bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Corrective Feedback inL2Speech Production
Authors: Li Shaofeng
Published: January 2018

This entry provides an overview of the theory, research, and pedagogy of corrective feedback (CF). CF refers to responses to learners' erroneous utterances, and the justification for the usefulness of CF in facilitating second language (L2) development can be found in a number of L2 theories, such as the Interaction Hypothesis, the Skill Acquisition Theory, and the Sociocultural Theory. Descriptive studies have found that recasts are the most frequent feedback type in most L2 classes, but they are less likely to invite learner responses, compared with prompts, which encourage self‐correction. Experimental studies have demonstrated that the effects of CF are constrained by a multitude of learner‐internal and learner‐external factors. On the basis of the research findings, a number of recommendations are made regarding how to effectively use CF in classroom teaching, such as making the corrective intension transparent, using a hybrid corrective package consisting of a prompt followed by a recast, using focused feedback, combining explicit instruction with CF when necessary, and providing both online and offline CF.
Tasks for Teaching Speaking to Advanced Learners
Authors: Colovic‐Markovic Jelena
Published: January 2018

Teaching speaking to advanced learners of English as a second language can be demanding. For this reason, teachers working with advanced learners are often on the lookout for educational tasks that can help students develop their speaking abilities still further. This brief entry first explains why teaching speaking to advanced learners is important and then presents several tasks that can be used with learners at the advanced level of language proficiency.
Tasks for Teaching Speaking to Beginners
Authors: Lindahl Kristen
Published: January 2018

This entry highlights task design for teaching speaking to beginning English learners. It also discusses issues relevant to creating speaking tasks, such as the importance of interaction in the second language (L2) classroom, balancing accuracy and fluency, and the role of affective factors in oral production. Tasks that lower students' stress levels, replicate authentic conversation, integrate language skills, and promote the negotiation of meaning among learners are considered in the section on pedagogical implications and are organized according to individual, pair, small group, and whole group structures.
Tasks for Teaching Speaking to Pre‐Literate Learners
Authors: Egan Patsy
Published: January 2018

Adult learners with low literacy in their first languages are acquiring English while at the same time developing emergent print literacy. While their literacy needs are certainly pressing, oral skills must not be ignored. A case is made here for emphasizing oral interaction in instruction for low‐literacy adult ESL learners. Guidance for teachers and specific speaking activities for the low‐literate classroom are detailed.
Teaching Speaking in Non‐Academic Contexts
Authors: Bigelow Martha , Smith Garett
Published: January 2018

This entry explores the theory and practice of developing second language speaking skills in non‐academic settings. Adults often learn languages in informal settings, such as community‐based organization, churches, and public libraries. In addition, they may take classes at their workplace to focus on work‐related language skills. Other people learn naturalistically and largely on their own through experiences living in a new linguistic context. We know that adults often bring many skills and strategies to the often daunting experience of learning to speak a new language. This entry explores some of the key research on this topic and offers broad suggestions and further reading for supporting learners' development of speaking skills in non‐academic settings.
Secondary Grades: Using Drama‐Based Instruction to Promote Knowledge‐in‐Action Learning for Emergent Bilinguals
Authors: Vetere Timothy , Smith Sedef Uzuner
Published: January 2018

Using the concept of knowledge‐in‐action instruction as its theoretical base, this article develops practical applications of drama‐based instruction in secondary content classrooms. Instructional suggestions provided are geared toward emergent bilinguals who are speakers of a language other than English and in the process of developing both content knowledge and English proficiency in secondary schools.
Social Sciences
Authors: Fránquiz María E.
Published: January 2018

The social sciences are a group of disciplines, each with their own methods and vocabulary. Because the goal of the social sciences is to study society and the ways humans behave and influence their world, the scope is wide. Some worthwhile pedagogical approaches put the social sciences at the heart and center of language and literacy curricular planning. These approaches include an integrated interdisciplinary plan whereby the teacher uses varied levels of integration of disciplinary perspectives that give students the opportunity for detailed investigations on topics of local interest. The topics, in turn, enable students to learn skills from the experiences of connecting to real world concerns. Project‐based learning, learning centers, and theme‐based learning are some of the approaches where the social sciences are capitalized to enhance students' engagement and motivation to learn.
Cross‐Cultural Competence and Teacher Training
Authors: Mawhinney Lynnette
Published: January 2018

In the United States, the majority of the teacher population are white, female, and monolingual, while the majority of the population are students of color that have been marginalized (in terms of race, ethnicity, class, and language). There exists a large cultural gap between teachers and students. Teacher education and training programs have been working diligently to develop cross‐cultural competency in order to shrink the gap. This entry outlines the theoretical concepts behind cross‐cultural competence, such as culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally sustaining pedagogy, and the practical pedagogical approaches for pre‐service and in‐service teachers.
Teacher Resistance and Resilience
Authors: Reinders Hayo
Published: January 2018

Teacher resistance and its more positive corollary, teacher resilience, are considered key factors in professional development and in the process of implementing change in educational settings. A wide range of affective, cognitive, and practical variables play a role in the way teachers respond to opportunities for development and more broadly to changes in their environment and these must be understood for new developments to be successful. This entry describes these variables and ways of identifying and capitalizing on teachers' roles and contributions.
Maintenance Bilingual Education (
MBE
)
Authors: Téllez Kip
Published: January 2018

Maintenance bilingual education (MBE) has been proven to be an effective language education model, teaching children the dominant and their native language simultaneously. It differs from other models of bilingual education, such as the “early exit” model, by encouraging additional native language instruction even after students have gained literacy in the dominant language. Because bilingual education is such a flashpoint in public discussions, educators who wish to implement MBE must be prepared to create political allies and understand how to carefully initiate MBE programs and know precisely their governance once underway. Recently, MBE has been losing popularity to dual language or two‐way bilingual programs, yet MBE is the proper model to use in certain school contexts.
Action Research and Teacher Inquiry
Authors: Dikilitaş Kenan
Published: January 2018

Teacher inquiry is a way of enabling teachers to develop their knowledge, beliefs, and practices of teaching through reflection and understanding underlying issues that help them make informed decisions. Teachers are encouraged to inquire their teaching practices and beliefs about teaching, which in turn helps them develop personally and professionally. Such practical and cognitive inquiries can be carried out through different forms of research such as exploratory practice, reflective practice, and action research, each requiring different stages or cycles through which teachers can conduct research for professional development. These three forms of research are central to doing inquiry‐based professional development. Though each form of research by teachers is carried out following different procedures, they all have one common characteristic: helping teachers develop their profession through an inquiry‐based approach.
Finding Quality Resources for Teachers Online
Authors: Krajka Jarosław
Published: January 2018

The use of online tools and resources in foreign language teaching is nowadays taken for granted. As high‐speed Internet access is available in an ever‐increasing number of schools and universities and either in‐school computers or students' own mobile devices provide access, language teachers find it more convenient than before to assist their own teaching through the skillful use of properly selected online materials. However, for this to happen, they need to be able to find, evaluate, store, and retrieve materials effectively. The entry will review searching strategies and tools that are necessary for helping teachers find quality resources online.
Transnationalism and Shifting Ethnolinguistic Identities
Authors: Warriner Doris S. , Morelli Katherine E. , Lee Kewman
Published: January 2018

There has been a concerted effort to try to complicate how we identify, describe, and theorize the everyday experiences and practices of migrant families and youth; how we represent and examine their multiple affiliations and allegiances; and the implications of such accounts for our theories of social identification, language learning, and marginalization (economic, political or legal). In this context, the notion of transnationalism has taken hold and gained increased acceptance among anthropologists, sociologists, and educational researchers focused on migration, and this has recently started to influence the understandings and practices of teachers working with English language learners. In these times of growing globalization and transnationalism, it is now more important than ever for researchers and teachers to investigate, understand, value, and incorporate the many resources of students who have experienced transnational movement or who maintain transnational connections.
Developing Sociolinguistic and Interactional Competence
Authors: Booven Christopher D. Van
Published: January 2018

This entry provides an overview of key theoretical and empirical contributions related to two socioculturally grounded constructs—sociolinguistic competence (SC) and interactional competence (IC). Though the two constructs emerged out of research traditions with somewhat different aims, both SC and IC represent a common concern with foregrounding the mediating role of context in learners' ability to use the target language successfully across varying conditions of real‐time talk‐in‐interaction. This entry concludes with a discussion of promising pedagogical applications of SC and IC principles, including explicit teaching of sociolinguistics and conversation analysis and the design of structured opportunities to interact with speakers of the target language.
Transnational Students and Language Use
Authors: Kim Jungsook , Richardson Elaine
Published: January 2018

Transnational students' language use deserves careful consideration for the ways in which it pushes the profession to rethink underlying ideas about linguistic and cultural diversity, language teaching and learning, education, and social justice. Multilingual practices and linguistic diversity have been accelerated through cultural and linguistic contact and become key features in current globalized contexts. In recognition of the multiplicity and dynamic nature of transnational students' discursive practice, this entry considers the theoretical and pedagogical reorientation to language diversity in language teaching and moves toward appreciating multilingual speakers' communicative repertories and funds of knowledge.
West African Culture and Schools, Language, and Identity
Authors: Bokor Michael J. K.
Published: January 2018

This article explores the place and role of language in the education systems of multicultural and multilingual countries in West Africa that have adopted English (the language of their former colonial masters) as their national official language. Framed around the notion that language is an integral part of culture that can be used to construct and portray human identity—be it at the personal, social, psychosocial, etc., levels—it examines why privileging English as a subject and medium of instruction in the schools poses tremendous challenges. It attributes the problem to the inability of the authorities to formulate national language policies and innovative local language‐based curricular reforms, and calls for innovative measures to boost the curriculum content of indigenous languages that could help learners assert their native influence.
Latino/as in the United States: Transnationalism, Language, and Identity
Authors: Kells Michelle Hall
Published: January 2018

The introduction of official panethnic cover terms for Latino/a groups in the United States dates from the 1970s. Transnational migration patterns over the past 40 years suggest that Latino/as represent one of the fastest growing and increasingly ethnolinguistically complex student populations in the United States. Given the prevailing theories in cultural studies, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, shifting notions of transcultural citizenship and identity among Latino/as provide critical exigencies for reshaping pedagogical practices, educational systems, and public policies in the 21st century. This entry considers the underlying support, both theoretical and empirical, for pedagogies in K–16 education promoting critical literacy, linguistic pluralism, and transcultural rhetorical practices for Latino/a students.
Bilingual and Multilingual Immigrant Youth and Language Learning and Use
Authors: Carhill‐Poza Avary
Published: January 2018

A growing number of immigrant children and youth are learning English in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, the sites of much recent immigration. This entry considers some of the theoretical and empirical implications of teaching English to immigrant youth in the current era of accountability and standards‐based curriculum. The status of English relative to the home language in society, the in‐ and out‐of‐school use of language by immigrant youth, and the role of the native language in teaching and learning English are important considerations which underpin policy and practice. Recommendations for practice are considered in light of historical trends in the educational response to multilingual immigrant youth.
Curriculum Development in Latin American Cultures
Authors: Castro Federica
Published: January 2018

Most countries in Latin America are undergoing serious challenges to their educational systems. Changes in the workforce and professional markets have arisen that require increasing equality of opportunity within society as a whole. As a result, new demands for changes in both the content and processes of education in general have emerged, particularly in the role of teaching and learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in the official curricula. Efforts have been made to ensure that the curriculum represents the result of a process of social construction that reflects the kind of society that it aspires to forge. Among the lessons learned from curricular change experiences, one important fact to be considered is that changes take time.
Assessing Large Classes
Authors: Khan Rubina , Rahman Arifa
Published: January 2018

Teaching in large classes is looked upon as a difficult endeavor and, by the same token, assessing large classes is an even greater struggle. This entry identifies the major challenges faced by teachers in large‐class assessment. Apart from the inherent difficulty of adhering to the essential guiding principles of quality assessment (reliability, validity, and practicality) and to the right use of assessment types (formative, summative), problems are further compounded by the lack of adequate resources and the paucity of available teaching staff, in particular trained and assessment‐literate personnel capable of maintaining sound assessment procedures. Finally, the section on pedagogic implications discusses the overarching guidelines and some specific strategies for assessing large classes.
Alternative Assessment
Authors: Al‐Mahrooqi Rahma , Denman Christopher
Published: January 2018

Alternative assessment refers to those alternative or nonconventional forms of assessment that have emerged within classrooms since the 1990s in response to the perceived deficiencies of more traditional assessments, and especially of standardized tests. Alternative forms of assessment have the potential to act as extensions of daily classroom activities, to focus on process and product, to motivate learners, and to allow learners to perform authentic activities in real‐life situations. However, despite these advantages, they also carry a number of concerns about their subjectivity, practicality, reliability, and validity. Several popular forms of alternative assessment are discussed in relation to these points, and suggestions for implementation in EFL/ESL settings are offered.
Journals
Authors: Quirke Phil
Published: January 2018

Journals are widely used in English language teaching (ELT) and in teacher education and are the cornerstone of many reflective and reflexive teaching and teacher‐development practices. Journals can take a multitude of forms; they can be guided reflective journals, dialogue journals, reader‐response journals, reflective teaching journals, classroom‐teaching journals, online journals, and personal development journals (to name just a few forms), and these forms will be explored with reference to assessment, correction, time and privacy.
Interviews
Authors: Carey Matthew A.
Published: January 2018

Interviews are a commonly used type of speaking assessment. Many large‐scale standardized exams rely on interviews as a way to assess candidates' oral proficiency. In addition, interviews are widely used as a form of classroom assessment. While an interview might only continue for a short period of time, a significant amount of planning is necessary to ensure the validity of an interview assessment as well as the reliability of assessment conditions for all interviewees. Furthermore, assessment designers should carefully consider the learning objectives that they wish to measure in addition to the generalizability of the results of an interview assessment for real‐world speaking situations. This entry explores some of the research that has been conducted on interviews as a type of speaking assessment and offers some sound advice for assessment designers.
Self‐Assessment
Authors: Midraj Jessica
Published: January 2018

Effective assessment is a fundamental aspect of every learning situation and should form an integral part of everyday life in the classroom. Self‐assessment is a learner‐centered alternative assessment that at its core involves learners making judgments about their performance, learning, and attitudes based on criteria. As learners reflect on and judge how their work relates to the standards in order to determine the next steps in their learning process, they take a central and active role in constructing their knowledge, in becoming autonomous learners, and in building metacognitive capabilities. Because effective self‐assessment is a powerful tool that can play a vital part in learning through its effect on learners' self‐efficacy and self‐worth, it empowers learners, so that they are more likely to persevere when faced with obstacles and to develop self‐regulated learning habits. After defining key characteristics of self‐assessment and briefly reviewing theoretical and research considerations, the entry explores concrete pedagogical implications.
Writing Assessment
Authors: Reynolds Dudley W.
Published: January 2018

Writing assessment of learners of English as a second language has developed from an early interest in summative university entrance and level placement tests to include more formative types of assessment as well as assessments for K‐12, citizenship, and business communication purposes. Instruments assess either the product(s) or the process of writing; and they use normative and criterion‐referencing approaches as well as individual benchmarking. Assessment tasks include prompt‐based essays, integrated assessments that measure the students' writing ability along with reading or listening, portfolios that provide insight into a student's general writing ability and meta‐awareness, and indirect measures of knowledge about writing. Tasks may be scored using holistic or trait scales. When assessing English language learners, special attention must be paid to the fairness of the instrument, its use, and its impact on the curriculum.
Speaking Assessment
Authors: Sheetz Dean , Coldwell Sarah , Coombe Christine
Published: January 2018

In this entry, the authors introduce a taxonomy for oral production tasks (
imitative
,
intensive
,
responsive
,
interactive
, and
extensive
) and then discuss multiple theoretical viewpoints on the assessment of oral production. They then follow up with numerous practical considerations when developing, administering, and assessing oral assessments for a variety of educational contexts.
Grammar Assessment
Authors: Dakin Jee Wha
Published: January 2018

In English‐language classroom contexts, understanding how much learners know or what they can do in English is essential in order to present them with appropriate learning opportunities and ensure that the decisions made about their learning are fair and equitable. Since grammar is often seen as an important aspect of understanding and conveying meaning and is closely linked with language proficiency, assessing learners' ability to use grammar is critical for their language learning success. This summary reflects on the underlying theoretical and empirical support for grammar assessment in second/foreign language instruction, in addition to its practical applications in contexts where English grammar is taught.
What Is Assessment? Purposes of Assessment and Evaluation
Authors: Khan Rubina
Published: January 2018

Assessment and evaluation are a serious and integral part of the instructional process, affecting not only students, but teachers, society, and the whole educational milieu. The nature and purposes of assessment and evaluation are discussed emphasizing their significance as dynamic processes in providing feedback to learners about classroom practice. Six main purposes of using assessment in TESOL and three major reasons of evaluation are discussed, with a focus on using formative, summative, and multiple measures. Particular attention is drawn to the use of alternative assessment as practical applications in the classroom. These highly effective techniques can be incorporated into the daily activities by informed ESL practitioners. Some useful techniques are: Nonverbal strategies, presentations, oral and written products, and portfolios. Pedagogical implications and brief practical recommendations are also highlighted for classroom use.
Terminology: Assessment, Evaluation, and Testing
Authors: Davis John McEwan
Published: January 2018

Evaluation, assessment, and testing are tools that enable language educators to better understand and modify their language programs. Each is a systematic process of investigation that should provide useful feedback on program functioning and support stakeholder decision‐making. Evaluation, assessment, and testing, then, need to be concretely useful endeavors organized in a way that maximizes the likelihood of achieving educators' and other stakeholders' desired aims. Accordingly, the productiveness and ultimate usefulness of these enterprises will depend on (a) identifying the specific individuals (i.e., the “users”) who will do something with evaluation and assessment activities or findings, (b) specifying what the evaluation and assessment uses of these individuals will be, and (c) being clear about the specific program elements that evaluation will investigate or about the specific language abilities that assessment or testing will assess.
General Principles of Assessment
Authors: Denman Christopher , Al‐Mahrooqi Rahma
Published: January 2018

Assessment can be conceived of as generally referring to activities teachers assign to their learners in order to gain information that can be employed diagnostically to influence the process of learning and teaching. Many scholars and institutions agree that, while necessarily diverse, assessment practices should adhere to a set of guiding principles that should help make them valid, reliable, equitable, and effective. A number of these principles are offered here and several implications for assessment practice in the ESL/EFL classroom are examined.
Practicality
Authors: Jin Yan
Published: January 2018

Practicality refers to the degree to which the implementation of a language assessment can be guaranteed by the human, material, and financial resources required and the time available to carry out assessment activities. The general consensus among researchers and practitioners is that practicality is an integral part of the overall quality of language assessments, because an impractical assessment cannot survive for long no matter how valid, reliable, or fair it is. Practicality is highly sensitive to the contexts in which language assessments are developed and used, especially in the cases of language for specific purposes and performance‐based assessment. When compromises have to be made to achieve practicality, priority should be given to fulfilling the original purpose of a language assessment. With advances in information and communications technology, language assessors are exploring innovative ways of ensuring the practicality of assessment development and use.
Assessment Development Process
Authors: Lanteigne Betty
Published: January 2018

For language teachers, assessment means collection of information using various sources of information about student language knowledge and performance, which can include classroom language tests, as well as task‐based assessments, project‐based assessments, and other alternative assessments. The well documented process used in the development of large‐scale international language tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) can provide insight for teachers developing classroom assessments. Even though classroom teachers do not need to carry out the extensive validation research of large‐scale language testing (nor do they typically have the resources to do so), they may be able to apply its insights to development of classroom assessment instruments, specifically, needs analysis, specifications, piloting, administration, and analysis of results obtained.
Norm‐Referenced Testing and Criterion‐Referenced Testing
Authors: Burkett Theodore
Published: January 2018

Norm‐referenced and criterion‐referenced testing provide two distinct ways to make inferences about test takers' performance on a specific assessment. These two testing types have different construction methods, underlying goals, and methods for interpreting scores. Norm‐referenced tests make comparisons between individuals, and criterion‐referenced tests measure a test taker's performance compared to a specific set of standards or criteria.
Test Specifications
Authors: Owen Nathaniel
Published: January 2018

Test specifications are iterative, generative blueprints of test design. They are written at the item level, and allow test developers or item writers to produce new versions of a test for different test‐taking populations. The specs serve as guidelines so that new versions can be compared to previous versions. Specs may detail the properties of individual items or the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are encoded in specific items. A series of specs that make up a complete picture of a test are known as a table of specifications. Various models have been proposed for writing specs. This entry uses that proposed by Davidson and Lynch (2002) with a worked example of an IELTS reading test specification for a multiple‐choice item to elucidate what a spec looks like and how it can be written.
Ethics in Testing and Assessment
Authors: Gitsaki Christina , Robby Matthew A.
Published: January 2018

This entry provides an overview of the key ethical principles, concepts, and processes for consideration when designing effective assessment in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). By providing an overview of the analysis of risk and benefit, of teacher responsibilities, and of the components of an assessment instrument that is effective in terms of purpose, methodology, and analytic procedures, this entry will enhance practitioners' understanding of the ethical considerations that underpin language testing and assessment practices.
Politics of Testing and Assessment
Authors: Troudi Salah
Published: January 2018

This entry addresses the nature of EFL/ESL teacher's assessment literacy. The focus is on the elements that need to constitute teacher's knowledge about language assessment. In addition to theoretical, technical, and procedural considerations, teachers need to know about the politics of testing and the effect tests have on individuals and society. A balance between technicality and criticality is needed for teachers to develop an informed and critical approach to language testing.
Aptis
Authors: Dunlea Jamie
Published: January 2018

Assessment is a ubiquitous part of modern language teaching and learning, with large scale, standardized examination systems, many of which offer certificated evidence of English language proficiency, being particularly prominent. The Aptis testing system is a relatively recent addition to the assessment field, which has allowed the test developer to incorporate advances in language testing validation theory and practice into the design of the test. This entry provides an overview of some key features of that design, situating the description within the context of educators who may be potential or actual users of the test.
Computer‐Based and Adaptive Testing
Authors: Olesova Larisa
Published: January 2018

Computer‐based testing (CBT) has undergone tremendous changes since the mid‐1980s. Computerized testing has made possible the storage of large amounts of data, automatic scoring, and the use of multimedia. CBT has also encouraged item writers to develop more authentic test items and more reliable scoring systems than in traditional paper‐and‐pencil tests. Computer adaptive testing (CAT), one of the beneficial capabilities of CBT, has brought more learner‐centered approaches because it can be tailored to the individual's level. This encyclopedia entry reviews some issues surrounding CATs including construct validity, conditional independence, computer algorithms, item banking, costs, and security on test development and delivery. The entry also provides ideas for practical implications to overcome these issues for low‐, medium‐, and high‐stakes testing.
Writing Calibration
Authors: Maggioli Gabriel H. Diaz
Published: January 2018

Writing calibration describes the process of moderating samples of student writing that teachers can engage in so as to imbue their grading efforts with greater validity and reliability. The process is a response to the frequent use of psychometric measures in standardized tests, namely in written performance. In coming together to analyze students' writing with the help of criterion‐referenced tools and a protocol that focuses on maximizing dialog, raters are afforded opportunities to clarify their understanding of student expression, as well as the pedagogy used to teach writing. In a serendipitous way, the calibration session becomes an optimal opportunity for on‐the‐job teacher development while providing more transparency to the assessment process.
Discrete Point and Integrative Testing
Authors: Hidri Sahbi
Published: January 2018

Discrete‐point vs. integrative testing presupposes different views of language learning and assessment. Extant research has addressed this dichotomy by showing the benefits and drawbacks of each testing paradigm. This entry highlights theoretical foundations and practical tips for teachers and test developers to have fair measurement that emanates from well‐defined constructs. It also underscores a myriad of discrete‐point tasks and test items and integrative testing.
Assessing Higher‐Order Thinking Skills in Language Learning
Authors: Phakiti Aek
Published: January 2018

The term
higher‐order thinking skills
refers to the complex cognitive processes by which individuals go beyond simply memorizing information such as grammar rules and words. Higher‐order thinking skills include, for example, developing logical steps to work through language tasks, assessing the situation or context in which they are to complete a task, finding a solution to a problem (e.g., by taking into account the nature of a given task, the resources available or required, the time allowed, and the people involved), and making judgments of their own performance through monitoring, evaluating, and reflecting on their thinking or performance. Higher‐order thinking skills should be considered an integral part of ongoing language learning and development.
Assessing Young Learners
Authors: Emery Helen
Published: January 2018

Young learners, typically described as aged between 5 and 12 years old, have very different characteristics from older learners and must therefore be assessed in different ways. Depending on the age they start learning the L2, young learners' cognitive skills will normally be developing at the same time as their linguistic knowledge. Young learners usually have different interests from adult learners and will be motivated to learn languages in different ways. It is important to take these factors into consideration when designing assessments for this age group. The age that formal language testing should start with young learners is often questioned, as is the issue of what type of assessments to use. While testing receptive language skills may not present undue problems, testing of productive skills can be hampered by learners' still‐developing literacy, motor coordination and pronunciation skills in the L1. However, many opportunities present themselves for creative assessment, using methods such as diagnostic testing of literacy skills, portfolios, task‐based assessments and child observations. These methods can be successfully combined to form an overall assessment of a child's capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, and areas where further work is necessary.
Assessing Pragmatic Competence
Authors: Brown James Dean
Published: January 2018

From the earliest studies on assessing pragmatics competence in 1995, tests have been of six basic types: written discourse completion task (DCT), multiple‐choice DCT, oral DCT, discourse role‐play task, discourse self‐assessment task, and role‐play self‐assessment. The early tests were designed around speech acts (requests, refusals, and apologies) and included contextual conditions (degree of imposition, power difference, and social distance). This entry (1) reviews how testing methods, speech acts, contextual conditions, and testing platforms have evolved over the decades, (2) provides examples of seven different types of pragmatics assessment items, and (3) makes suggestions that teachers can use in deciding what to include in their teaching and assessment of pragmatics competence.
Technology and Assessment
Authors: Voss Erik
Published: January 2018

From the time that computer technology became affordable and powerful enough for use in the classroom, teachers and researchers began searching for ways to make language assessment faster through automation and more effective through innovation. Testing companies have been leading the way with computer‐based standardized language testing. Many scholars agree that new technologies have changed the way language is assessed but few have considered what these new tasks are actually measuring. As new media and classroom materials drive technology use, language assessments must also adapt to measure language in the way that it is being used both in the classroom and in real life.
Automated Speech Assessment
Authors: Chen Howard Hao‐Jan , Chen Lisa Wen‐Chun
Published: January 2018

Traditional speech assessment largely depends on human raters but several problems can occur when human raters are involved. Automated speech assessment (ASA), based mainly on various automated speech recognition (ASR) software programs, is a new way to assess EFL students' oral production. Many existing ASR‐based programs, accessed via personal computers, the Internet, and mobile devices, can be used for assessment and pedagogical purposes. Several popular ASR programs and tools are introduced in this entry. Administrators and language teachers can make good use of these new technologies to improve oral skills assessment. Although existing ASR programs are usable and beneficial for second language learners, much can still be improved in terms of their performance and reliability. More empirical research and technological breakthroughs on ASA are needed to develop better ASA tools. It is expected that in the future it will be possible to apply ASA to high‐stake language tests.
Automated Writing Evaluation
Authors: Cotos Elena
Published: January 2018

Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) comprises a suite of Web‐based applications for computer‐assisted assessment and learning. This historically controversial technology, solidly grounded in psychometric research, imposes the need for comprehensive inquiry into its context‐specific utilizations in order to exploit its advantages appropriately and to devise effective classroom techniques for fostering writing development.
CALL
(Computer‐Assisted Language Learning) Methodology
Authors: Egbert Joy
Published: January 2018

While there are approaches, strategies, and techniques for using technology in language learning and teaching, there are no specific computer‐assisted language learning (CALL) methods per se. Rather, technology can be used to support any method, and the strategies, techniques, and tools used in any CALL‐based lesson depend on the goals of the lesson. This entry describes and provides examples of how technology might be used to support a variety of pedagogical stances.
Collaborative Writing
Authors: Storch Neomy
Published: January 2018

Collaborative writing activities involve the production of a single text by two or more coauthors. These activities require the coauthors to communicate as they compose the text. This communication is via speaking when collaborative writing is implemented in the classroom in the face‐to‐face mode, or increasingly via chats in a computer‐mediated mode. This entry begins by defining collaborative writing and then it presents the theoretical and empirical reasons to implement collaborative writing activities in the language classroom. In order to maximize the language learning opportunities that collaborative writing may afford language learners, the entry concludes by presenting research‐informed advice on how such writing activities should be implemented.
Communities of Practice
Authors: England Lizabeth
Published: January 2018

For TESOL professionals worldwide, communities of practice offer opportunities for learning and for professional development—both online and face‐to‐face. This entry provides a description of what communities of practice are in English language teaching and how they work to promote excellence in instruction and professional development. The definition of “communities of practice” provided here serves two functions: (1) to identify specific characteristics of TESOL communities of practice; and (2) to connect TESOL with other professional communities of practice. The definition, drawn from many sources, is “TESOL communities of practice are sets of relations among persons and activities over time in relation with other tangential and overlapping communities of practice.”
Corpora in Language Learning
Authors: Green Brent A.
Published: January 2018

Corpora in language teaching is an approach which incorporates corpus data both in and out of the classroom to help students notice and practice the forms, meanings, and use of particular language structures. Learners use authentic language data, often presented in the form of Key Word in Context (KWIC) lines, to act as “linguistic detectives.” Approaches to corpora in the classroom have been around for nearly 30 years, and the tools required to conduct searches have become relatively easy to use. Still this approach has not been widely implemented in the language classroom. It is hoped that both ESL teachers and students will begin to see the value of corpus‐driven learning in language‐teaching/learning processes and begin using these approaches in their ESL classrooms.
Corpus‐Based Instruction
Authors: Huang Li‐Shih
Published: January 2018

For teachers who are new to corpora and corpus‐based instruction, this entry seeks to make that first step less precarious by defining and explaining key terms and briefly discussing the key theoretical basis underlying the approach. Practical applications and recommendations are then offered for practitioners who may be considering applying corpora in their own classroom teaching.
Blended Learning
Authors: Hinkelman Don
Published: January 2018

Blended language learning is the principled mix of online and classroom‐based activities in a second language class or program. This entry discusses issues that drive learners, teachers, authors, and administrators to adopt blended learning approaches over single venue approaches. The theoretical constructs of blended learning are summarized with attention to a critical, process‐based definition of technology, classroom ecologies, and types of blending options. Finally, several key pedagogical implications of blended learning include flipped classroom, gamification, team authoring, and collaborative teaching/research.
Electronic Village, The
Authors: Schwartz Aaron D.
Published: January 2018

The annual Electronic Village (EV) and the accompanying events that surround it have a tradition of being important professional development events that attract educators, researchers, and developers in the field of computer‐assisted language learning (CALL) in the context of teaching the English language to non‐native speakers. The EV is held during the international TESOL conference and features technology fairs, workshops, and panel presentations by researchers and developers. The EV has led to the creation of other events, such as the Technology Showcase and the Electronic Village Online.
Electronic Village Online (EVO)
Authors: Arena Carla
Published: January 2018

New models of teacher professional development that cater for more culturally diverse groups of professionals and have a broader reach in terms of scalability have emerged with the advent of interactive digital platforms. In this entry, the Electronic Village Online, a project that started with specialists involved in the TESOL Computer‐Assisted Language Learning Interest Section (CALL‐IS), will be presented as one of the possibilities for networked, social learning for educators with unique characteristics in its training framework. It now has a whole system of volunteers in the coordination and moderating teams who have delivered five‐week sessions held every year since 2002 for English teachers worldwide.
Fanfiction
Authors: Hatfield Sally J.
Published: January 2018

Although the use of fanfiction in the field of TESOL has not yet been extensively studied, various practices related to fanfiction and fan culture can be beneficial for second‐language learning and acquisition. Current perspectives are split between finding fanfiction a useful tool for the ESL classroom in terms of motivation and scaffolding, among other benefits, and thinking it more effective and relevant for language learners when they have complete autonomy over their writing, rather than it being regulated by an instructor. Regardless, both groups feel that ESL instructors should be aware of fanfiction and fandoms that their students may participate in. There are a variety of ways to incorporate fanfiction practices and fandom tasks into TESOL, regardless of the level of students or the language skill being focused on.
Gaming
Authors: Kuhn Jeff
Published: January 2018

Video games as both an entertainment medium and classroom tool have risen in prominence over the last decade. Classroom teachers work to incorporate video games in classroom pedagogy, while researchers use a multifaceted approach to investigate best practices for games in the language classroom. Understanding these best practices necessitates that instructors understand games and their surrounding communities while researchers continue to investigate beyond games and learning efficacy and document when and under what conditions games can be effective for language learning.
Intercultural Communication through Technology
Authors: Perren James M.
Published: January 2018

This entry provides current information about technology use in TESOL for intercultural communication. Computer‐based learning has been impacted by information availability and rapidly changing technology. This entry acknowledges the significance of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and describes how technology affects ICC development, its effectiveness for ICC teaching, and its perceived benefits and challenges. Definitions for several important terms are provided to identify, conceptualize, and implement ICC with technology in relation to English as a second language learning and use. Research is briefly presented concerning how language learners in various projects have learned through CALL with telecollaboration and Web 2.0 pedagogies leading to best practices. Key information from several collaborative endeavors is presented to highlight practical technology applications for intercultural communication. Examples include incorporating reflective blogging, integration of graphics and video activities, and implementation of mobile devices. The entry closes with discussion of the importance of measurement and assessment of ICC.
Learner Training
Authors: Hubbard Philip
Published: January 2018

This entry discusses the notion that because technology tools and environments offer students more control and support than traditional learning settings, explicit training is valuable in helping them to use that technology more effectively. The first section provides an overview of the areas that learners need to develop expertise in. The second section summarizes arguments and evidence that learners left on their own will often encounter frustrations or difficulties or simply use the technology ineffectively. The final section offers guidelines and examples for teachers seeking to incorporate learner training in their curriculum.
Learning Management Systems
Authors: Reshad Abraham
Published: January 2018

The learning management system (LMS) is a virtual learning environment (VLN) that is used to deliver course material, track progress, and conduct assessments for e‐learning. This introduction to the LMS explores its fundamental characteristics, its growth and development with ubiquitous cloud applications, the pedagogical implications of this new space for learning, and things to consider when embarking on this journey for the first time.