Evaluation in Foreign Language Education in the Middle East and North Africa

Evaluation in Foreign Language Education in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Sahbi Hidri
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2016-09-27
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3319432346

This book presents evaluation cases from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) context, investigating the various facets of evaluation in different parts of the MENA region and beyond. In 19 chapters, it explores cases from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, the UAE, Turkey, Iran and Morocco. The book highlights the impact of evaluation on a range of stakeholders, arguing that it has repercussions at the individual, societal, economic, cultural and political levels, that it also has an ethical dimension, and that it is tailored to people’s needs, helping them to remain abreast of the effectiveness and efficiency of programs. Further, the book explores controversial issues concerning different evaluation themes, such as teacher and staff evaluation, assessment practices, text genre analysis evaluation, assessment of productive skills, textbook and ICT evaluation, evaluation of ELT certificates and programs, quality assurance, ESP needs analysis, assessment literacy, and dynamic assessment. It addresses key challenges, such as who the “right people” to implement evaluation are, and the appropriate use of evaluation results to avoid any misuse or harm to any stakeholder. In closing, the book calls for further research venues on the relevance of evaluation, testing and assessment in the MENA context and beyond.

English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa

English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Robert Kirkpatrick
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2016-12-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3319467786

This volume offers insights on English language education policies in Middle Eastern and North African countries, through state-of-the-art reports giving clear assessments of current policies and future trends, each expertly drafted by a specialist. Each chapter contains a general description of English education polices in the respective countries, and then expands on how the local English education policies play out in practice in the education system at all levels, in the curriculum, in teaching, and in teacher training. Essays cover issues such as the balance between English and the acquisition of the national language or the Arabic language, as well as political, cultural, economic and technical elements that strengthen or weaken the learning of English. This volume is essential reading for researchers, policy makers, and teacher trainers for its invaluable insights in the role of each of the stakeholders in the implementation of policies.

English Language Teaching Research in the Middle East and North Africa

English Language Teaching Research in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Sahbi Hidri
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 716
Release: 2018-11-23
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3319985337

This edited collection examines a range of English Language Teaching (ELT) research in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). While the MENA context has witnessed considerable change in recent years, it has so far been under-represented in ELT research at both the regional and the international level. This book aims to fill that gap by surveying the current state of the field, examining in detail a range of issues and concepts, and suggesting future directions for further research. It will be of interest to ELT researchers and practitioners in general - not just those based in MENA contexts themselves.

Revisiting the Assessment of Second Language Abilities: From Theory to Practice

Revisiting the Assessment of Second Language Abilities: From Theory to Practice
Author: Sahbi Hidri
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 493
Release: 2018-01-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3319628844

This book presents an overview of revisiting the assessment of language abilities. It also showcases how the measurement of such constructs can result in negative or positive washback and how outcomes might be conducive to repercussions that decide on the future of many stakeholders. The 23 chapters were selected among tens of chapters received from different contexts that addressed the issue of revisiting the assessment of language abilities, such as Tunisia, Ukraine, Algeria, Russia, KSA, Sudan, Egypt, Canada, Kurdistan, UK, USA, Iran, Turkey, etc. These contexts have highlighted the necessity to revisit the different constructs which should be assessed with a clear and straightforward foundation on students’ learning objectives and their actual language ability. To do so, most of the chapters present hands-on use of relevant statistical tests that might serve in revisiting the construct definition both theoretically and operationally. Perhaps the sole and intricate question that the authors of these contributions ask is what it means to revisit the assessment of the construct of individualized language ability and how. In addition, the book accentuates the momentousness and significance of reflecting on test fairness and validation as the mainspring and backbone for democratization of assessment. This book appeals to a broad readership, such as English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners, language teachers, students, testing organizations, policy-makers, test designers, writers of test specifications, testing experts, researchers, program evaluators, especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as well as other international contexts.

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.

Research on English Language Teaching and Learning in the Middle East and North Africa

Research on English Language Teaching and Learning in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Kathleen Bailey
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2023-12-06
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1003818382

The tenth volume in the TIRF-Routledge series, this book features research on the teaching and learning of English in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). With chapters written by TIRF Doctoral Dissertation Grant awardees and internationally known scholars, the volume addresses contemporary challenges and considerations to teaching English in the MENA context. With empirical research covering a wide range of under-studied contexts, this book provides important insights and future directions to improve research and instruction. Offering up-to-date research at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels, this volume is an essential resource for language education programs and pre-service teachers. Chapter 7 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Confronting Challenges in English Language Teacher Education

Confronting Challenges in English Language Teacher Education
Author: Salah Troudi
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2024-09-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1040110118

This edited volume presents an inter- and multidisciplinary approach towards language teacher education, confronting the issues that have continued to pervade the field for the last two decades. Featuring contributions from researchers and teacher educators located within a truly international spread of countries – Mexico, Palestine, Tunisia, Cyprus, and Kuwait to name a few – chapters adopt an ecologically glocalised approach to understand how English language teaching is theorised and practised in different educational contexts across the world. Research gathered from interviews, meta-analysis, and international case studies is showcased as chapters consider both pedagogical and online issues within, as well as critical approaches to, language teacher education. Professional development and evaluation programmes across different educational contexts are discussed in-depth along with guidance and insights for the future of the field. The book will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and postgraduate students working in the fields of English language teacher education, TESOL, applied linguistics, continuing professional development.

Pedagogy-Driven Technology Integration in English Language Teaching

Pedagogy-Driven Technology Integration in English Language Teaching
Author: Made Hery Santosa
Publisher: Nilacakra
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2023-09-21
Genre: Education
ISBN:

The book entitled “Pedagogy-Driven Technology Integration in English Language Teaching” discusses pedagogical soundness and appropriateness of technology to address problems or issues in the teaching and learning process, especially in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning context. It is a relatively new genre, similar to a book review section, in academic journals and magazines. With technology's rapid and disruptive development, teaching and learning in the EFL context may not be the same anymore. Numerous tools, prominently digital ones, have been massively utilized within and beyond the classroom walls. Yet, one thing remains the same, the pedagogical aspects comprising clear and scaffolded learning stages incorporated with technologies must present insights and bring about benefits to the instruction.

Perspectives on Language Assessment Literacy

Perspectives on Language Assessment Literacy
Author: Sahbi Hidri
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2020-06-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000075796

Perspectives on Language Assessment Literacy describes how the elements of language assessment literacy can help teachers gather information about when and how to assess learners, and about using the appropriate assessment tools to interpret results in a fair way. It provides highlights from past and current research, descriptions of assessment processes that enhance LAL, case studies from classrooms, and suggestions for professional dialogue and collaboration. This book will help to foster continuous learning, empower learners and teachers and make them more confident in their assessment tasks, and reassure decision makers that what is going on in assessment meets international benchmarks and standards. It addresses issues like concepts and challenges of assessment, the impacts of reflective feedback on assessment, the ontogenetic nature of assessment literacy, the reliability of classroom-based assessment, and interfaces between teaching and assessment. It fills this gap in the literature by addressing the current status and future challenges of language assessment literacy. This book will be of great interest for academics, researchers, and post-graduate students in the fields of language assessment literacy and English language teaching.

Enhancements and Limitations to ICT-Based Informal Language Learning: Emerging Research and Opportunities

Enhancements and Limitations to ICT-Based Informal Language Learning: Emerging Research and Opportunities
Author: Ahmed, Rashad
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2020-01-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1799821188

In today’s modernized world, digital technology has taken the forefront in all aspects of society, including education. Students have access to numerous electronic devices, which has made online learning materials highly accessible. These technological impacts have blurred the distinction between formal and informal language learning methods. Informally learned English has lost proficiency when assessing student performance. Sizable research is necessary to study and understand the informal methods of language learning using technology. Enhancements and Limitations to ICT-Based Informal Language Learning: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the implementation of technological opportunities within informal language teaching methods along with the drawbacks that limit its efficiency. While highlighting topics such as acculturation, student perception, and autonomous applications, this publication explores how learners perform ICT-based activities beyond the classroom and assesses the linguistic gains generated by informal ICT uses. This book is ideally designed for teachers, IT consultants, educational software developers, researchers, policymakers, and academic professionals seeking current research on technological techniques within second language learning and teaching.