Dissertations / Theses: 'Oral and writing proficiency'

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Aychan, Ibrahim. "Extramural English Activities in the Swedish ESL Classroom." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle (LS), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-44391.

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This literature review explores the use of Extramural English in the classroom and its effects on students’ language acquisition. Through a systematic analysis of different studies on EE activities such as video games, the Internet, gaming, and other activities, this paper will investigate the possible positive or negative effects of EE activities on students’ performance. The results of this literature review show that students who are more exposed to EE activities have a better result with regard to the acquisition of English than their peers because the language of communication in Extramural activities is mainly English. The results also show that by incorporating EE in the classroom, teachers will be able to define the student’s strengths and weaknesses through eliciting the learning evidence when learning English as a second language.

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Fingerson, Andrea J. "Proficiency." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2014. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/51.

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As a child of God I know that every single human being was created by a loving Heavenly Father and that each of us has a purpose to fulfill during our lifetime. Part of my individual purpose is to share myself and my testimony of the gospel with others through the medium of the written word. My life, like yours, is a unique composition that requires a consistent and mindful application of agency to direct and edit its progress. I have made use of my agency as I have maneuvered the many conflicts and plot twists that I have faced during my lifetime. Learning about and embracing the importance of creative writing in my life is the result of the choices I have made along the way. As you read this work, this statement of purpose, you will learn about the moments in my life that have led me to this page. They have included trials, celebrations, and resolutions that have redirected my journey until I reached this chapter of my life to became the person I am today: a daughter of God, a daughter of man, a sister, an aunt, a teacher, and, most recently, a writer.

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Youngquist, Sandra A. "The impact of electronic writing proficiency on student writing performance /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/7771.

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Taylor, Victoria Hyrka. "Student assessment of writing quality as a predictor of writing proficiency." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/185192.

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As a writing placement measure, holistic scoring represents a breakthrough for compositionists and a welcome alternative to more traditional assessments--particularly standardized tests. However, reliability scores from direct measures are inconsistent; and, except for face validity, other types of validity have not been conclusively established. Furthermore, although writing instructions and writing assessment are inextricably related, testing and placing students in composition courses is still chiefly entrusted to administrators and test specialists. As such, the dual tasks are diverted from what should be the instructors' domain, constituting a threat to the empowerment of teachers as competent professionals. The Projective English Placement Instrument (PEPI) was created as part of the effort toward developing assessment tools that are cost-effective, reliable, valid, and that reflect classroom instruction. The PEPI is a 30-item, peer review instrument with a modified holistic/analytic scale which involves the students in identifying and evaluating characteristics that comprise writing quality. A total of 151 entering Freshman English students participated in this study to evaluate the effectiveness of the PEPI. Results indicate that the PEPI is a reliable, valid, accurate, and cost-effective measure of writing proficiency and placement. As a viable option to more conventional but less pedagogically sound methods of testing, such results invite inquiry and application for administrators, instructors, and researchers alike.

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Norton, Julie Elizabeth. "The English oral proficiency of Japanese learners." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.624461.

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Paramo, Deena M. "Exploring indicators of writing proficiency in beginning writers /." view abstract or download file of text, 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1232418321&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=11238&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Thesis (D. Ed.)--University of Oregon, 2006.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-71). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

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Mota, Filho Antonio. "Text structure and brazilian university student's writing proficiency." reponame:Repositório Institucional da UFSC, 1989. https://repositorio.ufsc.br/xmlui/handle/123456789/157596.

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Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Comunicação e Expressão
Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-08T16:24:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 79187.pdf: 2947212 bytes, checksum: 7538e89c2f805069675390db75fccb0a (MD5) Previous issue date: 1989
Pesquisas empíricas têm demonstrado a importância da organização retórica na compreensão e produção de textos expositivos (ou narrativos). A idéia básica é que a organização retórica subjacente a um dado texto interage com o esquema formal do leitor (seu conhecimento prévio e sua experiência com organização retórica) influenciando na compreensão e produção de textos.

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Samuelfolk, Hugues. "The promotion of Swedish L2 students’ oral proficiency." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, Institutionen för språk, litteratur och interkultur (from 2013), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-72842.

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The purpose of this study has been to examine how Swedish teachers of English encourage the development of students’ oral proficiency in the English language. By interviewing six Swedish teachers of English at upper secondary school, the study addresses which methods are mostly used by the teachers in order to encourage the improvement of students’ oral proficiency. The results of the study indicate that all the teachers tried in different manners to encourage students’ self-confidence, which would help them develop their oral proficiency. Furthermore, it was possible to conclude that the teachers shared the notion that insecurity is detrimental to the development of students’ oral proficiency. Another method that was used by the teachers was allowing students to work in either pair or groups. Even though most teachers used this method, they did point out different things that were important to think about in terms of group work. For the teachers, it was important that the students had fun during oral exercises, and thus, most teachers used different games when conducting oral activities in order to inspire a more relaxed or comfortable environment. The last concept that the teachers talked about was the usage of the target language in the classroom. Here the teachers’ ideas were not in alignment with each other. Some thought that it was good to force the students to use the target language throughout the lessons when communicating, whereas others only believed that students had to communicate orally in the target language during speaking activities. If students were insecure, it did not, according to these teachers, help the students to force them to speak English throughout the lessons. Most of the concepts that were introduced by the teachers were similar to those found in previous studies on Swedish teachers of English. Furthermore, the results of this paper could also be tied to previous research concerning oral development for L2 learners.
Syftet med denna studie har varit att studera hur svenska engelskalärare främjar utvecklingen av elevers muntliga färdigheter i engelska. Genom att intervjua sex svenska engelskalärare på gymnasieskolan undersöker studien vilka metoder som används mest av lärarna för att utveckla elevernas muntliga färdigheter. Resultaten av studien visar att de flesta lärare som intervjuades på olika sätt uppmuntrar elevernas självförtroende, vilket i sin tur hjälper dem att utveckla deras muntliga färdighet. Tanken om att osäkerhet är skadligt för elevers utveckling av muntlig färdighet delades av alla lärare som intervjuades. En annan metod som användes av lärarna var att tillåta elever att arbeta i par eller grupper. Även om de flesta lärare använde den här metoden pekade de på olika saker som var viktiga att tänka på när det gällde grupp- och pararbeten. Nästa metod som lärarna använde berörde inspirerandet av en mer avslappnad eller bekväm miljö som möjliggör utvecklingen av elevers muntliga färdigheter. För lärarna var det viktigt att eleverna hade kul under muntliga övningar, och sålunda använde de flesta lärare olika spel när de utförde muntliga aktiviteter. Det sista konceptet som lärarna talade om var användningen av målspråket i klassrummet. Här var lärarens idéer inte i linje med varandra. Vissa trodde att det var bra att tvinga eleverna att använda målspråket under hela lektionen medan andra inte trodde det hjälpte elevernas utveckling av sitt muntliga språk. Om en student var osäker, hjälpte det inte, enligt dessa lärare, att tvinga studenten att tala engelska under lektionerna. De påpekade dock att eleverna var tvungna att under talaktiviteter och muntliga presentationer interagera på målspråket. De flesta av de koncept som lärarna introducerade liknade dem som hittades i tidigare studier om svenska engelskalärare. Dessutom kan resultaten av denna uppsats kopplas till tidigare forskning kring oral development for L2 learners.

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Marks, Lori J. "Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy and Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2001. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/3585.

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Marks, Lori J. "Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy and Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2015. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/3678.

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Singleton-Jackson, Jill A. "Writing Proficiency Among Graduate Students in Higher Education Programs." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2003. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4179/.

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This study explored the extent to which graduate students enrolled in Higher Education courses were proficient at writing. While writing proficiency has been extensively studied in elementary students, high school students, and undergraduates, little attention has been paid to formally evaluating graduate student proficiency. Despite the relatively new idea of assessing graduate student writing, it is a concern for graduate faculty and a valid area for study. This study was based on a sample of graduate students enrolled in at least one course in Higher Education at public institutions of higher education in the United States. A total sample size of 97 students was obtained. Two instruments were administered to the participants: A General Information and Writing Experience Questionnaire (G-WEQ) and the SAT II: Writing Test, Part B. The G-WEQ was designed to capture demographic information about the participants, as well as allow participants to provide a self-assessment of writing and describe the writing experiences they are currently encountering in graduate school. To assess writing proficiency for the participants, the SAT II: Writing Test, Part B was used. The purpose of the test is to "measure [test takers'] ability to...recognize faults in usage and structure, and to use language with sensitivity to meaning" (Educational Testing Service, 1999-2000, p.7). The z-Statistic for a Single Sample Mean significance test was used to determine whether the sample mean scored significantly higher than the population mean on the SAT II: Writing Test. This was not the case (z=0.295, p<0.38). The graduate students in this sample did not score significantly higher on the SAT II: Writing Test, Part B than the typical high school senior whose scores enter into the norm group.

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Christensen, Carl V. "Fluency Features and Elicited Imitation as Oral Proficiency Measurement." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2012. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3114.

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The objective and automatic grading of oral language tests has been the subject of significant research in recent years. Several obstacles lie in the way of achieving this goal. Recent work has suggested a testing technique called elicited imitation (EI) can be used to accurately approximate global oral proficiency. This testing methodology, however, does not incorporate some fundamental aspects of language such as fluency. Other work has suggested another testing technique, simulated speech (SS), as a supplement to EI that can provide automated fluency metrics. In this work, I investigate a combination of fluency features extracted for SS testing and EI test scores to more accurately predict oral language proficiency. I also investigate the role of EI as an oral language test, and the optimal method of extracting fluency features from SS sound files. Results demonstrate the ability of EI and SS to more effectively predict hand-scored SS test item scores. I finally discuss implications of this work for future automated oral testing scenarios.

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Kobayashi, Wakako. "Structural Equation Modeling of Writing Proficiency Using Can-Do Questionnaires." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2017. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/461909.

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Teaching & Learning
Ed.D.
The purposes of this study were to validate the writing section of the Eiken Can-Do Questionnaires used in this study and the second purpose was to determine the effects of ten affective orientations (i.e., Desire to Write English, Attitude Toward Learning to Write English, Motivational Intensity, Instrumental Orientation for Writing in English, L2 Writing Anxiety, L2 Writing Self-Confidence, Willingness to Communicate in L2 Writing, Self-Esteem, Cognitive Competence, and General Self-Worth), on the participants’ responses to the Eiken Can-Do Questionnaires. This purpose is valuable because little is known about the relationship between Can-Do Questionnaire and affective variables investigated in this study. The final purpose of this study was to develop Can-Do Questionnaires as an internal measure for a university writing class. The participants of this study were 204 university students studying in two private universities in Tokyo, Japan. The first instrument was the writing section of the Eiken Can-Do Questionnaire; this questionnaire served as the outside measure in this study. The second, six out of nine essays written by the students were assessed as a measure of their writing ability in English. The Affective Orientation Questionnaire was administered to measure ten Affective Orientations. The questionnaire and essay data were analyzed using the Rasch rating scale. All of the participants completed the Background Questionnaire and Affective Orientation Questionnaire in April 2010 and 2011 and completed the writing section of the Eiken Can-do Questionnaire in April, July, and December 2010 and 2011. six writing assignments were produced by 179 out of the 204 participants wrote during the 2010 and 2011 academic year, and the relationships among the variables were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. The results indicated that the use of the Eiken Can-Do Questionnaires as the proficiency level measure was appropriate for this group of university students. The Eiken Can-Do Questionnaires were predictors of Motivation and L2 Self-Confidence. Motivation was a predictor of WTC in L2 Writing. Therefore, it should be noted that the Eiken Can-Do Questionnaires had an indirect effect with WTC in L2 Writing. The result implies that through having Eiken Can-Do questionnaires and Classroom Can-do Questionnaires to achieve their future goals, their English classes and their future learning objectives were connected.　 It is necessary to provide students with adequate practice and guidance in using the Eiken Can-Do Questionnaires in order to promote a deeper understanding of their purposes and uses.
Temple University--Theses

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Weatherwax, Kerrin. "Elementary Teachers' Perceptions on Writing Proficiency of Military-Connected Students." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4576.

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At Base Elementary School (BES) in the Southwest United States school administrators were concerned that writing proficiency levels for 2014-2015 were below district and state standards and there was not a clear understanding of teachers' perceptions on writing proficiency of military-connected (MC) students at the target site. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teachers' perceptions on writing proficiency of MC students at BES. Using Lave and Wenger's communities of practice framework, a qualitative instrumental case study was used to discern perceptions of elementary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers regarding the writing proficiency of MC students. Through a purposeful sample of 12 ELA teachers, telephone interviews were used to explore teachers' writing perceptions. Data from interviews were analyzed using inductive and iterative analysis resulting in identification of key themes. Major themes included the status of existing writing practices, diverse culture of MC students, need for collaborative relationship building among teachers, and the need for targeted writing professional development (PD) focused on connecting evidence-based practices (EBP) to state writing standards using culturally responsive practices (CRP). The resulting project of a white paper, will promote stakeholder awareness of teachers' perceptions, includes themes supporting the findings with recommendations that teachers would benefit from targeted writing PD focused on EBP and CRP using a collaborative model. Teacher use of these recommendations may promote social change by improving writing support for MC students possibly leading to improved performance on state proficiency assessments.

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Karlin, Omar. "Assessing English Environment Personality and its role in oral proficiency." Thesis, Temple University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3745833.

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The general areas of research for this study are personality and second language acquisition. The three goals of this study are to (a) develop a personality instrument (the Questionnaire of English Environment Personality [QuEEP]) that accounts for second language influences on personality, and more effectively captures personality than an established personality instrument (the International Personality Item Pool Big Five Factor Markers [IPIP BFFM]), (b) determine if personality changes after studying abroad for a month, and (c) determine if certain personality types are likely to improve oral proficiency when studying abroad.

In relation to the study’s first goal, 262-items, using a five-point Likert scale, were created and administered to 287 Japanese university students to measure five personality factors based on the extraversion, emotional stability, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness factors of the Big Five model of personality (McCrae & Costa, 1987). These items were then culled to 50 items by examining their suitability through factor analysis and Rasch analysis. Two 50-item versions of the QuEEP were drawn from the same 262-items, one based on three factor analyses, and the other based on Rasch analysis. Both versions of the QuEEP included 10 items for each of the five personality factors in the Big Five. Both versions of the QuEEP outperformed the IPIP BFFM on four measures of validity, including content validity, structural validity, external validity, and generalizability, while the IPIP BFFM outperformed both versions of the QuEEP on the substantive aspect of construct validity. As a result, it was concluded that the QuEEP, specifically the version derived from the Rasch analysis, was more effective at capturing personality that was influenced by a second language than the IPIP BFFM.

In relation to the study’s second goal, the personality for 38 study-abroad students was assessed, through a pre-departure and post-return administration of the QuEEP and IPIP BFFM, to determine if the participants’ personality changed after one month abroad. The results indicated that the personality measures of extraversion and emotional stability increased significantly after one month abroad, as measured by the QuEEP. The IPIP BFFM did not indicate any significant personality changes.

In relation to the study’s third goal, the 38 study-abroad students also completed a pre-departure and post-return interview test to determine if certain personality types benefitted more from studying abroad in terms of oral proficiency, which included eight measures of fluency, complexity, and accuracy. The results indicated that when the participants were divided into high and low groups for each personality dimension (e.g., a high extraversion and a low extraversion group), the only significant differences between the groups in measures of oral proficiency involved the pauses fluency variable (low QuEEP emotional stability group), the words per second fluency variable (high IPIP BFFM extraversion group), the pauses fluency variable (high IPIP BFFM extraversion group), and the accuracy variable (low IPIP BFFM openness group). After Bonferroni adjustments were conducted, these findings were rendered not significant. However, when analyzed cross-sectionally rather than longitudinally, there were several significant correlations involving the QuEEP pretest and pre-interview test data, most notably between oral proficiency and extraversion and emotional stability. The IPIP BFFM posttest also indicated significant correlations between oral proficiency and agreeableness and openness. The QuEEP posttest and post-interview test data, and the IPIP BFFM pretest and pre-interview test data indicated fewer significant correlations with oral proficiency.

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Kanda, Makiko. "DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH ORAL PROFICIENCY AMONG JAPANESE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2015. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/355716.

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Language Arts
Ed.D.
This study is a longitudinal study that investigated the development of English oral proficiency—complexity, accuracy, and fluency—under the pre-task and on-line planning conditions with task repetition among Japanese high school students. This study is unique because it is longitudinal and includes qualitative data. The participants were 15 Japanese high school students whose English proficiency level is categorized as low proficiency. Narrative tasks, post-task questionnaires, journals, and interviews were used in this study. In the narrative tasks, they were asked to describe a four-picture story three times with two minutes planning time, when they were allowed to listen to an ALT (assistant language teacher) tell the story and take notes. They completed a post-task questionnaire and a journal after completing the task. Interviews were conducted two times to further investigate their questionnaire responses and what they wrote in their journal entries. The results showed that low proficiency learners increased oral fluency, syntactic complexity, lexical complexity, and syntactic accuracy through repeating the same task within a single session, and syntactic complexity and lexical complexity through repeating the same type of task during the academic year. The aural input between the first, second, and third performance can lead them to draw their attention to form-meaning connections, resulting in increased oral performance. In addition, low and intermediate beginners benefited in increasing oral fluency, syntactic complexity, and syntactic accuracy, while high beginners benefited in improving oral fluency and lexical complexity under pre-task and on-line planning conditions with repetition during the academic year. The study suggests that the combined use of pre-task planning, on-line planning, and task repetition have a cumulative effect and can facilitate the development of oral fluency, syntactic complexity, lexical complexity, and syntactic accuracy for low proficiency high school learns of English. If learners are given the opportunity to plan before and during task performance with repetition, and to make the condition that draws their attention to both form and meaning, it is the most effective strategy to improve oral fluency, syntactic complexity, lexical complexity, and syntactic accuracy in task-based teaching in the classrooms.
Temple University--Theses

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Karlin, Omar Christopher. "Assessing English Environment Personality and its Role in Oral Proficiency." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2015. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/356362.

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Language Arts
Ed.D.
The general areas of research for this study are personality and second language acquisition. The three goals of this study are to (a) develop a personality instrument (the Questionnaire of English Environment Personality [QuEEP]) that accounts for second language influences on personality, and more effectively captures personality than an established personality instrument (the International Personality Item Pool Big Five Factor Markers [IPIP BFFM]), (b) determine if personality changes after studying abroad for a month, and (c) determine if certain personality types are likely to improve oral proficiency when studying abroad. In relation to the study’s first goal, 262-items, using a five-point Likert scale, were created and administered to 287 Japanese university students to measure five personality factors based on the extraversion, emotional stability, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness factors of the Big Five model of personality (McCrae & Costa, 1987). These items were then culled to 50 items by examining their suitability through factor analysis and Rasch analysis. Two 50-item versions of the QuEEP were drawn from the same 262-items, one based on three factor analyses, and the other based on Rasch analysis. Both versions of the QuEEP included 10 items for each of the five personality factors in the Big Five. Both versions of the QuEEP outperformed the IPIP BFFM on four measures of validity, including content validity, structural validity, external validity, and generalizability, while the IPIP BFFM outperformed both versions of the QuEEP on the substantive aspect of construct validity. As a result, it was concluded that the QuEEP, specifically the version derived from the Rasch analysis, was more effective at capturing personality that was influenced by a second language than the IPIP BFFM. In relation to the study’s second goal, the personality for 38 study-abroad students was assessed, through a pre-departure and post-return administration of the QuEEP and IPIP BFFM, to determine if the participants’ personality changed after one month abroad. The results indicated that the personality measures of extraversion and emotional stability increased significantly after one month abroad, as measured by the QuEEP. The IPIP BFFM did not indicate any significant personality changes. In relation to the study’s third goal, the 38 study-abroad students also completed a pre-departure and post-return interview test to determine if certain personality types benefited more from studying abroad in terms of oral proficiency, which included eight measures of fluency, complexity, and accuracy. The results indicated that when the participants were divided into high and low groups for each personality dimension (e.g., a high extraversion and a low extraversion group), the only significant differences between the groups in measures of oral proficiency involved the pauses fluency variable (low QuEEP emotional stability group), the words per second fluency variable (high IPIP BFFM extraversion group), the pauses fluency variable (high IPIP BFFM extraversion group), and the accuracy variable (low IPIP BFFM openness group). After Bonferroni adjustments were conducted, these findings were rendered not significant. However, when analyzed cross-sectionally rather than longitudinally, there were several significant correlations involving the QuEEP pretest and pre-interview test data, most notably between oral proficiency and extraversion and emotional stability. The IPIP BFFM posttest also indicated significant correlations between oral proficiency and agreeableness and openness. The QuEEP posttest and post-interview test data, and the IPIP BFFM pretest and pre-interview test data indicated fewer significant correlations with oral proficiency.
Temple University--Theses

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Fullilove, John Pope III. "Examining oral English proficiency some factors affecting rater reliability in the use of English oral examination /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 1992. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B4389334X.

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Mikhailova, Julia V. "Comparison of interpersonal and presentational description in Russian oral proficiency testing." Connect to this title online, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1117225383.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 284 p.; also includes graphics (some col.) Includes bibliographical references (p. 274-284). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

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Güzel, Muhammet Çağrı. "DEVELOPING ORAL PROFICIENCY AND MOTIVATION THROUGH SCRIPT-BASED AND IMPROVISATIONAL DRAMA." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/611.

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Utilizing drama has long been an innovative and dynamic concept as a part of a communicative approach in English classrooms around the world. Teaching languages through drama offers many beneficial opportunities for learners. Nevertheless, traditional methods are still the widely held teaching structures across the globe, which results in an increase in the number of demotivated learners who often hate and fear to practice one of the challenging skills when learning a foreign language- speaking- as it is a productive language skill. Not only do the traditional methods bring negative emotional and psychological outcomes, but it also causes a gradual slowdown in the language acquisition process. The aim of this study was to exclude these problems and to provide a learner–centered atmosphere. This study is intended to gain insights, analyze and better understand the use of script-based and improvisational drama to develop oral proficiency by taking student motivation and attitudes into consideration. The study addressed the following questions: 1) What are learners’ motivations and attitudes toward developing speaking skills before the intervention and after the intervention?; 2) What unique roles do the script-based versus improvisational drama play in fostering learners’ development of oral proficiency?; 3) What are the participants’ reactions to script-based and improvisational drama instructional techniques before and after the intervention?; and 4) How do they make sense of their oral proficiency gains as they reflect on the experience of participating in the creative dramatic activity? In order to investigate these questions, 2 sessions of script-based and 2 sessions of improvisational drama, total of 4 sessions of drama intervention were offered to learners, and the researcher conducted interviews, video recordings, and field observations and notes throughout the intervention. Findings indicated that script-based and improvisational drama helped learners improve their oral proficiency, decrease their negative motivations, reduce their stress, anxiety and shyness levels, and increase their positive motivations. This study contributes to our understanding of the role of script-based and improvisational drama in language learning process.

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Reif, Ziemann Jody Ann. "The effects of current oral proficiency demands on foreign language teachers." Thesis, Marian University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10191828.

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The current recommendation by The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) is that communication in the target language should comprise at least 90% of instructional time in the second language classroom (ACTFL, 2012). This constructivist mixedmethod study contributes to the literature on the oral skills of practicing high school teachers and the oral skills training they receive in teacher preparation programs. Data for the study were collected in two phases, from nine face-to-face interviews, and from electronic survey respondents. Surveys were sent out to two hundred four teachers and responses were received from sixty-eight.

Identified themes that emerged from interview participants’ experiences were: 1) use of target language vs. English in class, 2) challenges target language teaching presented for teachers, and 3) teachers’ responses to these challenges. A twenty-one question electronic survey was created based upon these themes and sent out state-wide to high school Spanish teachers.

In a significant finding, while participants indicated an overall feeling of being sufficiently proficient in their own oral skills and supporting use of the target language as much as possible in classroom activities, slightly more than one-half of teachers surveyed reported they were not adequately prepared to teach in a Standards-based curriculum which emphasizes the use of target language. Findings also indicated that consideration should be given to providing additional professional development opportunities regarding knowledge of and implementation of the Standards, as well as creation of further opportunities for target language maintenance for currently practicing teachers and additional opportunities for pre-service teachers in their university programs to improve their oral proficiency. In addition, this study revealed that, in this state, the taking and passing of the Oral Proficiency Interview or not needing to do so did not significantly impact the amount of target language used in class by teachers or student. Regarding length of teaching career and use of Spanish in class, this study showed a higher use of the target language by both teachers newer to the profession and those more senior teachers with less Spanish use in class reported by teachers who had been teaching between six and ten years.

Suggestions for future research were offered such as expanding studies to include middle school and elementary school levels, conducting similar studies with teachers of other languages than Spanish, and investigating other state’s teachers’ perspectives. Further data could provide more in-depth insights if the amounts of target language spoken for the various purposes were broken out into percentages by each level of language taught by instructors.

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Olsson, Sofie. "Speaking in the EFL classroom : A qualitative study of how four compulsory school teachers view the role of oral proficiency." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för språk (SPR), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-71402.

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Research shows that oral proficiency is a big part of communicative competence, and therefore highly relevant for EFL teachers in today’s society. This study aims to investigate what types of activities four EFL teachers in secondary school in Sweden prefer to use in order to practice and assess their students’ oral proficiency. This study further seeks to give an insight in what the four teachers focus on when assessing their students’ oral proficiency. The method used for this study was qualitative, semi- structured interviews with four EFL teachers of different secondary schools in south of Sweden. Furthermore, the data was later coded and analysed with inspiration of the Grounded theory methodology. The results of this study showed that the four teachers used different oral activities very often in their teaching, especially different kinds of discussions. The oral activities were often connected to other projects and assignments that included other skills such as reading and writing. Therefore, the oral proficiency activities were only said to be clearly planned and assessed once or twice per term. Moreover, the four teachers main focus when assessing the students’ oral proficiency seemed to be phenomena like fluency, clearness, adaption to purpose and strategy- usage.

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Angel, Adaros Ada Esperanza. "The Influence of Self-Regulation, Motivation, Proficiency, and Gender on L2 Freshmen Writing Achievement." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2017. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/423319.

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Teaching & Learning
Ed.D.
ABSTRACT In educational psychology and first language writing, many studies have established a link between self-regulation, key motivational factors associated with self-regulation, and academic achievement, but only a handful of research has examined this relationship in the context of L2 first-year writing. Using a sample of 170 non-native English speakers enrolled in different sections of two levels of first-year writing courses at an American university in Japan, the present study tested a hypothesized model of L2 first-year writing achievement using Structural Equation modeling. The model examined the impact of SRL strategy use, Academic Writing Self-Efficacy, Goal Orientation, Writing Attitude—key motivational factors associated with self-regulated learning—and general English proficiency, as measured by TOEFL iBT, on the writing achievement of students’ final essays, measured by their essay grades. The impact of gender on the hypothesized model of writing achievement was also investigated by conducting two separate Structural Equation modeling analyses on the hypothesized model for males and females. The study also examined the impact of SRL Strategy Use and Academic Writing Self-Efficacy on four levels of Writing Achievement, as well as the impact of four levels of Writing Experience on SRL Strategy Use and Academic Writing Self-Efficacy. The results of the study indicated that the hypothesized model had adequate fit to the data, and was, therefore, interpreted as being representative of the sample population examined in the current study. Statistically significant relationships in the model were found among the following variables: (a) English Proficiency and Essay Grade, (b) Academic Writing Self-Efficacy and Essay Grade, (c) Writing Attitude and Academic Writing Self-Efficacy, (d) Mastery Goal Orientation and SRL Strategy Use. These results corroborate findings in first-language and second-language writing research, which have reported statistically significant positive relationships among these variables, and lend support to the notion emphasized in socio-cognitive models of SRL that self-efficacy is a strong predictor of writing achievement. However, statistically significant relationships were not found among: (a) SRL Strategy Use and Essay Grade, (b) Writing Attitude and SRL Strategy Use, (c) Academic Writing Self-Efficacy and SRL Strategy Use, (d) Academic Writing Self-Efficacy and Goal Orientation. Possible explanations for the lack of statistically significant findings among the relationships between SRL and the other variables were attributed to the small sample size, and methods used to assess the use of SRL strategies. While the importance that the participants’ attribute to earning credits for the courses, as opposed to mastering writing skills, was considered a reason for the lack of a statistically significant relationship between Academic Writing Self-Efficacy and Goal Orientation. The examination of the influence of Gender on the hypothesized model of writing achievement indicated that the model for females had more adequate fit to the data than the model for males, suggesting that the model was more representative of the female participants. Differences in the models were found in the relationships between English Proficiency and SRL Strategy Use and the relationship between Academic Writing Self-Efficacy and Essay Grade. The results were in line with previous findings that have reported that female students use more SRL strategies and hold higher self-efficacy beliefs than male students. With regards to the influence of SRL Strategy Use and Academic Writing Self Efficacy on levels of Writing Achievement that ranged from Poor to Excellent, statistically significant differences were only found between the mean scores of the Poor and Excellent groups with regards to Writing Self-Efficacy. SRL Strategy Use did not exert a statistically significant difference on the mean scores of the groups. The results were in line with previous findings that reported the predictive influence of self-efficacy on writing achievement, but the results did not corroborate previous findings in relation to the predictive strength of SRL Strategy Use. The methodology used to assess the use of SRL strategies in the present study was considered a possible explanation for the lack of statistically significant results. In relation to the influence of Writing Experience on SRL Strategy Use and Academic Writing Self-Efficacy, the results also yielded non-significant differences between four groups with different levels of Writing Experience and SRL Strategy Use. This result was attributed to the broad nature of the method used to assess Writing Experience in the current study. Statistically significant differences were found between Academic Writing Self-Efficacy and Writing Experience, and the results supported previous findings in first language writing research, which have shown that learners with less experience often report higher levels of efficacy due to perhaps to overestimation of their skills. Overall, in the current study SRL did not predict the participants’ essay grades, and did not mediate the influence of other variables on essay grade. However, Academic Writing Self-Efficacy emerged as a powerful predictor of Essay Grades, and writing achievement. Therefore, while the current study supported social cognitive views about the predictive nature of self-efficacy on writing achievement, it did not corroborate theoretical assumptions about the relationship between the use of SRL strategies and writing achievement.
Temple University--Theses

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Levi, Altstaedter Laura. "Writing Instruction in Foreign Language Courses: Multiple Perspectives on the Impact of Peer Feedback on Students’ Writing Proficiency." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/28384.

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Grounded in sociocultural theory, peer feedback can help students engage in interaction and negotiation of meaning, which serve as a basis for the construction of knowledge (Vygotsky, 1978). It can also contribute to the development of self-regulation, as well as of reflection on one's own learning (Doolittle & Hicks, 2003). Its strategic incorporation into foreign language instruction can help students use the language they are in the process of acquiring to mediate language acquisition (Shrum & Glisan, 2005). Research shows that peer feedback can help students develop and advance their Zone of Proximal Development through their engagement in collaborative interaction with their peers (De Guerrero & Villamil, 1994, 2000; Donato, 2004; Lantolf, 2004; Lantolf & Thorne, 2006; Liu & Hansen, 2005). Peer feedback can also help students improve their writing proficiency, including organization of their texts and awareness of the mechanics of the language necessary for successful communication of the intended message (Kinsler, 1990; Hu, 2005; Williams, 2005). Framed within a sociocultural perspective on foreign language learning and development, and following a manuscript approach, this dissertation consists of a series of studies that aim to explore: (a) whether participation in a peer feedback experience has a positive impact on students’ foreign language writing proficiency; (b) whether guidelines plus training in how to provide meaningful feedback have a different impact on students’ foreign language writing proficiency than guidelines alone; (c) around what themes students focus the feedback they provide to their peers; and (d) what students’ perceptions of the peer feedback experience are. The results of the first the study, which consisted of a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design, showed that students significantly improved their writing proficiency after participating in a peer feedback experience, regardless of training. Further the results of this study indicated that, on average, trained and untrained students provided written peer feedback focused mainly on global aspects rather than local aspects. The results of the second study, which consisted of a mixed methods approach, showed that, on average, students had high perceptions of the peer feedback experience and that they perceived that their partner's feedback had helped them improve the global aspects of their composition more than the local aspects. Students expressed that what they liked the most about the experience was getting a different perspective on their writing, and what they liked the least was that they felt they were not proficient enough in the foreign language to provide meaningful feedback to their peers.
Ph. D.

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Matsushita, Hitokazu. "Computerized Oral Proficiency Test for Japanese: Measuring L2 Speaking Ability with ASR Technology." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2011. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2691.

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Developing a time- and cost-efficient method for second language (L2) oral proficiency measurement is one of the research topics that has attracted much attention in recent decades. The purpose of this study is to develop a computerized oral testing system for L2 Japanese using automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology. Two testing methods called elicited imitation (EI) and simulated speech (SS) are proposed to quantify L2 accuracy and fluency via ASR processing. This study also suggests systematic EI item creation leveraging corpus technology and discusses the effectiveness of the test items created through analyses of item difficulty. Further, refinement of the EI grading system is described through a series of statistical investigations. For SS, this study reports the five most influential L2 fluency features identified through machine learning and proposes a method to yield individual SS scores with these features based on previous studies. Lastly, several methods to combine the EI and SS scores are presented to estimate L2 oral proficiency of Japanese.

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Muller, Pieter F. de V. "Automatic oral proficiency assessment of second language speakers of South African English." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/4165.

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Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The assessment of oral proficiency forms an important part of learning a second language. However, the manual assessment of oral proficiency is a labour intensive task requiring specific expertise. An automatic assessment system can reduce the cost and workload associated with this task. Although such systems are available, they are typically aimed towards assessing students of American or British English, making them poorly suited for speakers of South African English. Additionally, most research in this field is focussed on the assessment of foreign language students, while we investigate the assessment of second language students. These students can be expected to have more advanced skills in the target language than foreign language speakers. This thesis presents a number of scoring algorithms for the automatic assessment of oral proficiency. Experiments were conducted on a corpus of responses recorded during an automated oral test. These responses were rated for proficiency by a panel of raters based on five different rating scales. Automatic scoring algorithms were subsequently applied to the same utterances and their correlations with the human ratings determined. In contrast to the findings of other researchers, posterior likelihood scores were found to be ineffective as an indicator of proficiency for the corpus used in this study. Four different segmentation based algorithms were shown to be moderately correlated with human ratings, while scores based on the accuracy of a repeated prompt were found to be well correlated with human assessments. Finally, multiple linear regression was used to combine different scoring algorithms to predict human assessments. The correlations between human ratings and these score combinations ranged between 0.52 and 0.90.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die assessering van spraakvaardigheid is ’n belangrike komponent van die aanleer van ’n tweede taal. Die praktiese uitvoer van sodanige assessering is egter ’n arbeids-intensiewe taak wat spesifieke kundigheid vereis. Die gebruik van ’n outomatiese stelsel kan die koste en werkslading verbonde aan die assessering van ’n groot aantal studente drasties verminder. Hoewel sulke stelsels beskikbaar is, is dit tipies gemik op die assessering van studente wat Amerikaanse of Britse Engels wil aanleer, en is dus nie geskik vir sprekers van Suid Afrikaanse Engels nie. Verder is die meerderheid navorsing op hierdie gebied gefokus op die assessering van vreemde-taal sprekers, terwyl hierdie tesis die assessering van tweede-taal sprekers ondersoek. Dit is te wagte dat hierdie sprekers se spraakvaardighede meer gevorderd sal wees as di´e van vreemde-taal sprekers. Hierdie tesis behandel ’n aantal evaluasie-algoritmes vir die outomatiese assessering van spraakvaardighede. Die eksperimente is uitgevoer op ’n stel opnames van studente se antwoorde op ’n outomatiese spraaktoets. ’n Paneel van menslike beoordelaars het hierdie opnames geassesseer deur gebruik te maak van vyf verskillende punteskale. Dieselfde opnames is deur die outomatiese evaluasie-algoritmes verwerk, en die korrelasies tussen die beoordelaars se punte en die outomatiese evaluerings is bepaal. In kontras met die bestaande navorsing, is daar gevind dat posterieure waarskynlikheidsalgoritmes nie ’n goeie aanduiding van spraakvaardighede gee vir ons datastel nie. Vier algoritmes wat van segmentasies gebruik maak, is ook ondersoek. Die evaluerings van hierdie algoritmes het redelike korrelasie getoon met die punte wat deur die beoordelaars toegeken is. Voorts is drie algoritmes ondersoek wat daarop gemik is om die akkuraatheid van herhaalde sinne te bepaal. Die evaluerings van hierdie algoritmes het goed gekorreleer met die punte wat deur die beoordelaars toegeken is. Laastens is liniˆere regressie gebruik om verskillende outomatiese evaluerings te kombineer en sodoende beoordelaars se punte te voorspel. Die korrelasies tussen hierdie kombinasies en die punte wat deur beoordelaars toegeken is, het gewissel tussen 0.52 en 0.90.

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Johnson, Deborah Ann. "Basic writers, oral strategies, and the writing process." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1992. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/782.

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Linguistic research (differences and similarities between spoken and written language) -- Features of production (coordinating conjunctions, hedges, neuter pronouns, collocations, etc.) -- Features of interaction (personal pronouns, hyperbole, emphatics) -- Textual analysis evaluation -- Comparison of written words, oral features, and essay grades or scores received.

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Bruen, Jennifer [Verfasser], and Michael [Akademischer Betreuer] Townson. "Learning strategies and oral proficiency: an investigation of the language learning strategies associated with the achievement of higher levels of oral proficiency in German / Jennifer Bruen. Gutachter: Michael Townson." Frankfurt am Main : Univ.-Bibliothek Frankfurt am Main, 2000. http://doras.dcu.ie/18368/.

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Singhasiri, Wareesiri. "The effects of reading and writing strategies on summaries written by Thai university students." Thesis, University of Essex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.327062.

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Kim, Yu-Jeung Larson-Hall Jenifer. "Effectiveness of on-line corpus research in L2 writing investigation of proficiency in English writing through independent error correction /." [Denton, Tex.] : University of North Texas, 2009. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc12140.

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Kim, Yu-Jeung. "Effectiveness of on-line corpus research in L2 writing: Investigation of proficiency in English writing through independent error correction." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2009. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc12140/.

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Second language (L2) researchers and teachers have increasingly come to believe that using a computer-based corpus can be extremely helpful in the language classroom. The purpose of this study is to examine whether corpora can be used outside of the classroom in order for students to improve their essays independently. No previous study has tried to examine students' essays in relation to corpus use so that this study is exploratory. Seven international students wrote five essays on specific topics and then corrected their errors through corpus research. Two experiments were conducted with different students and followed three steps: receiving information about how to use the BYU COCA, writing and correcting, and interviews with students. I examined quantitatively the number and types of errors that students were able to correct in two experiments and reported qualitatively on students' interview responses.

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Villanueva, Aitor. "An international comparative study on English writing proficiency in two secondary school settings." Thesis, University of Gävle, Ämnesavdelningen för svenska språket och engelska, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-4088.

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In an increasingly globalized world with English as a lingua franca, European countries are competing in their efforts for their populations to speak English. The main goal of this study was to compare the English writing proficiency of one class in the Basque Country and one in

Sweden at the end of their compulsory education. Both classes took an essay test in which verb use, conjunction use, spelling and text length were measured. The Swedish students outperformed their Basque counterparts in almost every measured area, which was suggested

to be due to a combination of teacher-related factors (methodology, command of the language, use of the language and learning environment) and external factors (language typology, language input and student motivation). The teaching skills and command of English of Basque teachers should be improved as well as audiovisual tools and communicative approach introduced in order to compensate for the lack of language input and

language use possibilities.

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Brunner, Melissa A. "THE EFFECTS OF STORY MAPPING AND INCENTIVES ON MULTIPLE MEASURES OF WRITING PROFICIENCY." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1280789408.

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Gates, Gwyneth Elaine. "An Analysis of Rehearsed Speech Characteristics on the Oral Proficiency Interview—Computer (OPIc)." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2018. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6731.

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The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines identify memorized words and phrases as a hallmark of novice-level speech. For this reason, research by Cox (2017) found rehearsed content to be a major hindrance to interviewees being rated at higher sublevels on the Oral Proficiency Interview-computer (OPIc). To further investigate, an analysis of these memorized segments to determine patterns of lexico-grammatical and discursive features was conducted. In this study, researchers utilized a Praat analysis to compare prosodic features (specifically, mean length of utterance, number of silent pauses, and articulation rate) of speech segments marked as memorized and those which were not. A qualitative analysis was also conducted by identifying via a grounded theory approach any notable patterns both within single interviews as well as between speakers. Articulation rates differed significantly between the spontaneous and rehearsed segments; however, the strongest evidence of memorization lay in the transcriptions and the patterns that emerged within and across interviews.

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Carruthers, Heidy Patricia. "Effect of the affordances of a virtual environment on second language oral proficiency." OpenSIUC, 2013. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/667.

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The traditional language laboratory consists of computer-based exercises in which students practice the language individually, working on language form drills and listening comprehension activities. In addition to the traditional approach to the laboratory requirement, students in the study participated in a weekly conversation hour focusing on improving oral proficiency. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the effect of two different types of conversation hours, face-to-face and virtual, on the oral proficiency levels of students enrolled in intermediate Spanish classes at the college level. Oral proficiency was measured using the Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI), before and after treatment. The face-to-face conversation hours took place at the language laboratory in a classroom and the virtual conversation hours took place in the online multi-user virtual environment known as Second Life. The research question was: What is the effect of attending virtual conversation hours or face-to-face conversation hours on students' oral proficiency? The statistical data analysis was conducted using the conversation hours as the independent variable (face-to-face or virtual), the SOPI posttest scores as the dependent variable, and the SOPI pretest scores as the covariate. A total sample of 52 students was involved. Posttest data were collected following 14 weeks of treatment during which students in each group attended the weekly conversation hours. Data analysis showed there was significant difference in oral proficiency gain between the face-to-face group and the virtual group. The results of the ANCOVA test allowed the rejection of the null hypothesis, as there was a significant difference in effect on the adjusted SOPI posttest scores of the participants in the virtual conversation group versus those in the face-to-face conversation group. The virtual group improved their oral proficiency significantly better than the face-to-face group. In addition, the SOPI scores of both groups increased significantly. The SOPI posttest scores were significantly higher than the SOPI pretest scores for both groups. Therefore, both face-to-face and virtual conversation hours could yield a supplemental method to the traditional approach of the language laboratory to improve communicative competence.

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Picpican-Bell, Anne. "Developing oral proficiency through poem recitation in elementary English as a second language." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2005. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2932.

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Reynolds, Braden Beldon. "Development and Validation of a Portuguese Elicited Imitation Test." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2020. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/8145.

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Elicited imitation (EI) is a method of assessing oral proficiency in which the examinee listens to a prompt and attempts to repeat it back exactly as it was heard. Research over recent decades has successfully established correlation between EI testing and other oral proficiency tests, such as the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and the OPI by computer (OPIc). This paper details the history of oral proficiency assessment as well as that of EI. It then outlines the development process and validation of a Portuguese Elicited Imitation test. The processes of item selection and item validation are detailed followed by the criterion-related validation through a statistical correlation analysis of participants' results on an official American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) OPIc and their predicted OPIc scores which were based on their results of the Portuguese EI calibration test. Results of the statistical analysis revealed a strong correlation between the predicted scores of the EI test and the actual OPIc scores. In order to go beyond previously completed EI research, this paper addresses the issue of face validity which has been a challenge for the proliferation of EI testing. Analysis of a survey administered after participants' completion of the two tests (OPIc and EI) addresses the experiences and reactions of the participants to the two testing formats. Suggestions for future use of EI as well as future research will be presented.

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Resare, Sandberg Magdalena. "Extramural Gaming and English Proficiency : A Literature Study on Digital Games and the Effect onVocabulary and Oral Proficiency among Young L2 Learners." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Pedagogiskt arbete, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-25522.

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Today we live in a global world, where English has become easily accessible through the internet. Pupils encounter English in an out-of-school context and playing digital games is a common activity. This literature study aims to examine if there are effects on pupils ’ vocabulary and oral proficiency due to playing digital games. Through compiling prior research, findings suggest that motivation, interaction and repetition over time are positive factors for enhancing vocabulary and oral proficiency. Research also illuminates that there are gender differences among young L2 learners. Frequent gamers are mostly boys and there is also a difference in game preferences. Normally girls tend to outshine boys within most subjects, however, in English the difference is less distinct and boys are somewhat stronger in English proficiency. Research about young L2 learners is scarce and there is definitely a need for further research about the effect of digital gaming on vocabulary and oral proficiency as well as regarding gender differences.

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Leighton, Christine M. "The cognitive processes of 6th-grade students of varying Spanish and English proficiencies while writing persuasive letters." Thesis, Boston University, 2011. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/31979.

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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University
PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
This qualitative study explores the cognitive processes of 10 6th-grade students of varying Spanish and English proficiencies while writing persuasive letters in both languages. The participants who were purposefully selected included: three high Spanish/high English proficient students (high performers), three high English/low Spanish proficient students (high/low performers), two low Spanish/low English proficient students (low performers), and two monolingual English speakers. The following research question was posed: How do sixth-grade students of varying Spanish and English proficiencies engage in the writing process while composing persuasive letters in both languages? In particular, (a) How do students engage in the cognitive processes of writing in L1 and L2, and do the processes vary by language and/or ability? (b) Are there patterns across participants' writing behaviors in L1 and L2 that indicate cross-linguistic transfer? If so, do the patterns vary by language or writing proficiency? (c) Do bilingual students differ from monolinguals in their use of strategies and resources? The researcher audio-taped and video-taped participants thinking aloud as they responded to persuasive letter prompts in both Spanish and English (monolinguals responded to two English prompts). Recall protocols and student interviews were also collected. All data were transcribed. Data were analyzed in three phrases. First, think aloud sessions were coded for three general writing processes: composing, reading, and selecting. Second, recall protocols were coded for specific behaviors within each general process (e.g. attending to text generation, reading the text produced, considering or changing an idea). Finally, interviews and recall protocols were analyzed for student strategy, bilingual strategy, and resource use as well as general strategy and bilingual strategy awareness. Findings suggest: (1) The writing process did not vary for bilingual and monolingual writers across languages; (2) Low performers focused attention almost exclusively on idea generation without attention to topical importance; (3) For high/low performers' knowledge of discourse features in L1 appeared to mediate writing in the weaker language; (4) Topically important ideas articulated in L1 during the selection process were abandoned if students did not have the vocabulary to express the idea in L2; (5) High performers seemed to intentionally separate their language resources while writing.
2031-01-02

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Riber, Henrik, and Pontus Sjögren. "Motivation in Creative Writing." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle (LS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-35292.

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This paper aims to investigate to what extent creative writing promotes motivation for EFL learners to write. A report published by the National Assessment Project (NAFS) commissioned by The Swedish National Agency for Education evaluated the national tests in English for Swedish students during 2018/2019, documenting that the Swedish students obtained the lowest English scores on writing. This result corresponds with the national test scores in English from earlier years. According to The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket, 2019) motivation is a necessary component for L2 learning, and teachers are expected to play a fundamental role in creating student motivation. However, research within the area of motivation indicates that the understanding of motivation in L2 learning is limited. Likewise, the research indicates a need for the understanding of motivation to be both revised and subject to further research, both to understand the nature of motivation and to define tools on how to push motivation in L2 writing. One such tool could be creative writing (CW). Thus, to understand to what extent CW can motivate EFL learners to write, we explore recent studies that examine how different implementations of CW activities and CW courses can motivate students to write within a school context. In the study, we argue that CW motivates EFL learners to produce text. CW seems to facilitate relevance for the student and empower writing activities that consider the student’s self-interest as well as bring new life to the student’s understanding of writing. The insights of this study hold pedagogical values for L2 writing in the EFL classroom.

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Gruber, Alice. "French writing proficiency at age 14-16 in England and Germany - an international comparison." Thesis, University of Reading, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.577987.

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Britain has been repeatedly told that its linguistic capability is behind that of other European countries but this perceived difference has hardly been investigated or explored. This research project aimed to provide insights into how German and English 14- to 16-year-old learners of French as a first foreign language compare to one another in terms of vocabulary size and in their written production in terms of lexical richness, accuracy and syntactic complexity. The participants (on average 50 students per nation) from comparable schools in Germany and England were set two tasks which were marked by three French native speakers using standardised criteria aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEF). The X_lex test established the students' receptive vocabulary size. Lexical richness was measured by the VocabProfile tool and syntactic complexity was established using the mean length oft- units (MLTU). Tokens and types of verb phrases (VP) were counted to measure VP complexity. Error frequency using a word/error calculation and length of product were established. Classroom observations, students' and teachers' questionnaires and semi- structured interviews were used to triangulate the data. The findings suggest that in terms of accuracy, essay scoring and vocabulary size, the German group outperformed the English group, whereas in terms of syntactic complexity and vocabulary richness, the English student fared better. The differences in performance outcomes are analysed and discussed with regard to variables related to the educational contexts (e.g. curriculum design and methodology).

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Ball, Mary Isabelle. "Levels of the Oral Proficiency Skills of Foreign Language Teacher Candidates as Rated by Teacher Educators: A Descriptive Study." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1291127394.

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Lu, Yanbin. "Cognitive Factors Contributing to Chinese EFL Learners’ L2 Writing Performance in Timed Essay Writing." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2010. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/alesl_diss/13.

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This study investigated cognitive factors that might influence Chinese EFL learners’ argumentative essay writing in English. The factors that were explored included English (L2) language proficiency, Chinese (L1) writing ability, genre knowledge, use of writing strategies, and working memory capacity in L1 and L2. Data were collected from 136 university students who received a battery of tests in two sessions. The tests consisted of timed essay writing tasks in L1 and L2, post-writing questionnaires for genre knowledge and use of strategies in the writing process, a timed grammaticality judgment task for L2 grammar knowledge, a receptive vocabulary test and a controlled-production vocabulary test for L2 vocabulary knowledge, and working memory span tasks in L1 and L2. Quantitative analyses using correlations, paired-samples t-test, analysis of variance and multiple regression revealed that L2 language proficiency is the most important predictor of L2 writing, followed by genre knowledge and L2 writing strategies. L1 writing ability and working memory capacity have slight impact as explanatory variables for L2 writing performance in the timed essay writing task.

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Anderson, Sheri Lynn. "Differential gains in oral proficiency during study abroad| The role of language learning aptitudes." Thesis, Georgetown University, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3559864.

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This inquiry analyzed the relationships between individual differences and gains made in oral proficiency of adult, second language learners of Spanish during one semester studying abroad. Oral proficiency was measured using a pre/post-SA Computerized Oral Proficiency Instrument (COPI, CAL, 2009). Gain scores were correlated with two cognitive aptitude measures: 1) the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT); 2) a phonological working memory test (WM); and 3) a series of motivational and affective aptitude measures including Willingness-to-communicate (WTC, McIntyre, 1992), motivation and other affective variables (Gardner, 1985; Yashima, T., Zenuk-Nishide, L., & Shimizu, K., 2004).

The researcher concludes that the students made significant gains in oral proficiency during the experience abroad, both in terms of COPI scores and fluency (words/minute). Using the Language Contact Profile (LCP, Collentine & Freed, 2004) students reported speaking, listening and reading significantly more in Spanish than in English during the study abroad; however, they reported writing almost as much in English as in Spanish. There was a significant negative correlation between the MLAT and COPI gains; indicating that students who had higher language learning aptitude made fewer gains in oral proficiency while abroad. WM, WTC and other affective aptitudes were not correlated with COPI gains in this study; WM and L2 anxiety were significantly correlated with the pre-SA COPI. Finally, WM and the MLAT were significantly correlated, but no other aptitude measures collected were found to correlate.

In the discussion the researcher reviews the inverse pyramid schema of the ACTFL guidelines (1999) and demonstrates the impact of the imprecise delineation between the levels. The contraction of the scale at the upper reaches leads to a ceiling effect for second language learners and does not allow an accurate depiction of growth in language skill and development. As the ACTFL scale is the standard in oral proficiency measurement in the United States, data collection instruments based on this scale do not meet the needs of researchers in SLA or educational settings that wish to investigate achievement in oral proficiency in varying context of language leaning.

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Kim, Eunyoung. "Korean ESL learners' learning styles based on their personality, oral proficiency, and national origin." Connect to resource, 1991. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view.cgi?acc%5Fnum=osu1249496666.

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阮章凱 and Cheung-oi Gary Yuen. "Secondary students' English language learning beliefs and oral proficiency: a Hong Kong case study." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2002. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31963304.

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Jeong, Tae-Young. "Assessing and interpreting students' English oral proficiency using d-VOCI in an EFL context." Columbus, OH : Ohio State University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1045462461.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 151 pages : ill. (some col.) Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Charles R. Hancock, College of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-125).

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Yuen, Cheung-oi Gary. "Secondary students' English language learning beliefs and oral proficiency : a Hong Kong case study /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2002. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?

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Millard, Benjamin J. "Oral Proficiency Assessment of French Using an Elicited Imitation Test and Automatic Speech Recognition." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2011. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2690.

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Testing oral proficiency is an important, but often neglected part of the foreign language classroom. Currently accepted methods in testing oral proficiency are timely and expensive. Some work has been done to test and implement new assessment methods, but have focused primarily on English or Spanish (Graham et al. 2008). In this thesis, I demonstrate that the processes established for English and Spanish elicited imitation (EI) testing are relevant to French EI testing. First, I document the development, implementation and evaluation of an EI test to assess French oral proficiency. I also detail the incorporation of the use of automatic speech recognition to score French EI items. Last, I substantiate with statistical analyses that carefully engineered, automatically scored French EI items correlate to a high degree with French OPI scores.

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Saturley, Margaret Hoffman. "Educators' Oral Histories of Tampa Bay Area Writing Project Involvement." Scholar Commons, 2016. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6141.

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The purpose of this study was to describe and explain participants’ perceptions of Tampa Bay Area Writing Project (TBAWP) influence on professional learning over time. This study explored Writing Project impact on professional learning by accessing the oral histories of three educators who were involved in TBAWP between 1998 and 2004. The research question was: • In what ways, if any, has long-term involvement in the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project impacted the teaching practice, career growth, and professional learning of participating educators? This qualitative study employed constructivism as the theoretical framework. Analysis of study data resulted in specific findings. Educators’ stories revealed Writing Project participation significantly impacted their teaching practice, career growth, and professional learning. The lasting impact of Writing Project involvement was seen in the ways in which educators infused the concept of community into their teaching practice, accepted leadership positions within the profession, and ultimately went on to conduct professional learning experiences for educators. Data analysis generated a conceptual model that examines the lasting impact of educator professional learning. Implications of this finding are significant for longitudinal inquiry of educator professional learning and for impact studies of long-term Writing Project involvement. In addition to providing exemplars of educator stories of practice over time, the study contributed to development of a fuller understanding of effective professional development, educator professional learning, and the lasting impact of Writing Project involvement.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Oral and writing proficiency'

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