School of Languages and Linguistics - Research Publications
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ItemPattern and particularity in a pedagogical genre: The case of an individual teacher(Librairie Garnier, 2015)The pedagogical focus of many genre studies in the field of applied linguistics has produced a wealth of materials designed to raise students’ awareness of the purposes, rhetorical structures, linguistic features, and contexts associated with particular educational genres. The desire to pin down the key characteristics of these genres has also resulted in a conceptualization of genres as rather more stable and constraining/normative than is the case in other disciplines such as literary studies and linguistic anthropology. In this chapter, we report on a rhetorical genre-based analysis of a spoken classroom event in the discipline of architecture - an event that was identified in the current study as both recurrent and patterned. As in many genre studies in the field of applied linguistics, we sought to characterize of the genre for teaching and learning purposes. Less usual was the case study approach adopted here, focusing on one teacher and his use of this classroom genre. A case study approach allowed us to explore the pattern and variability in the teacher’s improvisational pedagogical style. More generally, we want to argue that a study of particularity (in this case of one teacher’s use of a classroom genre) has the potential to contribute to a broader understanding of genre and generic boundaries. The chapter concludes by discussing the pedagogical implications of individual variation as well as underlining the need for a concept of genre in applied linguistics that allows a space to consider the tension between stability and creativity in language use.
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ItemClaire Kramsch: Language as Symbolic Power(Oxford University Press (OUP), 2022-06)
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ItemA comparative discourse study of simulated clinical roleplays in two assessment contexts: Validating a specific-purpose language test(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2016-04)The aim of this paper is to investigate from a discourse analytic perspective task authenticity in the speaking component of the Occupational English Test (OET), an English language screening test for clinicians designed to reflect the language demands of health professional–patient communication. The study compares the OET speaking sub-test roleplay performances of 12 doctors who were successful OET candidates with practice Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) roleplay performances of 12 international medical graduates (IMGs) preparing for the Australian Medical Council clinical examination. The premise for the comparison is that the OSCE roleplays can represent communication practices that are valued within the medical profession; therefore a finding of similarity in the discourse structure across the OET and the OSCE roleplays could be taken as supporting the validity of the OET as a tool for eliciting relevant communication skills in the medical profession. The study draws on genre theory as developed in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) in order to compare the roleplay discourse structure and the linguistic realizations of the two tasks. In particular, it examines the role relationships of the participants (i.e. the tenor of the discourse), and the ways in which content is represented (i.e. the field of the discourse) by roleplay participants. The findings reveal some key similarities but also important differences. Although both tests inevitably fall short in terms of authentic representation of real world interactions, the findings suggest that the OET task, for a range of reasons including time allowances, training of test interlocutors, and the limits of contextual information provided to candidates, constrains candidate topic exploration and treatment negotiation, compared to the OSCE format. The paper concludes with proposals for mitigating these limitations in the interests of enhancing the OET’s capacity to elicit more professionally relevant language and communication skills.
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ItemPerspectives from physiotherapy supervisors on student-patient communication(INT JOURNAL MEDICAL EDUCATION-IJML, 2012)
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ItemDeveloping and validating language proficiency standards for non-native English speaking health professionals(ALTAANZ-ASSOC LANGUAGE TESTING & ASSESSMENT AUSTRALIA, 2013)n/a
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ItemA Comparative Investigation Into Understandings and Uses of the TOEFL iBT® Test, the International English Language Testing Service (Academic) Test, and the Pearson Test of English for Graduate Admissions in the United States and Australia: A Case Study of Two University Contexts(Wiley, 2014-12-01)In line with expanded conceptualizations of validity that encompass the interpretations and uses of test scores in particular policy contexts, this report presents results of a comparative analysis of institutional understandings and uses of 3 international English proficiency tests widely used for tertiary selection—the TOEFL iBT® test, the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS; Academic), and the Pearson Test of English (PTE)—at 2 major research universities, 1 in the United States and the other in Australia. Adopting an instrumental case study approach, the study investigated levels of knowledge about and uses of test scores in international graduate student admissions procedures by key stakeholders at Purdue University and the University of Melbourne. Data for the study were gathered via a questionnaire eliciting fixed‐choice responses and supplemented with qualitative interview data querying the basis for participants' beliefs, understandings, and practices. The study found that the primary use of language‐proficiency test scores, whether TOEFL®, IELTS, or PTE, by those involved in the admissions process at both institutions was often limited to determining whether applicants had met the institutional cutoff for admission. Beyond this focused and arguably narrow use, language‐proficiency test scores had little impact on admissions decisions, which largely depended on other required elements of applicants' admissions files. In addition, and despite applicants having submitted test scores that met the required cutoffs, survey respondents and interviewees often indicated dissatisfaction with enrolled students' levels of English‐language proficiency, both for academic study and for other roles within the university and in subsequent employment. A slight majority at both institutions indicated that they believed the institutional cutoffs represented adequate proficiency, while the remainder indicated that they believed the cutoffs represented minimal proficiency. The tension created by users' limited use of language‐proficiency scores beyond the cut, uncertainty about what cutscores represent, the assumption on the part of many respondents that students should be entering with language skills that allow success in graduate studies, and subsequent dissatisfaction with enrolled students' actual language proficiency may contribute to a perception that English‐language proficiency test scores are of questionable value; that is, perceived problems reside with the tests, rather than with how test scores are used and interpreted by those involved in the admissions process. At the same time, respondents at both institutions readily acknowledged very limited familiarity with or understanding of the English‐language tests that their institutions had approved for admissions. Owing to this lack of familiarity, a substantial majority at both institutions indicated no preference for either the TOEFL or the IELTS, counter to our expectation that score users in a North American educational context would prefer the TOEFL, while those in an Australian educational context would prefer the IELTS. The study's findings enhance understandings of test attitudes and test use. Findings may also provide insight for ETS and other language test developers about the context‐sensitive strategies that could be needed to encourage test score users to extend their understandings and use of language‐proficiency test scores.
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ItemMeasuring the Speaking Proficiency of Advanced EFL Learners in China: The CET-SET Solution(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2009)
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ItemImplicit and Explicit Knowledge of an L2 and Language Proficiency(Multilingual Matters, 2009)