The connection between Chinese IELTS
speaking teachers' assessment literacy and teaching methods selection
Liu Yuan (刘源), University of Leicester, UK
This is an in-progress work. In previous studies,
the discussion of classifying the importance and the role of language teachers’
assessment of literacy in classroom teaching has been made. However, past
studies put more emphasis on the general aspect of the significance for language
teachers to acquire assessment literacy instead of focusing on one particular
test and context. In other words, the clear connection between the level of
instructors' acquisition of assessment information and the selection of
teaching methods in the real classroom has not received a great deal of
attention. The current study therefore aims to address two research questions:
1) What are Chinese IELTS teachers' interpretation of IELTS speaking test
design? 2) How can teachers' teaching methods selection be affected by their
interpretation of the target test design? The current study will use a
mix-methods approach to investigate these two questions, including a
questionnaire study and a follow-up semi-structured interview. The findings
will inform educators to what extent teachers have interpreted the target test
design and how their interpretation of the target test design would influence
their teaching methods selection, namely the impact on teaching. It is hoped
that this study will have pedagogical implications for practitioners.
Liu Yuan is a
PhD student at the University of Leicester, UK.
EFL vocabulary acquisition: A revised
taxonomy to develop Chinese EFL vocabulary learning strategies
Wang Xuan (王譞), Northwestern Polytechnical
University, Shaanxi
Research on vocabulary learning strategies has
reflected a trend shifting from "learning strategy" to
"strategic learning" and teachers are also shifting their approaches
to incorporate more strategic learning techniques, as opposed to students
applying their own learning strategies to materials. First, few studies explore
process-based self-regulatory vocabulary learning strategies in the Chinese EFL
context. Second, no existing study considers both product-based task-related
strategies and process-based self-regulatory strategies within vocabulary
research. Third, technology-enhanced strategies such as mobile-assisted
vocabulary learning and online self-learning should be considered in the
taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies. Therefore, this study aims to
review existing taxonomy, discuss gaps in vocabulary learning strategies and
suggest a revised taxonomy for future research in the Chinese EFL context.
Wang Xuan is
currently an assistant professor at the School of Foreign Studies, Northwestern
Polytechnical University, China. She completed her PhD from the University of
Sydney, Australia, in the field of TESOL.
