International Exams Research Articles

Французская пресса в методике преподавания французского языка как иностранного

The role and possibilities of using the French press in the methods of teaching French are considered. Leaving out of the brackets a whole layer of general educational literature on the French language, in one or another way including extracts from French newspapers and magazines, the author refers directly to the books in which attention is paid to the language of the French press. The most well-known Russian textbooks on the language of the French media are analyzed due to the fact that they are aimed at a Russian-speaking student and include, for example, materials on translation (from Russian into French and vice versa). The analysis allows to present a general typology of manuals devoted to the French press, depending on their tasks. First of all, there are manuals aimed at studying the specifics of the French printed word itself, its history and current state. It is argued that the greatest place is taken by the books, where the press is used as a material for acquisition and consolidation of practical skills, for active vocabulary learning by those who are studying French, and handbooks for abstracting in French (formation of three main types of paraphrase, called in French methodological traditions resume , compte rendu , synthese ), based on French periodicals and gaining the growing popularity in connection with the necessity of passing the international exams DELF / DALF.

ФОРМУВАННЯ ЗМІСТУ ГУМАНІТАРНОЇ І СОЦІАЛЬНО-ЕКОНОМІЧНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ МАЙБУТНІХ ІНЖЕНЕРІВ-ПРОГРАМІСТІВ У ЗАКЛАДАХ ВИЩОЇ ОСВІТИ

The article formulates the problem ofnecessity to form practice-orientedcontent of humanitarian and socioeconomictraining of future engineersprogrammersat higher educationinstitutions. The main provisions of theA.A. Verbitsky concept of signcontextuallearning are analyzed. Theauthor highlights the activities to ensurethe practical orientation of the contentof the disciplines of humanitarian andsocio-economic training of futureengineers-programmers (use ofcontext-type lectures, business games,modeling of problem situations,contextualized dialogues, etc.). Thereare corrections that are appropriate tomake in the content and names ofthese disciplines (Philosophy of theInformation Society, LegalInformatics, Economics in theInformation Society, Sociology of theInformation Society, Psychology ofProgramming, etc.), as well as a list offuture engineers-programmers'competencies, the formation of whichmust be ensured in the process of theirstudy. Measures are proposed toprovide high-quality foreign languagetraining for future engineersprogrammers(teaching by the programof training for international exams,professional certification; developingskills for writing professional essay,grant applications, technical tasks,etc.).

Construção de entendimentos na reunião pedagógica: posicionamentos e intersubjetividade em conarração

This study investigates the construction of understanding during the decision making process in a pedagogical meeting in the school context. The research approach is qualitative, based on the construction of intersubjectivity according to Conversation Analysis of ethnomethodological nature and on narrative analysis of interactional and sequential kind, in interface with the theory of positioning. The data, generated by audio recording and transcribed as stated by Conversation Analysis conventions, are segments of an English teachers’ meeting held at a private school in Rio de Janeiro. The narratives constitute the teachers’ discourse practice that emerges in face-to-face interaction as talk ‘at’ and ‘about’ work. The aim of the meeting is to discuss the standardization of scores in English mock tests in order to recommend that students sit international exams of proficiency in the target language. In the research context, results indicate that teachers resort to the narrativization of experiences from their professional practice to construct understanding and sustain intersubjectivity in the interaction. Data suggest that the search for mutual understanding in face-to-face interaction points to the construction of intersubjectivity on two discourse levels: the interactional conarration and the embedded narratives. Keywords: pedagogical meeting, narrative, positioning, intersubjectivity.

Graph Description as an Issue in L2 Academic English Writing

Young people’s interest in taking international exams such as IELTS results from student mobility and their willingness to appraise language abilities. In this paper, Academic Writing Task One of IELTS is examined. This task implies candidates comprehending graphic information and processing it in written discourse. The gap between a host of graph description tests and an insignificant number of efficient teaching methods has provided a rationale for the current study. It focuses on graph description as a cognitive, psychological and educational process and employs the analysis method in the theoretical section. Based on the action research method, drawing on 25 students’ written samples, the study has quested for peculiar language problems detrimental to processing the graph description task. The data have revealed the key pillars of successful written graph presentation: the combination of all four main skills, i.e. reading, listening, writing, and speaking; skills transfer; critical thinking and writing; the appropriate use of style; graphic literacy. It is concluded that the “constant nudging” method, a skills transfer, the use of appropriate vocabulary for describing trends alongside academic functional phrases and grammar features, the analysis of mass media information with numeric data are solutions to graph description issues. The findings have implications for preparing students for IELTS.
 
 This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Finland and Northern Cyprus Primary Teacher Training Policies

The aim of this study is to make proposals for the development of Northern Cyprus training teachers in primary education policies applied in the Turkish Republic. In the collection of research data, examining the document method was used. In this context; Among the most successful countries in international exams such as PISA and TIMSS, the structure of the institutions that train teachers for primary education, programs, teachers' selection and appointment process of the teachers were examined in Finland.The study also examined the teacher training policy in primary education in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,consequently determine similarities and the differences were presented. Also in the light of the similarities and the differences found in primary teacher training policy applied in Finland and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has some suggestions.     Keywords: Turkish Republic, Northern Cyprus, PISA and TIMSSÂ

Desregulación y personalización en escuelas de elite: El trabajo de los profesores para la consagración escolar de los sectores privilegiados

El presente artículo se basa en un estudio cualitativo desarrollado en tres escuelas secundarias de la Ciudad y la Provincia de Buenos Aires que se proclaman como formadoras de elite. La intención del mismo es analizar la labor pedagógica que desarrollan estas instituciones en base a las formas de promoción y acompañamiento que plantean a sus estudiantes. El trabajo identifica en las escuelas formas desreguladas en donde los alumnos quedan librados a sus propios recursos para transitar la escolaridad y estrategias de personalización previstas desde la instituciones que presuponen un mayor acompañamiento a los estudiantes. Estas diferencias están vinculadas con los sistemas de selección académica y promoción que sustentan los establecimientos. Por promoción de los estudiantes se hace referencia a los mecanismos institucionales que concretan la función selectiva que desempeñan las instituciones educativas. En este caso en particular se analizan los medios que estas escuelas instrumentan para seleccionar, diferenciar y legitimar a los estudiantes en escuelas orientadas a la preparación de los grupos selectos. Indagar estas dinámicas nos permite una aproximación al funcionamiento de estas instituciones y su contribución en los procesos de socialización y reproducción para la preparación de determinados sectores para la ocupación de posiciones de elite. En este trabajo se aborda además el papel que desarrollan los profesores en tanto operadores simbólicos que, mediante su trabajo, efectúan la labor de producir la consagración escolar de estos grupos en cuestión.

Liselerde Akademik Başarısızlık: Nedenleri ve Önlenmesine İlişkin Öğretmen ve Okul Yöneticilerinin Görüşleri

The aim of this study was to determine both the reasons of academic failure in high schools and the solution suggestions developed by teachers and school administrators about preventing academic failure. Qualitative phenomenological research design was used in this study. The participants were selected from 9 high schools located in Ankara city center whose academic achievement levels are low via deviant case sampling which is one of the purposive sampling methods. Descriptive analysis and content analysis were used in the analysis of data. It was found that while school principals see success in both national and international exams as a criteria for student achievement, teachers do not. The findings indicated that the reasons of academic failure were mostly rooted from the individual him/herself, family, school or education system. Although different descriptions by the participants are made among the problems that students with low academic success face, it is emphasized that some troublesome situations can be emerged out like absenteeism, not attending to education and leaving school.

Topicality of Linguistic Competence and Performance Teaching at Higher Educational Institutions

Highly developed economies of the West are characterized by innovative-orientation, and the modern economy is viewed as the “knowledge economy”.Competitiveness of the higher educational institutions graduates is determined by their “global thinking” based on the human values, principles of citizenship, ability to further education and development as well as self-upbringing.It is stated in research papers that nowadays EFL competence is not a trait of a person from the elicit community but a necessary skill of all the employees as well as in the past literacy was the characteristic of upper class and at present it is important for any average person.It is evident that good knowledge of English language provides export and import of intellectual capital, that is, academic mobility of lecturers and students, their participation in the international conferences and involvement into the international projects, mutual programs and developments.Writing became very important only after competence-oriented approach of Bachelors’ and Masters’ instruction was introduced in the Russian Federation because creative writing became necessary for the new educational standards. Significance of writings is determined by the shift of the higher educational institutions to the grant earning activity, connected with writing lots of documents such as application letters, reports, blogs, e-mails, forms, working papers and papers in the international repositories. Moreover qualification demands to the international exams’ results comprise writing skills at least at the Intermediate level. It is important to understand that writing teaching is not a linear process. It is a complex and multi-hierarchical process, the result of which is a shift to communicative variant of texts, that are not adapted to the learning process and are closely connected with actual situations of life. Creative writing is a very complex, time-consuming and slow process, but it is one of the challenges of the modern linguo-didactics. Interdisciplinary approach is applied for both learning fiction and for creating one’s own texts. Reading works of fiction, their discussion, analysis and composing one’s own texts is the affective and cognitive process. Reflexive work stimulates emotional feedback of the students, and improves the teaching effect. It is important that specialists in linguo didactics consider learning fiction as the second best way to understand the foreign language environment, the first being staying among the native speakers in their own country. This fact proves that learning fiction is very useful for formation of the EFL competence at the high level.

Translating the Children’s Anxiety in Math Scale to Turkish for Use with Turkish Children

Math anxiety has become problematic for Turkish students and is thought to be a major cause of low math performance on national and international exams. As Turkey attempts to gain entry to the European Union, it is imperative that the Turkish educational system make efforts to decrease students’ math anxiety. Turkish researchers lack an appropriate scale to assess math anxiety in their students, however, particularly in their primary grade students. This study attempts to remedy that by translating the Children’s Anxiety in Math Scale to Turkish and assessing its psychometric properties. After translation, data were collected from 1587 children in grades 1-5 in Turkey; results of an exploratory factor analysis revealed both a three-factor and a one-factor solution. Confirmatory factor analysis suggest that the one-factor solution fits the data best. Suggestions for future research and applications are included.

Primary education teacher training policies of South Korea and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Abstract The aim of this study is to make proposals for the development of Northern Cyprus training teachers in primary education policies applied in the Turkish Republic. In the collection of research data, examining the document method was used.In this context; Among the most successful countries in international exams such as PISA and TIMSS, the structure of the institutions that train teachers for primary education, programs, teachers' selection and appointment process of the teachers were examined in South Korea.The study also examined the teacher training policy in primary education in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,consequently determine similarities and the differences were presented. Also in the light of the similarities and the differences found in primary teacher training policy applied in South Korea and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has some suggestions.Keywords: Primary education, training policies, teacher.

The Editor’s Note

Two politicians from different parties and perspectives looked at some of the highest performing countries and regions for answers to their dominance on international educational exams and came to similar conclusions. Uniformity and consistency were among the underlying themes. Shanghai, Finland, Singapore, and Ontario have strong education systems because they set out their strategies and goals and they hew to them over decades, rather than moving from reform to reform in the U.S. Also, their selection and preparation of teachers is more rigorous. While such a centralized approach clearly works in those countries and regions, it would be problematic in the U.S., which values local control of education to a much greater extent.

What to Do About Canada's Declining Math Scores?

The declining performance of Canadian students on international math assessments should worry Canadians and their provincial governments. Strong mathematics knowledge is required for success in the workforce, and early achievement in math is one of the best predictors of later academic success and future career options. Between 2003 and 2012, all but two Canadian provinces showed statistically significant declines in math scores on international exams administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In several provinces, the percentage of students performing at the lowest levels in math significantly increased while the percentage of students performing at the highest levels significantly decreased, suggesting that more students are struggling and fewer students are excelling in math. It should be a policy priority to halt these trends and to improve math achievement for Canadian children. In this Commentary, I examine domestic and international evidence regarding three areas of provincial education programs that could play an important role in halting the downward trend in math scores. I make three main recommendations regarding best teaching practices in math, the math curriculum, and the math knowledge of future teachers. Best teaching practices in math have been at the forefront of discussions regarding declining math scores in Canada. Discovery-based instruction – also called problem-based, inquiry, experiential, and constructivist learning – has become popular in North America in recent years, pushing aside direct instruction techniques, like times table memorization, explicit teacher instruction, pencil-and-paper practice, and mastery of standard mathematical procedures. Based on international and domestic evidence, this Commentary finds that studies consistently show direct instruction is much more effective than discovery-based instruction, which leads to straightforward recommendations on how to tilt the balance toward best instructional techniques. Student fluency with particular math concepts, such as fraction arithmetic, in early and middle years has been shown to predict future math success. This Commentary recommends that provincial math curricula be rewritten to remove ineffective pedagogical directives and to stress specific topics, at appropriate grade levels, that are known to lead to later success in math. Evidence shows that teachers who are most comfortable and knowledgeable with the content they are required to teach tend to transmit that knowledge best to students. This Commentary suggests that future early and middle-years teachers be required to pass a math-content licensure exam prior to receiving certification to teach mathematics.

Student Test Performance and National Economies: Examining a Neoliberal Conjecture

PISA results make national decision makers very nervous and for good reason: There is the perceived assumption that student performance on the PISA and other international exams are tied directly to a nation's future economic status. Essentially, the notion is that the greater the students’ test scores, the more secure a nation's economic future. But such concerns ignore the three main functions of educational systems: the socialization of youth so that they understand their culture, nation's history, and normative culture; the political socialization of youth so that they become competent citizens; and the provision of skills to youth so that they can participate in the labor market. So there is reason to infer that education is tied to the economy. There are two conjectures being made here: The first is that student performance is related to a nation's economy. That is, the better the economy, the better the student performances. A second conjecture is that student performance will lead to better economies or greater economic growth. The first conjecture seems to view education as being endogenous to economic growth or at least associated with it. The second conjecture, however, views education as being exogenous to economic growth, and it measures the change in economic growth over time to some given level of education among a cohort. In my analysis, I find that education is not related to economic growth after other structural factors are taken into account.

TÜRKİYE VE AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ'NE ÜYE BAZI ÜLKELERİN EĞİTİM YAPILARI VE YÖNETİMLERi AÇISINDAN KARŞILAŞTIRILMASI

The aim of this study which is based on comparative education is to examine Turkey and ten EU countries (Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, England, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Greece) in terms of educational levels - preschool education, obligatory education, secondary education, higher education and adult education - and in addition to that, in terms of educational ministries, school administrations, education finance, inspection and teacher education programs. Although these countries have some common similarities as for their educational systems and administrations, they have some differences. For example, as not all these countries propose compulsory pre-school education, they how some variances in their extension of compulsory education. Turkey, when compared to the other ten countries, has the shortest compulsory education period. The countries involved in this study have some different applications in high school types and university acceptance rules. In all these countries, there are pre-graduate, undergraduate and graduate programs at university level. The number of authorities in education and responsible institutions and the title of school administrators differ from country to country. When examined in terms of educational finance, all these countries are observed to finance education much more than Turkey. As for school inspection, it is surprising that there is no school inspection system in Finland as opposed to the other countries. While the instruction time in teacher education schools ranges between 4 to 5 years as it is in Turkey, it is obligatory to have a graduate degree to be able to become a teacher, as in Finland. The educational systems of Germany, Sweden and Finland - which has exhibited a great success at international exams in recent years - are the leading countries that have some original perspectives. Based on the data gathered from this study, it has been suggested that compulsory education period and university acceptance rules should be rediscussed, the allocation of finance to education should be increased and inspection system should be improved. Keywords: Comparative education, educational system, educational management, European Union Countries.

¿Por qué Finlandia puede prescindir de accountability formal en educación y Polonia no?

The objective of this article is to apply the theory of social capital (whose principal indicator is confidence) to the specific problem of accountability in education. The evidence suggests that countries with low social capital (such as Poland) and countries of high social capital (such as Finland) have been able to develop successful educational policies, according to international measures. One of the determinants of the Polish success in education reform, which began at the beginning of the previous decade, was the formal installation of a centralized accountability system. Finland, on the other hand, has a system based on confidence and teacher professionalism, where standardized exams do not have a place. The Latin-American countries, among which is Chile, exhibit low performance on international exams. It is only natural, therefore, to look towards the successful experiences, with the objective to learn from them and eventually adopt some of their policies. It is argued that the social background upon which a determined institution is built is fundamental for determining the success or failure of these adaptations. The Latin-American countries, Chile included, have very low levels of social capital, same as Poland, and thus should try to learn from Poland’s educational reform. The case of Finland seems less applicable in Latin-American as only countries with high social capital can function on the basis of informal institutions of accountability.

Practical recommendations for essay writing (through the example of English language)

In the age of modernization of education, introduction of Unified State Examination in foreign languages, increased po-pularity of international exams such as FCE, CAE, TOEFL, etc. one should give attention to the development of oral and writing skills. Students need writing skills to participate in internatio-nal conferences, academic exchange programs, etc. This paper researches essay peculiarities, its structure, criteria; offers exercises to develop foreign language writing skills through the example of essay. Methodology: theoretical analysis of psychological, pedagogical and methodical literature, personal work experience analysis. Practical implications: foreign language teaching.

Grammatical and Communicative Method - A New Approach in the Practice of Teaching Foreign Languages

The article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of teaching foreign languages. Anew unique method of teaching foreign languages - grammar and communicative is developed and described.The purpose of this article is a detailed review of the existing diversity of methods of teaching foreign languagesin Russia and presentation of the new one - the grammatical and communicative. Recently, learning a foreignlanguage in Russia by the people of different professions has become a necessity due to the rapid growth ofcontacts with foreign partners. In the process of close cooperation the situations that require training andinternships abroad arise, and as a consequence - an indispensable international certification in English. Thisimplies the international exams - TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language) or IELTS (International EnglishLanguage Testing System). It is reported that modern teaching methods have various disadvantages, the mainone is the lack of the grammatical material study. The author has developed a grammatical and communicativemethod and new tutorial which can help to solve this problem successfully. A more comprehensive and in-depthstudy of grammar is encouraged for students and professionals in order to pass exams for internationalcertification and for further education and training abroad.

Local and global perspectives of education---thoughts about including computer science in international exams

Local and global perspectives of education---thoughts about including computer science in international exams

Sürekli gelişim için e-performans yönetim sistemi: bir model önerisi

One of the key indicators of the quality of an education system in a globalized world is the results of national and international exams. International examinations like PISA and TIMMS are used to define the quality of education. Turkey has participated in these exams recently. The achievement level of students participating in these exams shows that the investment of the education system is not proportional to the achievement level. The objective indicators of the education system lead to these discussions: 1) why the education system is not realizing success; 2) why we are not able to adequately measure the level of realized achievement; 3) why the system is insufficient to ensure the success of the curriculum; 4) how the controls can be measured effectively; and, 5) what can be done about inadequate educational materials. These situations have led to the implementation of the following application. The question of method in the social sciences is ignored here. The outcome of an event in the social sciences cannot be explained by only one cause. It is fact that an event must be explained by multiple causes. Because these events are explained by objective criteria, this study can be considered a valid opinion if the expected success in the education system is realized. When the indicators related to education in Turkey were evaluated according to both national and international indicators, the decline in student achievement was viewed as an important issue. In the process of evaluation, it is necessary to identify the performance indicators of a school as an institution, and performance evaluation practices must be used since it is not only teachers, school managers, or the organization's high performance standards that are insufficient to achieve the expected results.

Türkiye, Güney Kore ve Japonya'da Dershanecilik Sisteminin İncelenmesi

Ozel ders ve dershanecilik, basta Guney Kore, Hong Kong, Japonya ve Tayvan gibi Uzakdogu ulkeleri olmak uzere bircok ulkede yaygin olarak kullanilan ve “golge egitim” sistemi olarak tabir edilen bir egitim sektorudur. Universiteye girisin merkezi sinavlarla yapildigi ulkelerde ozel ders veren kurumlar oldukca yaygin bir sekilde faaliyet gostermektedir. Bu arastirmanin amaci PISA ve diger sinavlarda basarili bir grafik cizen Guney Kore ile dershanecilik acisindan benzer bir profil gosteren Japonya’nin dershanecilik konusundaki deneyimlerini analiz etmektir. Guney Kore’de dershanecilik sistemlerinin yaygin olmasi ogrenci basarisizliginin ya da sistem basarisizliginin oldugunu gostermemektedir. Bu durum Turkiye’de oldugundan farkli sekillerde Guney Kore’de kendini gostermektedir. Yapilan arastirmalarda Guney Kore’nin uluslararasi sinavlardaki basarilarinin iyi finanse edilen ve yuksek kalitedeki devlet okullarina ve aileler tarafindan onemli derecede payin ayrildigi ozel ders ve dershanecilik sektorune dayandirildigi gorulmektedir. Japonya’da ise egitim sistemi II. Dunya Savasi’ndan sonra buyuk olcude yenilige ugramistir. Japonya toplam butcesinin %12,7’sini egitime ayirmaktadir. 1947 yilinda kabul edilen Temel Egitim Kanunu, anayasanin ozune uygun olarak herkes icin egitimde firsat esitligine dayali bicimde daha ayrintili ortaya koymaktadir. Egitim Bakanliginin butcesi egitimi gelistirme, bilim ve teknoloji, spor ve kultur ile egitimsel olanaklari iyilestirme, personel giderleri ve vakif okullarini subvanse etme ile burs programlari olmak uzere bircok alandaki calismalara kaynaklik teskil etmektedir. Universiteler basvuranlarin tamamini alacak kapasitede olmasina karsin, 10 milyon ogrenci ‘Juku’ adi verilen dershanelere devam etmektedir. Bu ulkede ilkokul duzeyinde ozel ders alma orani 1985 yilinda %16,5 iken 2007 yilinda bu oran %25,9’a yukselmis; ortaokul duzeyindeyse %44,5’ten %53,5’e yukselmistir. Ulkemizde ortaogretimde okullasma oranlarinin her gecen yil artmasi ve yuksekogretimin, hayat standartlari ve refah duzeyi yuksek bir gelecek icin vazgecilmez olarak algilanmasi, yuksekogretime olan talebi ust seviyelerde tutmustur. Mevcut yuksekogretim kurumlarinin giderek artan yuksekogretim talebini karsilayamayacak durumda olmasi ise ortaogretimde agir rekabet sartlarina dayali bir egitim olgusu ortaya cikarmistir. Boylece sinavla ogrenci alan kaliteli ortaogretim kurumlarina olan ragbet daha da artmistir. Bu ise yuksekogretime geciste yasanan rekabet olgusunu giderek ilkogretim duzeyine indirmistir.