and English Learners

AbstractLearning and developing as a reader are more complicated in a language the reader is simultaneously learning to speak and understand. This challenge is faced by millions of English learners (ELs) who are in all‐English programs and must therefore learn to read, write, and develop as readers and writers while learning and becoming proficient in English. The author summarizes what is known about teaching ELs beginning and more advanced reading skills, all in English, as they progress through school. Drawing on classroom studies, interventions, and neurolinguistic research, the author focuses on how learning to read in a second language is similar to learning to read in a first language and what differences might exist. These differences, not surprisingly, have to do with ELs’ limited English proficiency. The author’s intent is to begin with the knowledge base of the science of reading, build onto it research on effective literacy instruction for ELs, and then begin articulating what could become a science of reading instruction for students who are learning and progressing as readers in English while learning to speak and understand it. Promoting higher levels of literacy for ELs will require teachers to use what is currently known about effective practices in literacy instruction for students in general and, in addition, help ELs achieve higher levels of English language proficiency. Both English literacy and English oral language proficiency must be priorities if these students are to have adequate and equitable opportunities for success in school and beyond.

A Rasch-Based Validation of ELT Certificate-LORT

The present study was executed with the purpose of validating ELT Certificate Lesson Observation and Report Task (ELTC-LORT), which was developed by China Language Assessment to certify China’s EFL teachers by performance-based testing. The ELT Certificate has high-stakes considering its impacts on candidates’ recruitment, ELT in China and quality of education, so it is crucially important for its validation so as to guarantee fairness and justice. The validity of task construct and rating rubric went through a process suited for many-facet Rasch measurement supplemented with qualitative interviews. Participants (N = 40) were provided with a video excerpt from a real EFL lesson, and required to deliver a report on the teacher’s performance. Two raters graded the records of the candidates’ reports using rating scales developed to measure EFL teacher candidates’ oral English proficiency and ability to analyze and evaluate teaching. Many-facet Rasch analysis demonstrated a successful estimation, with a noticeable spread among the participants and their traits, proving the task functioned well in measuring candidates’ performance and reflecting the difference of their ability. The raters were found to have good internal self-consistency, but not the same leniency. The rating scales worked well, with the average measures advancing largely in line with Rasch expectations. Semi-structured interviews as well as focus group interviews were executed to provide knowledge regarding the raters’ performance levels and the functionalities of the rating scale items. The findings provide implications for further research and practice of the Certificate.

Evaluating English Learner Progress in Reading: How Much Growth Can We Expect?

The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not English learners (ELs) have the same annual rates of reading progress as non-EL counterparts in Grades 1 through 3 when accounting for beginning-of-the-year reading levels, economic disadvantage, and classroom effects. Though significant differences between ELs and non-ELs were found, regression analyses indicated that large portions of the differences in growth between ELs and non-ELs are attributable to economic disadvantage and classroom effects, suggesting that contextual variables matter more than English language status. Furthermore, a large portion of ELs from across English oral language proficiency levels make typical or well above typical progress. These results suggest that interventionists should use the same goal setting and intervention evaluation procedures for EL students that are used in the general population. Rather than lowering expectations for reading progress, educators should boost intervention potency when ELs are not meeting growth goals.

Effects of Rater Training on the Assessment of L2 English Oral Proficiency


 
 
 The main objective of this study was to examine whether a Rater Identity Development (RID) program would increase interrater reliability and improve calibration of scores against benchmarks in the assessment of second/foreign language English oral proficiency. Eleven primary school teachers-as-raters participated. A pretest–intervention/RID–posttest design was employed and data included 220 assessments of student performances. Two types of rater-reliability analyses were conducted: first, estimates of the intraclass correlation coefficient two-way random effects model, in order to indicate the extent to which raters were consistent in their rankings, and second, a many-facet Rasch measurement analysis, extended through FACETS®, to explore variation regarding systematic differences of rater severity/leniency. Results showed improvement in terms of consistency, presumably as a result of training; simultaneously, the differences in severity became greater. Results suggest that future rater training may draw on central components of RID, such as core concepts in language assessment, individual feedback, and social moderation work.
 
 

Materializing assessment: spatial repertoires and dialectic proficiency in oral English proficiency examinations for international teaching assistants in the US

ABSTRACT Various examinations are administered at universities across the US as a means of assessing bilingual/multilingual international teaching assistants’ (ITAs’) proficiency in spoken English before they are permitted to teach. While such exams are taken by students in a range of academic disciplines, recent research suggests that communicative success in academic disciplines such as STEM is more accurately understood through a materialist, as opposed to structuralist, orientation to competence. According to this orientation, communication is not contingent on autonomous competence in standardized English but instead on transcultural dispositions along with the strategic use of semiotic resources and spatial repertoires. In this paper, we provide a focused analysis of one university’s Test of Oral English Proficiency (TOEP), which was recently redesigned in alignment with a materialist orientation to competence (e.g. through greater consideration for materiality, embodiment, and performativity). Through an analysis of audio and video recordings from the TOEP, this article demonstrates that a materialist orientation to competence can be actualized through a paradigm of assessment that accounts for the mutual negotiation of proficiency between speaking and listening subjects, or what we refer to as materializing assessment.

“I start learning English through speaking”: Social agency demand and inter-school readiness for Indonesian young English learners

Preserving Indonesian as a national identity and institutional readiness to perform the national curriculum 2013 instruction has become a critical factor in the exclusion of English as a compulsory subject at the elementary school level. This leaves rooms for teachers’ confusion and creativity, leading to various practices at different school clusters, depending on parental demands and school readiness. This study thus tries to cast light on the social agency demand and inter-school readiness for young learners in the Indonesian EFL pedagogical contexts. This instrumental case study portrays the practices of English language teaching at three clusters of Indonesian primary schools; local, national, and independent, as well as responses of parents and students to these practices. Involving 4-6 grade students and English teachers of six primary schools, the data were garnered through classroom observation, interviews, and document analysis. The findings revealed that although teaching English to young learners is somehow communicative and fun, it more emphasises literacy skills (reading, writing, and grammar), particularly at local schools as the majority cluster across the country. Since English is a non-phonetic language, this literacy-focused practice is rather contradictory to what parents as social agencies expect, that is, to develop their children’s English oral proficiency. The study also offers ways by which teachers and schools can accommodate this social agency’s needs for speaking skills by focusing more on student-centred and oral English proficiency activities and assessment.

Speech Recognition of Oral English Teaching Based on Deep Belief Network

The oral English teaching faces several common problems: the teaching method is very inefficient, and the learners are poor in oral English. The development of computer-aided language learning offers a possible solution to these problems. Based on techniques of speech recognition, cloud computing and deep learning, this paper applies the deep belief network (DBN) to recognize the speeches in oral English teaching, and establishes a multi-parameter evaluation model for the pronunciation quality of oral English among college students. The model combines the merits of subjective and objective evaluations, and assesses the pronunciation from four aspects: pitch, speech rate, rhythm and intonation. Finally, the proposed model was verified through speech recognition and pronunciation evaluation experiments on 26 non-English majors from a college. The results show that the proposed evaluation model output credible results, which are consistent with those of experts, as evidenced by consistency, neighbourhood consistency and Pearson correlation coefficient. The research provides a feasible way to evaluate the oral English proficiency of learners, laying the basis for improving the teaching and learning efficiency of oral English.

Factors that Influence Reading Acquisition in L2 English for Students in Bangalore, India.

This study explores the possibility of adapting specific progress-monitoring tools developed in the US for use in English-medium private schools in Bangalore. In the US, many teachers adopt progress-monitoring tools like the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and Curriculum Based Measurement (easyCBM) to keep track of their students' reading abilities. We report on Phase 1 of a longitudinal study that included three phases of data collection. Participants included 1003 students in Grades 1, 3 and 5, and 50 teachers. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Results indicated that students in low-cost schools struggled on all reading measures throughout elementary school; students in middle-cost schools had below average to average scores on reading measures; and students from high-cost schools had average to above average scores on all measures. Moreover, factors like oral language proficiency in English, socio-economic status, school and curriculum increased in their significance in predicting reading as students progressed through elementary grades. Teacher data suggested that the reading goals and instructional strategies varied considerably across schools. Implications for reading instruction and practice within the Indian context will be discussed.

The Supra Tutor

Abstract Pronunciation is critical for English oral language proficiency because of its immediate role in language judgments. However, effective and targeted English pronunciation instruction is scarce. Given the need for pronunciation instruction and the undeniable impact of suprasegmentals on intelligibility and on comprehensibility, the Supra Tutor, a four-module online pronunciation tutor focusing on suprasegmentals, was developed. This mixed methods study assessed the impact of the Supra Tutor on the comprehensibility of international teaching assistants (ITAs). Participants were evaluated for comprehensibility before and after training. The study also examined ITAs’ perceptions of the Supra Tutor in terms of usefulness, engagement, and overall quality. Findings indicated that the Supra Tutor can provide effective pronunciation instruction and engage learners to successfully complete the training. Research and pedagogical implications of the Supra Tutor and its contribution to pronunciation instruction are discussed.

Повратните информации како основа за социјална правда при јазичното тестирање

Internationalization of higher education has resulted in an increased establishment of English medium instruction (EMI) courses at non-Anglophone universities. Due to the growing concerns about non-native English speaking lecturers’ ability to teach in English, universities have started implementing policies enforcing assessment of EMI lecturers’ English proficiency. However, research on the effectiveness and the social consequences of these assessments remains limited, especially in terms of the power imbalances such assessments may create at the university workplace. Based on the principle that the oral English proficiency certification should provide benefits for, instead of simple exclusion of, test-takers who have less-advantaged starting position, i.e., lecturers with lower English proficiency (Davies 2010), the article argues that the language assessment models for EMI certification should put emphasis on the formative feedback, and, thereafter, proposes what may be considered relevant and effective feedback content. The discussion in this article is based on the results from a mixed-methods study that examines the utility of the language-related feedback for test-takers, at two non-Anglophone universities, who took a performance-based oral English proficiency test for EMI certification. Three main data collection procedures were undertaken: reports with written feedback and two surveys. Results suggest that the test-takers found the aspects of the feedback that grounded their English language uses in the EMI domain useful and appreciated the opportunity to discuss their challenges and uncertainties during oral feedback session.

Treading on a Foreign Land: A Multiple Case Study of Chinese International Students’ Academic Acculturation Experiences

This article reports a multiple case study to explore the lived academic acculturation experiences of four Chinese international students with limited oral English capacity and how they describe the relationship between low oral English proficiency and academic acculturation. Self-Determination Theory was utilized as the theoretical framework to inform data collection and analysis. Findings indicated all four Chinese students experienced significant psychological stress during their academic acculturation as a direct result of their limited spoken English capacity, which negatively impacted their sense of competence, autonomy and particularly relatedness. Emotional pain, involuntary isolation, helplessness, and regret emerged as the salient themes from the cross-case analysis. Implications for various stakeholders are discussed.

Exploring Oral English Learning Motivation in Chinese International Students with Low Oral English Proficiency

This study employed narrative inquiry to understand the oral English learning motivation of Chinese international students with low oral English proficiency through their academic acculturation stories. Expectancy-Value Theory served as the theoretical framework to inform the study design and the interpretation of results. Findings suggest all participants’ motivation for oral English learning increased as a result of the newly acquired high subjective value of spoken English during their academic acculturation. However, they experienced high levels of psychological stress during their academic acculturation due to their low oral English proficiency. Further, participants’ perceived expectancy of success for learning oral English declined as their academic acculturation progressed, negatively influencing their oral English learning motivation. Implications for various stakeholders are discussed.

English Reading Growth in Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Students: Moderating Effect of English Proficiency on Cross-Linguistic Influence.

This study examined the extent to which kindergarten Spanish reading affected English reading growth trajectories through fourth grade among nationally representative Spanish-speaking bilingual students (N=312) in the United States and whether the association varied by students'English oral proficiency. Multilevel growth curve analyses revealed that stronger early Spanish reading was related togreater English reading growth. Within the stronger Spanish reading group, students with lower English oralproficiency initially beganbehind their counterparts but caught up with and surpassed them later. Within the weaker Spanish reading group, thedifference between lower and higher English oralproficiency groups increased over time. Findings suggest that initially well-developed Spanish reading competence plays a greater role in English reading development than English oral proficiency.

Construction of Artificial Intelligence-Based Interactive Oral English Teaching Platform based on application problems of present intelligent products

This paper investigated the application status of current intelligent oral English learning products, summarized the most favourable products applied by college English learners and analysed their common feature, advantages as well as problems. The survey result shows that the present intelligent oral English teaching products have the merits such as rich teaching resources, correct voice scoring system and individualized assessment and interesting game bonus etc. However, there are also some demerits like lack of words choice judgement, real-time scoring and indicating system as well as interactive teaching platform required by both teachers and learners etc. Based on the above problems, the paper put forward an Artificial Intelligence-Based Interactive Oral English Teaching Platform, which includes all-round spoken corpus that can be updated by teachers, students and AI system all together, an On-line Teaching Assistant System aimed for monitoring, controlling and interacting with students in learning process and a modified scoring system offering real-time assessment for students’ speaking performance, with a view to improving students’ oral English proficiency in a better and more effective way.

The sound of silence: A musically enhanced narrative inquiry into the academic acculturation stories of Chinese international students with low spoken English proficiency

Situated within an increasing trend of globalization and internationalization, many universities pride themselves on the number of international students they recruit. At Canadian universities, there are more international students from China than any other country. However, Chinese international students tend to demonstrate lower spoken English proficiency than other international student groups. Research has shown that oral English proficiency significantly influences international students’ academic acculturation, however, little research has examined what academic acculturation looks like for Chinese international students with limited spoken English proficiency. This study sought to understand the academic acculturation experiences of Chinese international students with limited spoken English proficiency. We employed a musically enhanced narrative inquiry approach, building on traditional narrative research methods by utilizing sound and music to re-tell participants’ stories. Data were collected through arts-informed interviews with six Chinese international students, and analyzed through both narrative and musical restorying, resulting in the creation of literary and musical narrative representations. The findings contribute to the understanding of international students’ academic acculturation by giving authentic voice to their stories and communicating them through musically enhanced representations. These evocative representations can affect audiences in new ways, engendering resonance and understanding through the unique use of sound and music.

Undergraduates’ Speaking Anxiety in English as Second Language (ESL) Classrooms

Many students exhibit fear of speaking in English in the English as Second Language (ESL) classrooms. Additionally, there are limited studies in this area of concern among the undergraduates in Sarawak. Hence, this study aimed to identify the students‟ anxiety level towards speaking English based on four components, namely communication apprehension, test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and comfort in using English in the classrooms. This study also examined whether there is any significant difference in the level of anxiety in terms of gender. A total of 592 undergraduates from two public institutions of higher learning in Sarawakwere involved in this study. A Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale (PSCAS) by Yaikhong and Usaha (2012) was adopted in this study to measure anxiety in the ESL speaking classes. The results gathered through the questionnaires were analysed using SPSS package to determine the students‟ speaking anxiety levels and the significant difference in the level of anxiety in speaking English in terms of gender. The findings revealed that undergraduates experienced an average level of speaking anxiety. T-test analysis of the findings in the study also portrayed that generally the female undergraduates experienced higher speaking anxiety as compared to the male undergraduates in all the four factors of ESL speaking anxiety. Among the four factors of speaking anxiety, only the factor of 'comfort in using English' in the classrooms showed a statistically significant difference between male and female undergraduates. Findings of this study would be significant as knowing the level of anxiety among the undergraduates in ESL classrooms will provide the basis for educators to plan better strategies or techniques to help students in overcoming their English speaking anxiety and to improve their oral English proficiency. It will also help students to be aware of their own speaking anxiety level so that they can seek for measures to overcome their speaking anxiety.