Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemApplications of item response theory to identify and correct for suspect rater data( 2006)This thesis describes a plausible values imputation approach for deriving population estimates on several language proficiency domains. The approach harnessed a multi-dimensional item response analysis combining student responses, rater judgements and student background variables. The target student population was lower grade primary school students enrolled in the Hong Kong schooling system. The raters consisted of local teachers of English employed within the sampled target schools. The primary objective of this research was to impute plausible values where no data was provided or where rater data was deemed suspect. By necessity, a secondary objective of this study was to establish rules for justly excluding particular data on the basis of questionable validity. Surveys such as TIMSS, PISA and NAEP have used such "plausible value" methodologies to account for incomplete test designs and person non-response (Beaton & Johnson, 1990; Yamamoto & Kulick, 2000; Adams & Wu, 2002). The point of difference between this study and other similar studies was the use of item response theory (in particular plausible values imputation) to identify and correct for invalid rater judgements in a large-scale educational survey. An additional research outcome included a derived index of rater data quality based upon imputation scores.
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ItemVietnamese readers and English reading : a survey of students' beliefs about and attitudes towards English reading( 2000)This thesis deals with the beliefs about, and attitudes to, English reading of Vietnamese students in their first year at Australian universities. Data were collected using a questionnaire, based on a review of research on second language reading in relation to affective factors, and on the concept of attitudes as a multidimensional construct. Attitude in general or attitudes to English reading in particular cannot be directly observed or measured but can only be inferred from the manner in which a reader responds to questions related to beliefs, feelings and attention regarding English reading. The theoretical background on which this study was based regards second language (L2) reading as a socially situated process. Regarding the students in this study, their English may have been influenced (i) by the first language reading instruction they had received, (ii) by their own social and cultural background, (iii) by their attitudes to the target language, its culture and its native speakers, and (iv) by previous experiences of learning to read in a new language. The findings of the questionnaire reveal that most of the 27 respondents to the questionnaire chose the culture of the target language (English) as the main factor making them want to read in it. Three other hypothesized factors - Vietnamese language reading experiences, previous experiences of learning English in Vietnam, the target language and its native speakers - did not appear as important factors in their beliefs about English reading and attitudes to it. The most interesting findings were about their attention to English reading. Although on the whole they possessed positive attitudes regarding the English academic reading process, they showed only a low level of endeavor to improve their English reading. The fact that the number of participants was so small was one of the main drawbacks with the study. However, since affective factors have not gained as much attention as other areas in L2 reading, in a way this study was a first experience. From its results some recommendations have been made regarding current practices of English teaching and learning in Vietnam in the EFL context. Further research could be built on this study.
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ItemInvestigating written English skills self-efficacy of adolescent students( 2002)This study examined the general perceived self-efficacy and written English self-efficacy of adolescent students classified as learning disabled, gifted and mainstream. A written English performance sample was obtained to provide a measure of the students' actual ability. A comparison was made between the performance sample and the students' perception of their ability in written English. The participants were 24 year 9 students. Three groups of 8 students each, were included in the research. Group one consisted of learning disabled students, group two consisted of gifted students, and group three consisted of students not identified as exceptional in any way (mainstream). The study used a combined quantitative and survey method design with systematic sampling. Students first completed a 10-minute essay on their 'favourite day' then a self-efficacy questionnaire. The results demonstrated that students in the learning disabled group had the lowest levels of general perceived and written English self-efficacy, with students in the mainstream group recording the highest levels of both general perceived and written English self-efficacy. The comparison between the students' scores on their written English performance sample and on their written English self-efficacy, showed no significant results.
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ItemFace-to-face : cross-cultural communication with Somali-speaking parents( 2008)This research thesis reports on an investigation of cross-cultural communication at one Victorian primary school, at which the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the staff and a sizeable proportion of the parents differ markedly. This qualitative, case study investigated the perspectives of one group of parents, all from a Somali speaking background, and school staff about the current levels of cross-cultural communication and how these key stakeholders believed home/school links could be improved. Data for this investigation were gathered from parent participants through group and individual interviews, some of which were conducted in Somali with the assistance of a bilingual research assistant. Consideration of these participants' vulnerable social status (Liamputtong, 2007), was an important aspect of this research process thus ensuring these parents, seldom heard within the school environment, had the opportunity to express their opinions and relate their experiences of cross-cultural communication with school staff. The data collection process, therefore, provides a model for excellent cross-cultural communication between an institution, such as a school, and a marginalised parent community. Written questionnaires, comprising open-ended and some ranked questions were used to investigate staff perspectives of cross-cultural communication. This was followed by a group interview with some staff members in which issues were discussed with greater depth. This research project revealed that the low-levels of cross-cultural communication noted at this school are not an indication of the level of goodwill held by Somali-speaking parents and school staff. On the contrary, all participants expressed a strong desire to learn more about the other and for communication levels to improve, recognising the importance of strong home/school links in improving educational outcomes for students. Through the suggestions, opinions and experiences of participants, a series of recommendations are made in this report, so that the momentum of improved communication, initiated by the research project, might be continued at the school, or within similar educational contexts.
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ItemLearner access to language research( 2008)This is a study of how my class of learners perceived the relationships between English language learners, teachers, and researchers, during a five week Intensive Academic Preparation ELICOS course at an Australian university. As a starting point, it seizes on the fact that learners, unlike teachers and researchers, are rarely, if ever, encouraged to engage with language research as a potentially valuable resource for language learning. Noting the dearth of literature surrounding this topic specifically, this study focuses on the appropriateness of various practitioner inquiry models for a naturalistic exploration of my own classroom. The approach taken is one of Exploratory Practice, which is a set of guiding principles motivated by a strong ethicality towards learners and teachers. Using everyday pedagogical activities as data collection methods, such as group discussions and summaries as well as individual written pieces, this study reveals three important characteristics of my learners: a sense of pride in their personal knowledge of English language learning, an understanding of themselves as individuals within the language learning process, and a deep concern with the practical aspects of learning English. Meanwhile, my learners generally portray the relationships between learners, teachers, and researchers as hierarchical and unidirectional, with researchers and research on top. Overall, the study suggests that there is some value in providing access for my learners to language research, and in the conclusion to the study I make some recommendations for future research centring around ideas of learner identity, teacher/learner understandings of roles, and the place of the individual language learner within language learning.
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ItemInteractions between first and second language writing skills in Macedonian bilingual children in Australia( 2009)The theoretical belief arising from the interdependence hypothesis suggests that there is a common underlying proficiency in bilingual literacy development, particularly with respect to literacy skills, strategies and knowledge transfer across different languages. According to this view a strong establishment in one language not only develops skills in that language, but also facilitates the development of a second language. The aim of this research was to look at the interactions between literacy in Macedonian and English and to analyse the role of the first language literacy in second language acquisition in two dissimilar languages. Although the research explored the relationships between first language (Macedonian) and second language (English) writing skills, strategies and knowledge, the influence of motivation and the performance in English were also discussed. Namely this research investigated the skills and strategies that Macedonian bilingual children use for writing in Macedonian script and whether these strategies have a positive or negative transfer to English literacy. This research also analysed the writing behaviours, and attitude towards the two languages and how they affect the transfer of literacy skills and strategies. To address the aim of this research and gain an in-depth understanding about bilingual children's language acquisition and development a qualitative case-study method was employed. The subjects for this research were six nine year old children from a Macedonian/ English bilingual school. They were asked to write recounts in both languages, Macedonian and English, in order to investigate the transfer of skills, strategies and knowledge across both languages. The think-aloud protocols were used to look into the writing process and to categorise the types of writing strategies that the children can transfer from Macedonian to English literacy. This method was used to observe children's writing processes while writing and simultaneously discussing what thoughts were going through their mind. The childrens' attitudes towards learning in two languages were discovered by using semistructured interviews. The official results from the literacy assessment conducted at the school were also analysed and compared. The discussion of findings from the six children focussed on the transferable skills and strategies and the relationship between Macedonian and English writing. This research confirms that writing behaviours and strategies that the children displayed were consistent across both languages, even though the languages have different writing systems. In fact this research provided a better understanding of children's biliteracy development from an early age in a bilingual setting. Results of the study indicated that there is an interdependent ability between the first language and the second language writing and that there is a positive transfer of skills, strategies and knowledge from Macedonian to English. Therefore the conclusion is that the development of the stronger language literacy (Macedonian) facilitates literacy development in the second language (English) and that access to two languages from an early age and the possibility of learning those languages can facilitate literacy development.
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ItemSlave, master, tool, stalking horse or silver bullet? : the transformational potential of computers in English teaching( 2000)The study that follows is a 'down the track' case study of the impact on one teacher of the English/LOTE Unit of the professional development program Computers Across the Secondary Curriculum (CASC). Its aim was to examine the effect of learning technology on the teacher's pedagogic beliefs and practices. This was achieved by examination of the teacher's selection, planning, staging and scaffolding of learning and her metaphors for teaching and for technology. The effect of the introduction of the computer in the classroom on teacher student relationships was explored from the teacher's perspective. As the study developed it came also to examine the psychological relationship between teacher and computer, the potential of learning technologies to re-imagine the English curriculum and the role of human agency in transforming the structures and icons of the discipline. Data was collected through in-depth conversations and augmented by classroom observation, analysis of teacher curriculum materials, and teacher reflection. The study is highly situated. It does not seek to offer epistemic claims beyond its own setting. In this context it transfers focus from descriptive to normative research. It aims to add to the dialogue about what constitutes good English teaching through computers, and to advocate the importance of dialogic practitioner research within this quest. Finally it seeks to open a conversation to which others may choose to connect.
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ItemConcept of spoken English( 2007)The study presented here examines the concept of spoken English held by tertiary teachers of English as a Foreign Language in China. The objective was to discover this knowledge so as to inform the design of professional development programs aiming to raise the standards of spoken English teaching in order to meet new government policy objectives. A college in South China was chosen as the research site and 17 EFL teachers participated in the study. Data were collected through the teachers' written responses to samples of spoken English, answers to a questionnaire, and focus group discussions. The findings of the study provide a 'map', showing both the range and the focus of how the teachers conceive of the features of spoken English across its different domains, and the gaps between these concepts of spoken English and those in contemporary theories. Although a wide range of features covering all domains of spoken English are included by the teachers as a group, most of them focus more on the features of formal accuracy and fluency than on those in the domain of sociolinguistic and strategic language use. The findings also suggest a number of reasons for this imbalance. These include practical constraints, such as the national examination guides and big class size, and the teachers' lack of confidence and knowledge in certain domains of spoken language use. Considered in light of current theories of language teaching, these findings show the knowledge, beliefs and assumptions of a representative group of teachers which can be used to guide the design of on-going professional development programs for such teachers in the area of spoken English pedagogy.
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ItemFrom "great!" to "gr8!" : register shifts across CMC modes : a case study of three boys with varying literacy abilities( 2007)The aims of the current study were to observe A) the extent to which various ability level students demonstrate control over register in the three CMC modes of SMS, email and Word documents; and B) the extent to which these students are aware of these shifts in register. Data was collected by using a video recorder to capture how three students, Alex, Jasper and Eric, typed an SMS, an email, and a school-based text as a Microsoft Word document. Each student then discussed their texts in an interview, using the footage as a think-aloud protocol. All sessions were carried out with individual students, each lasting no more than 20 minutes. Data were analysed using the Hallidayan theory of register, taking into account its sub-categories of field, tenor and mode (Halliday, 1985a; 1985b; Eggins, 2004). The video footage indicated that Alex and Jasper, the students with higher literacy abilities, were able to switch between abbreviated codes and academic written English, demonstrating an understanding of the different communicative requirements of both informal and formal texts. The linguistic analysis illustrated that these students were very comfortable in using both Shorthand codes and conventional spelling in their SMS and email messages, and demonstrated a sophisticated use of the generic, syntactic and especially, lexical structures in their formal texts. However, Eric, identified by his teacher as having lower literacy abilities, was less comfortable in using abbreviations in his SMS and email; a less sophisticated structure in his formal text even showed some register confusion. The interviews revealed Alex's and Jasper's awareness of their register choices, evident across their texts. Although Eric also showed an awareness of these, his texts show he demonstrated these shifts to a lesser extent. Alex and Jasper also revealed positive attitudes towards, and an exploratory use of CMC modes. However, Eric's surprising aversion to technology suggests that some teenagers may be uncomfortable with the abbreviated language associated with some forms of CMC. Results show that, contrary to populist beliefs, (such as Texting 'is not bar to literacy;' cited in Thurlow, 2006, p. 699) the relationship between Shorthand codes and academic written English is multifaceted. Alex's and Jasper's awareness of composing texts with varied tenor allowed them to make appropriate register choices, whereas Eric's choices of code were more restricted. This study suggests that clearly, there are more complex variables operating, which should be examined in a wider array of students in future investigations.
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ItemThe effectiveness of EAP writing conferences( 2006)Teacher-student writing conferences are widely adopted in EAP composition pedagogy, but, to date, there is little research that has examined their effectiveness. This qualitative case study investigates in what ways conferences are effective in improving EAP students' writing. The participants in this study were three advanced EAP students and their teacher at an English language centre in Melbourne. The major data sources included tapes and transcripts of the interviews with each participant, copies of students' first drafts, tapes and transcripts of the conferences on their first drafts, and copies of their subsequent drafts. The findings suggest that EAP conferences may be effective in three ways: (a) improving students' understanding of the teacher's responses, (b) maintaining students' confidence about their writing and motivating them to revise their drafts, and (c) assisting students to revise their drafts. There is evidence that a successful conference does not necessarily lead to successful subsequent revisions as the final product may be affected by the student's writing abilities, language proficiency, and topic knowledge. The study also indicates that it is critical for teachers to tailor the feedback for the students' concerns and their developmental stages of EAP writing.