This study investigated the effect of the interaction between test takers' background knowledge and language proficiency on their performance on the TOEFL iBT ® reading section. Test takers with the target content background knowledge (the focal groups) and those without (the reference groups) were identified for each of the 5 selected passages based on their selfidentified academic and cultural backgrounds. The test takers were further classified into high and low proficiency groups based on their TOEFL iBT scores. Differential functioning was investigated at the item, item bundle, and passage levels. The results suggested that background knowledge interacted with language proficiency on certain items, which could be attributed to idiosyncratic passage and item characteristics (i.e., characteristics that were specific to a particular passage or item . One constant throughout this evolution has been a continuing program of research related to the TOEFL test. From 1977 to 2005, nearly 100 research and technical reports on the early versions of TOEFL were published. In 1997, a monograph series that laid the groundwork for the development of TOEFL iBT was launched. With the release of TOEFL iBT, a TOEFL iBT report series has been introduced.Currently this research is carried out in consultation with the TOEFL Committee of Examiners. Its members include representatives of the TOEFL Board and distinguished English as a second language specialists from the academic community. The Committee advises the TOEFL program about research needs and, through the research subcommittee, solicits, reviews, and approves proposals for funding and reports for publication. Members of the Committee of Examiners serve four-year terms at the invitation of the Board; the chair of the committee serves on the Board. Current (2011Current ( -2012 To obtain more information about the TOEFL programs and services, use one of the following:
This study examined the applicability of recasting to the acquisition of pragmatics. English in learning eight pragmalinguistic conventions of request. Both the pragmatic re-Head Acts (core requesting utterances), whereas the latter did not. Discourse completion tests showed that the pragmatic recast group performed better than the control group on measures of both pragmatic appropriateness and grammatical accuracy, with effect sizes of appropriateness and grammatical accuracy. The study highlighted the ways recasts can be implemented at the pragmatic level and demonstrated that pragmalinguistic recasting is a sound pedagogical option.
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is an educational framework for the theory and practice of teaching second or foreign languages. It is based on a constellation of ideas issuing from philosophy of education, theories of second language acquisition, empirical findings on effective instructional techniques, and the exigencies of language learning in contemporary society. The basic notions associated with TBLT are quickly gaining popularity around the globe, as witnessed by the recent publication of numerous volumes on the topic, several special issues in academic journals (including LTR), and not least, the emergence of an international conference series on TBLT (see http://www.tblt.org and http://www.tblt2007.org). Though still a very new and developing domain, one common criticism of TBLT has been that there are only few examples of its application in practice. Two recent edited collections offer evidence to the contrary by compiling numerous examples of TBLT ideas being applied in second and foreign language instruction. Given the important focus of these collections on real-world examples of TBLT ideas in practice, in this issue I have invited two groups of teacher-researchers from my home institution to read, discuss, and comment on the contributions of these two books. Their collective insights in the following reviews offer both theoretically informed and practically grounded commentary, which I hope will be of use to LTR readers as they consider the rapidly evolving status of task-based language teaching.
John M. Norris
Corony Edwards andJane R. Willis, editors, 2005: Teachers exploring tasks in English language teaching. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 298 pp. $31.95 (PB). ISBN 1-4039-4557-8Much of the literature to date on task-based language teaching (TBLT) is primarily theoretical in nature, with different scholars advocating more or less related models for language teaching and learning, based upon a variety of task-based principles (e.g.
This paper brings task-based language teaching (TBLT) curriculum development principles into the blended learning context, presenting processes and outcomes from a project to develop a task-based thematic unit — asking and giving directions — in a hybrid web-based university-level class focused on listening and speaking skills in Mandarin Chinese. The authors follow the principled task-based curriculum design phases informed by Long and Crookes (1993) and Long and Norris (2000). Unit-based development made the workload manageable and provided an important experimental space for the instructors to best align task-based principles with online language instruction. First, the context of the project and its theoretical TBLT curriculum development framework are established. The distinct processes of needs analysis, materials development, task sequencing and teaching methods, and assessment methods adopted to meet the special requirements of the class are presented, along with a preliminary formative and summative evaluation of the teaching model. The conclusion discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the project.
This paper brings task-based language teaching (TBLT) curriculum development principles into the blended learning context, presenting processes and outcomes from a project to develop a task-based thematic unit — asking and giving directions — in a hybrid web-based university-level class focused on listening and speaking skills in Mandarin Chinese. The authors follow the principled task-based curriculum design phases informed by Long and Crookes (1993) and Long and Norris (2000). Unit-based development made the workload manageable and provided an important experimental space for the instructors to best align task-based principles with online language instruction. First, the context of the project and its theoretical TBLT curriculum development framework are established. The distinct processes of needs analysis, materials development, task sequencing and teaching methods, and assessment methods adopted to meet the special requirements of the class are presented, along with a preliminary formative and summative evaluation of the teaching model. The conclusion discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the project.
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