The Politics of English Second Language Writing Assessment in Global Contexts

The Politics of English Second Language Writing Assessment in Global Contexts
Author: Todd Ruecker
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2018-04-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1351603027

Reflecting the internationalization of the field of second language writing, this book focuses on political aspects and pedagogical issues of writing instruction and testing in a global context. High-stakes assessment impacts the lives of second language (L2) writers and their teachers around the world, be it the College English Test in China, Common Core-aligned assessments in the U.S., English proficiency tests in Poland, or the material conditions (such as access to technology, training, and other resources) affecting a classroom. With contributions from authors working in ten different countries in a variety of institutional contexts, the chapters examine the uses and abuses of various writing-related assessments, and the policies that determine their form and use. Representing a diverse range of contexts, methods, and disciplines, the authors jointly call for more equitable testing systems that consider the socioeconomic, psychometric, affective, institutional, and needs of all students who strive to gain access to education and employment opportunities related to English language proficiency.

International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education

International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education
Author: Bee Chamcharatsri
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2022-02-10
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000542149

This volume explores the instructional use of creative writing in secondary and post-secondary contexts to enhance students’ language proficiency and expression in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). Offering a diverse range of perspectives from scholars and practitioners involved in English language teaching (ELT) globally, International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education tackles foundational questions around why fiction and creative writing have been traditionally omitted from ESL and EFL curricula. By drawing on empirical research and first-hand experience, contributors showcase a range of creative genres including autobiography, scriptwriting, poetry, and e-Portfolios, and provide new insight into the benefits of second language creative writing for learners’ language proficiency, emotional expression, and identity development. The volume makes a unique contribution to the field of second language writing by highlighting the breadth of second language users throughout the world, and foregrounding links between identity, learning, and ESL/EFL writing. This insightful volume will be of particular interest to postgraduate students, researchers, and academics in the fields of ESL/EFL learning, composition studies, and second language acquisition (SLA). Those with a focus on the use of creative writing in classrooms more broadly, will also find the book of interest.

Teaching L2 Composition

Teaching L2 Composition
Author: Dana R. Ferris
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 593
Release: 2023-03-23
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1000790479

This popular, comprehensive theory-to-practice text helps teachers understand the task of writing, L2 writers, the different pedagogical models used in current composition teaching, and reading-writing connections. Moving from general themes to specific pedagogical concerns, it includes practice-oriented chapters on the role of genre, task construction, course and lesson design, writing assessment, feedback, error treatment, and classroom language (grammar, vocabulary, style) instruction. Each chapter includes Questions for Reflection, Further Reading and Resources, Reflection and Review, and Application Activities. An ideal text for L2 teacher preparation courses and in-service writing instructors, the text offers an accessible synthesis of theory and research that enables readers to see the relevance of the field’s knowledge base to their own present or future classroom settings and student writers. New to the Fourth Edition: Updated with new research, theory, and developments in the field throughout the text Visually accessible layout and design for improved reader navigability Expanded attention to technological affordances for writing pedagogy Stand-alone reference list in each chapter Support Material with activities and resources from the text also available on the book’s webpage at www.routledge.com/9780367436780

The Assessment of L2 Written English across the MENA Region

The Assessment of L2 Written English across the MENA Region
Author: Lee McCallum
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2020-12-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030532542

This edited book brings together contributions from different educational contexts across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in order to explore how L2 English writing is assessed. Across seven MENA countries, the book covers aspects of practice including: task design and curriculum alignment, test (re)development, rubric design, the subjective decision making that underpins assessing students’ writing and feedback provision, learner performance and how research methods help shed light on initiatives to improve student writing. In such coverage, chapter authors provide concrete evidence of how assessment practice is governed by their unique context, yet also influenced by international standards, trends and resources. This book will be of interest to second language teachers, assessors and programme developers as well as test designers and evaluators.

Education beyond Crisis

Education beyond Crisis
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2020-06-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9004432043

This book intends to find a common path for diverse approaches meant to reach a better vision on the future of education, to adapt it to the most spectacular and rapid changes in the modern world. Remarkable education specialists bring their research into this volume that collects the best ideas and solutions presented in the 19th Biennial Conference of the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching (Sibiu, Romania, July 2019). The 17 chapters of this book promote a hopeful vision on the future of education as proclaimed in the title: Education beyond Crisis: Challenges and Directions in a Multicultural World. The volume focuses on three major ideas: defining directions for the future of teaching, challenges of the contemporary teaching context, and teaching in a multicultural world. The volume itself stands for the multicultural approach of education, as the contributors propose a unitary picture on education, in the contexts of national educative programs or inclusive education for the refugee children. Well-known researchers answer important questions on the effectiveness of educational reforms and education policies in different countries. They take into account the student voice or the teachers' opinions in teaching and designing the new curriculum. The volume includes researches based on case studies, interviews, surveys, qualitative analysis, and original researching instruments. Readers will find here not only the vision of a multicultural world, but also valuable ideas on education in Austria, Brazil, Canada, Portugal, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Serbia, Spain, Singapore, Romania, Turkey, and the United States. Contributors are: Christiana Deliewen Afrikaner, Laura Sara Agrati, Ana Flavia Souza Aquiar, Neelofar Ahmed, Douwe Beijaard, Terence Titus Chia, Cheryl J. Craig, Feyza Doyran, Estela Ene, Maria Assunção Flores, Maria Antonella Galanti, Paula Martín Gómez, Christos Govaris, Heng Jiang, Stavroula Kaldi, Ria George Kallumkal, Manpreet Kaur, Julia Köhler, Malathy Krishnasamy, Virginia Grazia Iris Magoga, Maria Ines Marcondes, Paulien C. Meijer, Juanjo Mena, Raluca Muresan, Ingeborg van der Neut, Ida E. Oosterheert, Darlene Ciuffetelli Parker, Loredana Perla, Cui Ping, Snežana Obradović-Ratković, Maria Luisa Garcia Rodriquez, Minodora Salcudean, Gonny Schellings, Antonis Smyrnaios, Sydney Sparks, Alexandra Stavrianoudaki, Vassiliki Tzika, Evgenia Vassilaki, Viviana Vinci, Kari-Lynn Winters, Vera E. Woloshyn, Tamara Zappaterra, and Gang Zhu.

Second Language Writing Instruction in Global Contexts

Second Language Writing Instruction in Global Contexts
Author: Lisya Seloni
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2019-10-11
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1788925882

This book revisits second language (L2) writing teacher education by exploring the complex layers of L2 writing instruction in non-English dominant contexts (i.e. English as a foreign language contexts). It pushes the boundaries of teacher education by specifically examining the development of teacher literacy in writing in under-represented L2 writing contexts, and re-envisions L2 writing teacher education that is contextually and culturally situated, moving away from the uncritical embracement of Western-based writing pedagogies. It explores and expands on writing teacher education – how language teachers come to understand their own writing practices and instruction, and what their related experiences are in non-English dominant contexts across the globe. Chapter 4 is free to download as an open access publication. You can access it here: https://zenodo.org/record/7096127#.YymCsHbMLcs

Research Questions in Language Education and Applied Linguistics

Research Questions in Language Education and Applied Linguistics
Author: Hassan Mohebbi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 814
Release: 2022-01-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030791432

This volume encompasses the range of research questions on language-related problems that arise in language teaching, learning and assessment. The [150] chapters are written by experts in the field who each offer their insights into current and future directions of research, and who suggest several highly relevant research questions. Topics include, but are not limited to: language skills teaching, language skills assessment and testing, measurement, feedback, discourse analysis, pragmatics, semantics, language learning through technology, CALL, MALL, ESP, EAP, ERPP, TBLT, materials development, genre analysis, needs analysis, corpus, content-based language teaching, language teaching and learning strategies, individual differences, research methods, classroom research, form-focused instruction, age effects, literacy, proficiency, and teacher education and teacher development. The book serves as a reference and offers inspiration to researchers and students in language education. An important skill in reviewing the research literature is following a study’s “plan of attack.” Broadly, this means that before accepting and acting upon the findings, one considers a) the research question (Is it clear and focused? Measurable?), b) the subjects examined, the methods deployed, and the measures chosen (Do they fit the study’s goal and have the potential to yield useful results?), and c) the analysis of the data (Do the data lead to the discussion presented? Has the author reasonably interpreted results to reach the conclusion?). Mohebbi and Coombe’s book, Research Questions in Language Education and Applied Linguistics: A Reference Guide, helps budding researchers take the first step and develop a solid research question. As the field of language education evolves, we need continual research to improve our instructional and assessment practices and our understanding of the learners’ language learning processes. This book with its remarkable 150 topics and 10 times the number of potential research questions provides a wealth of ideas that will help early career researchers conduct studies that move our field forward and grow our knowledge base. Deborah J. Short, Ph.D., Director, Academic Language Research & Training, Past President, TESOL International Association (2021-22) As a teacher in graduate programs in TESOL I frequently come across the frustration of students at centering their research interests on a particular topic and developing research questions which are worth pursuing so as to make a contribution to the field. This frustration stems from the fact that our field is so vast and interrelated, that it is often impossible to properly address all that interests them. Hence, I wholeheartedly welcome this most relevant and innovative addition to the research literature in the field of TESOL and Applied Linguistics. Coombe and Mohebbi have created a real tour de force that stands to inform budding researchers in the field for many years to come. Additionally, the cutting-edge depiction of the field and all it has to offer will no doubt update the research agendas of many seasoned researchers around the world. The 150 chapters are organized in a most powerful, yet, deceptively simple way offering a positioning within the topic, suggesting questions that might direct inquiry and offering a basic set of bibliographic tools to start the reader in the path towards research. What is more, the nine sections in which the chapters are organized leave no area of the field unexplored. Dr. Gabriel Díaz Maggioli, Academic Advisor, Institute of Education, Universidad ORT del Uruguay, President, IATEFL

EFL Writing Teacher Education and Professional Development

EFL Writing Teacher Education and Professional Development
Author: Estela Ene
Publisher: Channel View Publications
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2024-04-16
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 180041515X

This book explores how EFL writing teacher education is theoretically, pedagogically, methodologically and sociopolitically shaped, given teachers’ unique local contexts and circumstances. It showcases practitioners and researchers teaching in, or studying, geographic areas that have as yet been under-represented in international publications, and it focuses on ways that specific contexts create unique opportunities and constraints on what developing teachers know and do in their work. The chapters prioritize local voices and materials to build a more inclusive and comprehensive picture of L2 writing globally, enabling the book as a whole to both document and further shape pedagogical approaches to L2 writing. Readers will be able to use the unique insights contained in this book in their own classrooms and professional development activities.

Sublating Second Language Research and Practices

Sublating Second Language Research and Practices
Author: Manfred Man-fat Wu
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2023-07-31
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1000902161

Wu’s book provides an innovative perspective on, and recommendations for, the major aspects of second language (L2) teaching from a Hegelian anthro-philosophical perspective. Language is social in nature and is related to the larger social milieu. Hegelian philosophy of language complements existing research and theories on L2 learning by not only equipping them with a systematic framework but also broadening their scope. In Hegelian philosophy, language not only has its individual and interpersonal dimensions but is also related to the community, society, and morality. The Hegelian perspective also suggests a number of functions of L2 which have either been neglected or rejected by L2 researchers. This book highlights these neglected elements such as intersubjectivity, mutual recognition, universalization and objectivization of inner subjectivity of individuals, as well as moral enhancement. These concepts generate insights on the teaching and learning of L2. Wu’s volume also covers how the Hegelian anthro-philosophical perspective can help to re-interpret research results on L2 learner characteristics that are related to L2 learning to date such as L2 identity and autonomy. The book offers an alternative research paradigm, teaching philosophy, pedagogical implications, and suggestions for scholars, practitioners, and students in the professional field of L2 teaching.

Changing Practices for the L2 Writing Classroom

Changing Practices for the L2 Writing Classroom
Author: Nigel A. Caplan
Publisher: University of Michigan Press ELT
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2019-04-26
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0472037323

This volume was written to make the case for changes in second language writing practices away from the five-paragraph essay and toward purposeful, meaningful writing instruction. As the volume editors say, “If you have already rejected the five-paragraph essay, we offer validation and classroom-tested alternatives. If you are new to teaching L2 writing, we introduce critical issues you will need to consider as you plan your lessons and as you consider/review the textbooks and handbooks that continue to promote the teaching of the five-paragraph essay. If you need ammunition to present to colleagues and administrators, we present theory, research, and pedagogy that will benefit students from elementary to graduate school. If you are skeptical about our claims, we invite you to review the research presented here and consider what your students could do beyond writing a five-paragraph essay if you enacted these changes in practice.” Part 1 discusses what the five-paragraph essay is not: it is not a very old, established form of writing; it is not a genre; and it is not universal. Part 2 looks at writing practices to show the essay’s ineffectiveness in elementary schools, secondary schools, first-year writing classes, university writing courses, undergraduate discipline courses, and graduate school. Part 3 looks beyond the classroom at testing. At the end of each chapter, the authors--all well-known in the field of second language writing--suggest changes to teaching practices based on their theoretical approach and classroom experience. The book closes by reviewing some of the major questions raised in the book, by exploring which questions have been left unanswered, and by offering suggestions for teachers who want to move away from the five-paragraph essay. An assignment sequence for genre-aware writing instruction is included.