Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemRater consistency and judgment in the direct assessment of second language writing ability within the certificates in spoken and written English( 1998)The introduction of competency-based models of language and literacy education in Australia has, to a large degree, coincided with an increased emphasis on direct assessment as the most common means of evaluating second language writing ability within the Adult Migrant English Program. The key problem in directly assessing writing ability is having two or more raters arrive at a similar judgment or rating for the same piece of writing. While there is a long tradition of research on rater consistency and judgment in the holistic assessment of writing ability, similar research on the direct assessment of second language writing ability within the context of competency-based language and literacy education is almost non-existent. This study aims to determine the degree to which the performance criteria designed to assess second language writing ability within the Certificates in Spoken and Written English can ensure acceptable levels of rater consistency, and to describe the decision-making behaviours and strategies used by raters when reading for the purposes of assessment. The think-aloud verbal reports of six experienced ESL raters assessing three texts written by intermediate level adult ESL learners were transcribed and subjected to a rigorous interpretive analysis. In terms of rater consistency, analysis of raters verbal reports indicated that while there was generally a high degree of rater consistency at the overall performance or text level there was considerably tess agreement at the level of individual performance criteria. Analysis of the data revealed that raters adopted distinctive styles or approaches to reading for the purposes of assessment and that raters interpreted and applied the performance criteria statements in a range of different ways. These findings have significant implications not only for the development of competency-based assessment procedures but also for the training of raters. v11
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ItemA case study of Japanese students: e-mail exchange in English: feedback focusing on communicability( 2007)English education in Japan has been struggling to improve the communicative proficiency of students. Previous studies reveal that low motivation, a lack of confidence in using English and few opportunities to use English for communication are the factors that inhibit the communicative proficiency of Japanese students. Although writing has been gaining significance in communication in English in the era of the Internet, writing has been an area disregarded among the communication skills in classrooms in Japan. This study explores ways to improve Japanese students' motivation and confidence through writing by setting e-mail exchanges for Japanese students with Australian native English speakers. A discrepancy exists between the goal of writing and the feedback provided to students' written work in English classrooms in Japan. Great attention is still paid only to the grammatical accuracy while communication is emphasized as the goal of English learning. Excessive attention to grammatical accuracy is one of the factors inhibiting Japanese students in improving their confidence and motivation for learning English. In order to change that situation, this study compares specific feedback focusing on 'communicability', the intelligibility of writing for readers with the traditional error correction technique. The error correction type feedback has been shown to have a negative influence on students' motivation and confidence, and consequently their attitude towards English learning. On the other hand, the feedback focusing on communicability is found effective in improving students' motivation, confidence in English and attitude towards English learning. E-mail exchange has also been found to be effective in enhancing students' motivation. The study recommends incorporating e-mail writing and the feedback focusing on communicability into English classrooms in Japan. These can be positive means of improving students' communicative proficiency and willingness to communicate in English.
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ItemA cohesion analysis of texts written by adult Mandarin ESL students( 2001)This project aims to explore the written cohesive strategies employed by Mandarin English as a Second Language (ESL) learners, which knowledge will enable educators to better address their specific needs. The participants were members of an adult literacy class of both native and non-native speakers. Students completed several preliminary tasks in order to establish their familiarity with the specific grammatical resources utilised in English. Using a prompt, they wrote letters of complaint, which provided the research data. These were analysed from a functional systemic perspective, identifying patterns of usage of cohesive devices. Questionnaires and individual interviews provided qualitative insights into students' language practices. The study demonstrated that Mandarin students employed a higher percentage of cohesive ties than did the native speakers, which phenomenon may be explained by factors including level of first language literacy, years of formal English language study, and years of residency in Australia. The study suggests that Mandarin ESL learners might moderate their density of cohesive ties, to attain native-like written rhetorical structure. Secondly, register variables proved to have significant implications for cohesive paradigms, in conjunction with contrastive rhetoric cultural conventions. Lexical cohesive patterns point to the crucial role of vocabulary acquisition, an aspect of language acquisition which ought to be addressed in the teaching field. The study also explores the eclectic nature of the language practices acquired by students who have received considerable EFL teaching, and have often lived in English speaking communities for extended periods. Ultimately, this research highlights the need for further study in adult literacy contexts; drawing on larger samples from more diverse language backgrounds, with a specific focus on the role of politeness theory, register variables and contrastive rhetoric.