Nelson Proficiency Test Research Articles

Effect of feedback through dynamic assessment on EFL field-dependent and field-independent learners’ speaking skill development

IntroductionTesting and assessment tools evaluate students’ performance in a foreign language. Moreover, the ultimate goal of tests is to reinforce learning and motivate students. At the same time, instructors can gather information about learners’ current level of knowledge through assessment to revise and enhance their teaching. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Dynamic Assessment on Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ speaking skills by considering language learners’ cognitive styles (field dependence and field independence).MethodsFor this purpose, 60 Iranian intermediate-level EFL female learners were selected through convenience sampling from three language institutes with similar teaching methods in Shiraz, Iran. The current study has a quasi-experimental design since randomization was impossible. First, the authors used the Nelson Proficiency test and interview to determine the participants’ proficiency level and speaking ability, respectively. Next, they took the group embedded figures test (GEFT) to determine the participants’ type of cognitive style (field dependence or field independence). Next, the participants were randomly assigned to two experimental (FD and FI learners with the dynamic assessment) and two control groups. Paired and independent-sample t-test were applied to analyze the data.Results and discussionResults revealed that although dynamic assessment was effective for both experimental groups, the Field-dependent group with dynamic assessment outperformed the other. Thus, it can be concluded that in addition to the dynamic assessment, language learners’ cognitive style can also play a vital role in increasing the assessment effectiveness. This type of assessment attracts instructors’ attention to learners’ potential to help the language learners gradually improve their performance. In addition, language institutes can introduce this new way of assessment in their advertisements and attract more students, leading to higher income and publicity for them.

COMPARING EFL LEARNERS’ RESPONSES IN ONLINE AND TRADITIONAL CLASSES: A MIXED METHOD APPROACH

The aim of this article was twofold. First, it considered the effect of social networks (Telegram) on the vocabulary knowledge of the participants, then it compared the participants’ responses in IRF (initiation, response, & feedback) pattern in two different settings (traditional class and the online one). A group of foreign language learners took the Nelson Proficiency Test and a total of 60 learners were selected to participate in the study. Then they were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. After the treatment, the pre-test and post-test results were compared. For the second part of the study, the participants’ comments were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results revealed a significant difference between the two groups, not only in their vocabulary knowledge but also in the way they communicated. This study has implications for both teachers and learners to increase their awareness of the benefits of new opportunities provided by technology in teaching-learning process.

Improving EFL Learners’ Performance on Receptive-Response and Productive-Response Listening Comprehension Items through Diagnostic vs. Dynamic Assessment

Listening comprehension is a challenging skill in EFL contexts and it is necessary to research various aspects of this skill. Therefore, this study tried to investigate EFL learners’ progress on two types of listening comprehension items, receptive-response and productive-response, through diagnostic assessment (DIA) and dynamic assessment (DA). To do this, a Nelson proficiency test was administered among 120 EFL students in six classes, out of which, 90 students whose scores were in the acceptable range were selected. The classes were then randomly divided into three groups of control, DIA, and DA. As the pretest, a KET listening test in two sections of receptive-response and productive-response items was used to check the learners’ initial performance. Next, as for the treatment, in the DIA group, the learners took four listening tests with receptive-response and productive-response items in the form of test-feedback; in the DA group, the learners took the same four tests in the form of test-mediation-retest, and in the control group, the learners practiced receptive-response and productive-response items after each listening activity. At the end of the study, another KET listening test in two sections of receptive-response and productive-response items was administered to the participants to investigate the three groups’ progress from pretest to posttest. Finally, two repeated-measures two-way ANOVAs and one MANOVA were run, and the results showed that both DIA and DA resulted in significant improvements in the learners’ performance on both receptive-response and productive-response listening items; however, the difference between the two types of assessment was not significant.

Check the grammar of your translation: The usefulness of WhiteSmoke as an automated feedback program

AbstractThe use of technology in teaching and learning a second language has been an increasingly important subject of research recently. Various software and applications have been developed to aid the students to identify and correct their grammatical mistakes. The present study aimed to assess the effect of an automated feedback program, WhiteSmoke, on the accuracy of the translated texts by Iranian translation students. To pursue the purpose of the study, 68 male and female students studying at Payame Noor University, Tabriz-Iran were selected among 106 undergraduate students of English translation, based on their performance on Nelson proficiency test and a translation accuracy test. The participants shaped the experimental group and the control group of the study. The experimental group included twenty-six trainees, while the control group included forty-two trainees. They were required to translate a Persian text into English as pretest to homogenize them based on their translation accuracy. After 8 weeks of treatment, posttest was administered to the participants of both groups. The results indicated that translation trainees receiving automated written corrective feedback through WhiteSmoke improved their ability in translation in terms of accuracy. The result might have implications for translation trainers, language teachers, learners, and materials developers.

The Effect of Diagnostic Assessment on EFL Learners’ Performance on Selective and Productive Reading Tasks

The main purpose of diagnostic assessment is to predict test-takers’ strengths and weaknesses and use the information to provide suitable feedback to them (Jang & Wagner, 2014). Accordingly, the present study focused on investigating the effect of diagnostic assessment on selective and productive reading tasks to help English as a foreign language (EFL) learners improve their performance on these tasks. The quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used and 60 participants were chosen based on the results of a Nelson proficiency test. The learners were chosen from four intact classes who were then divided into two groups of control and diagnostic assessment, each group comprising of two classes. Then, a modified version of the reading section of Key English Test (KET) (2015) with 28 selective and 27 productive items was used in the two groups as the pretest. The diagnostic assessment group received a feedback-based treatment on four reading tests during sixteen sessions of instruction. However, in the control group, the learners focused on reading texts and the corresponding tasks during the course. At the end of the semester, another modified version of KET reading test (2014) with 28 selective and 27 productive items was administered as the posttest. The results showed the diagnostic assessment group showed a significant improvement on both selective and productive tasks. Teachers may be the most beneficiaries of the present study as they can find useful information about their students’ strengths and weaknesses through using diagnostic assessment to help them improve their reading comprehension ability.

Relationship between Test Item Arrangements and Testee's Performance and Test Usefulness Criteria

Test method, test content and test type are supposed to affect test taker's performance and have close connectionswith test characteristics. However, these issues have not been subject to much in-depth investigations. To shed somelights on the issues like test item arrangements in relation to test taker's performance, test usefulness criteriaincluding test Validity, Reliability, Impact, Interactiveness, Authenticity, and Practicality, and also test characteristicssuch as Item Facility (IF), Item Discrimination (ID), and Choice Distribution (CD), this ex post facto design studywas conducted with a group of Iranian EFL learners. For this purpose, some university randomly selected studentsmajoring in English Language Teaching, English Translation Studies, and English Literature and learners fromdifferent language institutes received a version of the Nelson proficiency test. Then, two different versions of a sameresearcher-made test in terms of item arrangements were administered to 116 students obtaining an acceptable scorein the Nelson proficiency test. Simultaneously, a Test Usefulness Criteria Questionnaire developed and validated byAbbasian and Nassirian (2015) based on Bachman and Palmer’s (1996) framework, was also attempted by theparticipants. Respective statistical analyses revealed contradictorily that test item arrangement did not have anysignificant effect on the performance of the test takers. However, test usefulness criteria, though with varying extent,proved to be subject to test item arrangement. In the same vein, IF and ID were also affected in the light of testmethod facet. The first contradictory finding leaves room open for further research, while the reaming findings offerinsights to test developers, classroom teachers and all practitioners to pay due attention to test method facets in theireducational assessment decisions as the learners' performance, nature of the measurement devices as well as thenature of the construct itself are all affected test method factors.

Impact of Collocation Instruction on Kuwaiti ESL/EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Collocation refers to a group of two or more words that often go together or located in a certain manner in speech and writing. This research was intended to observe the impact of collocation instruction on Kuwaiti ESL/ EFL learners’ reading comprehension. The setting of this pragmatic research was English Language Unit (ELU), Kuwait University. For this purpose, 80 Arabic-speaking English learners, both male and female, at intermediate level were selected from English Language Unit. The participants’ age ranged 22-25 years. Their level of English was determined on the basis of their scores on Nelson Proficiency Test which was administered at the same time in four different classes i.e., two classes as the experimental group while the other two classes as the control group for the purpose of recent research. Some participants, however, were disqualified from the data analysis because a few of them didn’t show up in the pre-experimental test, while others missed some of the sessions in the experimental stage, or failed to answer the questionnaire. Due to these reasons, the participants in the experimental group and the control group were not equal. Finally, there were 32 students in the experimental group and 35 students in the respective control group. Therefore, the final total number of the sample was 67 subjects. The statistics for this study were collected from 67 participants. The paired-sample t-test showed very interesting results. The participants in the experimental group performed better than the participants in the control group in reading comprehension test. This research verified that collocation instruction, before the test is administered, had an important impact on Kuwaiti ESL/ EFL learners’ reading comprehension.

The Effect of background Music on Reading Comprehension Regarding Extroverts / Introverts Personality Dimensions

The researcher in this study intends to focus not only on the effect of music on reading but also on the effects of music on extroverts – introverts personality dimensions. The main question this study tried to answer was whether listening to music as a background might enhance students' reading scores. A total of 68 language learners from Eresk educational group participated voluntarily in this study. They were selected out of 83 students, employing Nelson proficiency test and were randomly assigned to two groups. Before distributing the tests, Fog index was calculated to determine the readability of the texts. The texts were at upper- intermediate level. The participants in experimental group were asked to read three texts accompanying by music background, but the subjects in the control group were asked to read the same texts without background music during three sessions. To see if there is a significant difference between the reading scores of the two groups, Independent Samples t-test was run. Statistical analysis was applied for the effect size, Mauchly's Test of Sphericity and one-way repeated measure ANOVA. At the end, Pearson correlation coefficient showed the relationship between scores of students’ performance and scores of introversion- extroversion scale. The results of the present study indicated that background music has the potential as a facilitator not as a distraction to be used as an effective aid for reading classes.

The Effect of Story-based, L1 Translation, and Whatsapp Emoticon Puzzle-Solving Techniques on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Proverb Learning

This study investigated the effect of story-based technique, L1 translation, and Whatsapp emoticon puzzle solving on EFL learners’ learning proverbs. From among 90 female intermediate level learners at two language institutes in Qom, Iran, 60 homogeneous students were chosen following the administration of a sample of Nelson proficiency test and a pre-test. The 60 participants were then assigned to three experimental groups, equal in number. The experimental group 1 was instructed using story-based technique; the experimental group 2 was taught through L1 translation; and the experimental group 3 was exposed to Whatsapp emoticon puzzle solving. Subsequently, all three groups took part in a proverb post-test similar to the pre-test. The data were analyzed by ANOVA. The results showed that Whatsapp emoticon puzzle solving was significantly the most effective, and that the students’ level of learning proverbs was influenced by story-based technique more than L1 translation technique. The findings of this study can contribute to technology- enhanced language teaching.

The Comparative Effect of Online Self-Correction, Peer- correction, and Teacher Correction in Descriptive Writing Tasks on Intermediate EFL Learners’ Grammar Knowledge The Prospect of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL)

60 participants of the study were selected based on their scores on the Nelson proficiency test and divided into three Telegram groups comprising a peer-correction, a self-correction and a teacher-correction group, each with 20 students. The pretest was administered to measure the subjects' grammar knowledge. Subsequently, three Telegram groups each with 21 members (20 students + 1 teacher) were formed. Then during a course of nearly one academic term the grammatical notions were taught by the teacher. The members were required to write on the prompt in about 50 to 70 words and post it on the group. Then, their writings were corrected through self-correction, peer-correction and teacher-correction under the feedback provided by the researcher. The study used a pretest-posttest design to compare the learners’ progress after the application of three different types of treatment. One-Way between-groups ANOVA was run to test whether there was any statistically significant difference in grammar knowledge in descriptive writing of intermediate EFL learners’ who receive mobile-assisted self-correction, peer-correction and teacher-correction. The researcher also used Post-Hoc Tests to determine the exact difference between correction methods. Online self-correction, peer-correction and teacher-correction were the independent variables and grammar knowledge was the dependent variable. Examining the result of the study prove that significance level between self-correction and teacher-correction was the strongest (sig. = 0.000) but the significance level was a little less strong between peer-correction and teacher-correction whereas no significance was observed between self-correction and peer-correction.

The Effect of Comic Strips on Efl Learners’ Reading Motivation

The aim of this study is to shed light on the nature of comic strips - an ignored genre in English language textbooks in Turkey - and to assess the probable effect of using comics as reading materials on Turkish intermediate EFL learners’ motivation to read. Two groups of Turkish teenage intermediate EFL learners were selected for this study. A Nelson Proficiency Test was administered in order to determine the homogeneity of the two groups. It was found that the experimental group students’ reading motivation was highly correlated with reading comics. The findings of this study may shed new light on the relationship between the kind of reading genres used in language classes and the students’ motivation to read the materials. These findings have important implications for offering new insights to material developers for the development and inclusion of enjoyable reading materials in English textbooks.

The Effect of Impulsivity vs. Reflectivity on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

In recent years attention has been accorded to language learners’ affective factors and learning styles. Two of the significant learning styles are impulsivity and reflectivity which have not been studied as much as other styles such as introversion and extroversion. This study endeavored to find out whether or not impulsivity and reflectivity have any effect on reading comprehension of Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Seventy two language learners were selected from 4 intact classes out of 112 learners. Nelson proficiency test was given to the participants as homogeneity test. Next, Barrat’s (1995) impulsiveness questionnaire was given to the participants. Based on the results of the questionnaire, the participants formed 3 different groups, i.e., a reflective group (n=25), impulsive group (n=25) and a control group (n=22). The control group consisted of less impulsive and less reflective learners based on Barrat’s scale. An IELTS reading test (general module) was administered to the participants. Based on the results of independent samples t-test, it was found that impulsivity and reflectivity do not have any effect on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

Role Play and Iranian Male and Female EFL Learners’ Pragmatic Competence

Although a large body of research now exists on pragmatic competence, relatively few researchers have explored the impact of role-play on the pragmatic competence. Therefore, the present study is designed to investigate the effect of role-play as a pragmatic development activity after the formal instruction on the development of Learners’ pragmatic competence. The participants included 40 EFL students (15 male and 25 female) that studied English at Maham institute in Tehran. Nelson proficiency test (Fowler & Coe, 1976) was used in order to select the sample out of the population of 90 students who agreed to take part in the study. Based on the results, 40 high intermediate students were selected as the sample of the study. They formed two mixed groups (male and female role play group A, male and female conversation group B). The instruction took place; group A did role play, and group B did conversation followed by free discussion techniques. Having finished the treatment, the two groups gave the similar posttest. The results show there is not any significant difference between male and female learner’s pragmatic competence when they received instruction through conversation and there is not any significant difference between male and female learner’s pragmatic competence they received instruction through role play.

The Effect of Oral Summary of Short Stories on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Learning: With a Focus on Gender

<p>This study investigated the effect of producing oral summary of short stories by language learners on vocabulary learning of EFL learners at intermediate level and the possible different effect of this classroom activity on male and female participants. In order to pursue the purpose of the study, one hundred twenty Iranian EFL learners were given Nelson proficiency test as the proficiency test and pretest. Seventy five learners were chosen as the participants for the study who formed one control group and two experimental groups. After twenty sessions of treatment, the participants were given a piloted version of a researcher-made test based on the vocabulary used in the short stories. The findings of the study proved that oral production of short stories can have a positive effect on vocabulary learning among intermediate learners, but the effect of this mode of teaching was not different on male or female language learners. The findings of the study could be used by language teachers who aim at conducting learner-centered language classes and material producers who aim at increasing the outcome of language courses by opting suitable course content.</p>

The Effect of Critical Reading Strategies on EFL Learners' Recall and Retention of Collocations

The study was an attempt to measure the effect of critical reading strategies, namely; re-reading, questioning and annotating on recall and retention of collocations by intermediate Iranian EFL learners. To this end, Nelson proficiency test was administered to ninety (n=90) Iranian EFL learners studying at Zaban Sara language institute in Esfahan, Iran. Sixty (n=60) language learners were selected based on their scores on Nelson test. A pretest of collocation was administered to these participants to homogenize them based on their knowledge of collocations. Next, the participants were divided into two groups as the control group and the experimental group. While the participants in the experimental group were taught how to use critical reading strategies prior to answering the reading comprehension questions, the participants in the control group were simply asked to read the text and answer the reading comprehension questions. Both groups took a researcher-made collocation test as the test of recall (after the treatment) and the test of retention (after a 2-week interval). The findings of the study through independent samples t-test revealed that teaching critical reading strategies has a positive effect on both recall and retention of collocations. The findings of the study could be used by language teachers who aim at more effective understanding of collocations in their classes. Keywords: Critical Reading, Recall, Retention, Collocations, EFL Learners

Effect of Instructional vs. Authentic Video Materials on Introvert and Extrovert Iranian EFL Learners' Vocabulary Learning

The study delved into the effect of instructional video materials vs. authentic video materials on vocabulary learning of extrovert and introvert Iranian EFL learners. To this end, Nelson proficiency test was administered to one hundred eighty (n=180) language learners. Considering 1 standard deviation above and below the mean score, one hundred twenty three (n=123) language learners were selected for the study. These participants were distributed into 4 experimental groups (with 25 learners) and a control group (with 23 learners). Researcher-made vocabulary pretest and posttest which were designed using the vocabularies from the movies were also administered to the participants. The findings of the study after three weeks of treatment revealed that both authentic video materials and instructional video materials can have positive effect on vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL leaners. This effect, however, is not different among extrovert learners. It was also revealed that introvert EFL learners benefit more from authentic video materials. The findings of the study could be used by material developers or language teachers who may wish to use video materials in their classes. Keywords: Authentic video materials, Instructional video materials, Vocabulary learning, Introversion, Extroversion

The Effect of Lexical Modification on Developing Vocabulary Knowledge in Relation to Language Proficiency Level

This study was an attempt to comparatively investigate the effects of lexical modification models (simplification vs. elaboration) on developing EFL learners‟ vocabulary knowledge in relation to their language proficiency level. To this end, 40 EFL learners were divided into two levels (i.e. elementary and pre-intermediate) based on their performance on the Nelson proficiency test. They were further categorized into two simplification and elaboration groups. The pertinent treatments were rendered through simplification and elaboration models of modification. Two-way ANOVA was run to address the research questions. The findings revealed that not only do input modification procedures significantly affect vocabulary development but also the elaboration group outperformed the simplification group. Moreover, it was revealed that language proficiency level plays a significant role in determining the effects of modification procedures as the pre-intermediate group significantly outperformed the elementary one; then, elaboration in both groups and pre-intermediate as a proficiency level proved to play a significant role in the process of modification-based vocabulary development.

The Effects of Using Instructional Conversation Method on Oral Autonomy of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners

This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the impact of instructional conversations on oral autonomy of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Forty-nine Iranian intermediate EFL learners from three language institutes in Sarakhs were selected as the participants of the study based on their scores in Nelson Proficiency Test. Administering Nelson General Proficiency Test, participants were measured to make sure they are homogeneous. These participants were randomly assigned into to control and experimental groups. Participants in both groups sat for Learner Oral Autonomy Questionnaire with some modifications from Kashefian's learner autonomy questionnaire (2002). Results of independent samples t-test lack of any significant difference between the two groups in oral autonomy at the outset of the study. Throughout the study which lasted for 12 sessions participants in experimental group received the treatment, instructional conversations, as a tool for teaching speaking materials. Participants in the control group were taught the same materials as those practiced in the former group through such techniques as role playing, peer dialogues, and oral presentations. Finally, the posttest being the same as the pretest was administered. Results of independent samples t-test showed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control one in Oral Autonomy Questionnaire. The present findings provide pedagogical implications for employing instructional conversation in EFL speaking classrooms.

The Instructional Efficacy of Strategy-based Instruction via Electronic Portfolio Assessment in Improving Reading Proficiency of Iranian Intermediate EFL Students

This article tries to explore the instructional efficacy of strategy-based instruction via electronic portfolio assessment (Web plus CD-ROM) in improving reading proficiency of Iranian intermediate EFL students. To do so, from the population of male EFL learners studying English at a language institute in Esfahan, a sample of 60 was selected by administrating a Nelson Proficiency Test (Nelson, 1976) to ensure that they are homogeneous in terms of language proficiency. Afterwards, the participants were divided into three equal groups; namely, two experimental and one comparison group. The comparison group was taught using traditional methods of teaching reading comprehension and the experimental groups were taught using four reading strategies (highlighting a text, parsing sentences by putting slashes (/) into sense units, using visual aids and pictures to understand the outline of a text, and drawing cluster diagrams to link the ideas within the text to understand the whole text). After the treatment, a posttest was administered. The mean scores of the comparison and both experimental groups on the posttest revealed that language learners’ mean score in the experimental groups was significantly higher than language learners’ mean score in the comparison group. This means that reading instruction, which was strategy instruction, was more effective in improving readers’ reading proficiency. Another goal of this study was investigating the instructional efficacy of electronic portfolio assessment while using reading strategies. A weblog was designed to collect the participants’ tasks to be shown to their classmates to see the result of strategy training, using the strategies, and the progress of the participants during the study. To sum up, the results of this article state that foreign language pedagogy, especially for adult and young adult English learners, would reap the benefits of the inclusion of explicit and direct strategy instruction within electronic portfolio assessment. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2s1p476

The Interaction between Involvement Load Hypothesis Evaluation Criterion and Language Proficiency: A Case in Vocabulary Retention

A long-standing debate among the vocabulary researchers is the depth of processing to learn vocabulary. This paper is a quantitative research which considers a revision in the “involvement load hypothesis” proposed by Laufer and Hulstijn in 2001. It investigates the role of proficiency and evaluation in this hypothesis in order to better reveal its potential contribution to vocabulary learning. It was based on task-induced involvementthat comparesdifferent tasks in incidental vocabulary acquisition in EFL context. The participants were 66 learners fromtwo different English institutes who were classified into two major high and low proficient groups based on Nelson Proficiency Test. The participants in each group were randomly assigned to three tasks prepared to compare“moderate”, “strong”, and “no evaluation” in involvement load hypothesis.The “strong evaluation”subgroup (making original sentences) in low proficiency supported Laufer and Hulstijn’s hypothesis and yielded better retention of the target words. The study suggests that the level of proficiency and evaluation in task induced involvementneeds reconsideration. The results have implications for language teachers, materials developers, and syllabus designers.