speaking assessment

The influence of rater characteristics and other rater background factors   ( Based on a research conducted by Teachers College, Columbia University )   In complement to the studies which looked at how raters differ, studies on the effects of rater background factors attempt to explain why raters differ, with an increasing attention to the effects  of rater language background, rater expertise and rater training on raters’ cognitive processes and rating behaviors. Findings from both types of studies can be combined to provide a useful frame of reference for conceptualizing rater cognition in future research.   Rater language background (i.e., native/non-native speaking rater comparisons, matches between rater and examinee language background) has received major attention among researchers in L2 speaking assessment. A representative study that examined the cognitive differences between native and non-native speaking groups of raters was conducted by Zhang &Elder (2011, 2014), who investigated ESL/EFL teachers’ evaluation and interpretation of oral English proficiency in the national College English Test-Spoken English Test (CET-SET) of China. They found that NS raters attended to a wider range of abilities when judging candidates’ oral test performance than NNS raters. NS raters also tended to emphasize features of interaction while NNS raters were more likely to focus on linguistic resources such as accuracy. Similarly, Gui (2012) investigated whether American and Chinese EFL teachers differed in their evaluations of student oral performance in an undergraduate speech competition in China. He found that the American raters provided more specific and elaborated qualitative comments than the Chinese raters. The raters also differed in their judgment of students’ pronunciation, language usage, and speech delivery. One unique difference was related to raters’ comments on students’ nonverbal communication skills. The Chinese raters provided mostly positive comments about the gestures and other non-verbal demeanors of the students as a group, while the American raters were mostly critical. Both Zhang & Elder’s (2011, 2014) and Gui’s (2012) studies have offered ... ادامه مطلب

10 سری جدیدترین منابع آیلتس از سراسر دنیا مربوط به بخش اسپیکینگ آیلتس   1  Describe an event that you have celebrated the most. Please say – What was the event? – Who did you celebrate it with? – How did you celebrate it?   2  Describe a parent or a relative that you admire the most. Please say  – Who is he/she?  – How do you know him/her?  – What does he/she do differently to others?    3   Speak about a place you visited. Please say – When and where was it? – What did you like about the place? – What didn’t you like there?   4  Talk about a subject you liked in school. Please say  – What was it?  – Why did you like it?  – What did you gain from studying it?    5  Describe a recent development undertaken in your area. Please say  – What is it?  – What are the advantages and disadvantages of it?  – Do you like the idea behind it? Why   6  Talk about a subject you liked in school. Please say  – What was it?  – Why did you like it?  – What did you gain from studying it?   7  Talk about a place where you usually go with your friends. Please say  – What place and where is it?  – When did you visit it for the first time?  – What do you do there?   8  Talk about a rule at school that you liked or disliked. Please say  – What was it?  – Why did they have it?  – What was the result if someone broke the rule?   9  Talk about something you bought that made you happy. Please say  – What was it?  – What did you do with it?  – Why did ... ادامه مطلب