Factors influencing assessment of language in school

Factors influencing assessment of language in school Due to the globalization, some people whose first language is not English are the fastest-growing school population, and in Australias classroom are becoming increasingly diverse. Take Deakin university for example, the students in the classroom come from Italy, America, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Australia and so on. Many students are from none English Speaking countries and different cultural background. They share the considerable challenge of having to learn English while responding to the subject-matter demands of school. This article is to explore the cultural understandings which underpin pedagogies used in international education. Moreover, there has been great recent interest in the social and policy context of language testing and assessment. McNamara (1998)comments on the recency of discussion of the ethics of language testing, an area in which social values are a main concern; while the previous relative neglect of these issues in research on language testing has been doc umented by Kunnan (1996), quoted from Hamp-Lyons article. Finally, because effective use of technology must be supported by significant investment in hardware, software, infrastructure, professional development, and support services, over the last decade, technology is introduced into the nations school systems, ultimately, the schools will be held accountable for these investments. Assessment refers to the collection and interpretation of information about learners knowledge, skills, strategies and attitudes. It is a vital and integral part of classroom instruction, and serves several purposes and audiences.Assessment polices exert considerable influence over the education of English language learners because assessment influence the identification, classification, placement, and ongoing monitoring of students. Sometimes the assessment results can help the students to improve their abilities and the quality of instruction. Assessment practices were not designed with the diversity o f current population of English language learners in their mind. As a result, assessment practices have also sometimes prevented students who are learning English from gaining access to a high quality education. Many learners complain that the English language tests are too much, in fact their abilities and skills have not been adequately assessed because traditional testing practices do not capture all that they know and can do. This essay will argue that the culture, policy and social condition, the educational background and technology impact on assessment of language in Australia. In planning assessments to be taken by the general student population, including English language learners, the general principles of good assessment practices apply. This article describes different steps within the planning process, highlighting issues most relevant to the assessment of English language learners. First of all, the policy and social considerations influence on language assessment. McNamara (1998) mentions that the use of tests as an arm of policy reform in education and vocational training has grown, and it has been incorporated as an aspect of immigration policy. These developments have invited the kind of analysis made relevant by the new frameworks for thinking about tests outlined above. The policy influence on the school and university educational systems and even the workforce. National governments often require language tests or other formal assessment procedures to be used. Test fairness is a particularly important quality when tests are related to migration, residency or citizenship. Moreover, as labor mobility has risen and immigrant and refugee flows become a more entrenched part of the present global situation, the assessment of language skills has assumed importance in the context of immigration policy, especially in Australia. Besides that the concern of governme nts for greater industrial efficiency, and the needs of vocational education and training of workforces in rapidly changing environments of production, have motivated a range of policy initiatives which have had implications for assessment. In the past 15 years, language assessment has become increasingly uses as an instrument of policy in the areas of school education, vocational training, and immigration. Khattri and Sweet (1996) demonstrate that the policy context supporting the introduction of performance assessment in school and vocational training contexts at national, state, and district levels, quoted from McNamara article. Therefore, policy makers should be aware that there are some other kinds of assessment which may also be appropriate. Tests and other methods of assessment have their own particular benefits which relating to characteristics such as impact on the candidate, the interpretability of results, standardization and reliability of the results which means that it is easy to compare candidates across the same or different administrations, and cost and practicability. It is very significant that the requirements of the situation are considered carefully to identify the most appropriate kind of assessment. It should also be noted that a combination of assessment methods is possible. Brindley argues that the function of such frameworks in providing greater accountability for systems in their delivery of language training potentially involves a conflict with the educational needs of learners and the goals of teachers. For example, as notes in the ETS standards for quality and fairness, validity is one of the most important attributes of an assessment. Validity is commonly referred to as the extent to which a test measurement what it claims to measure. For English language learners, as well as for all populations, it is critical to consider the degree to which interpretations of their test results are valid reflections of the skill or proficiency that an assessment is intended measure (Educational Testing Service, 2009). Language assessment is a measure of language ability for the ELLs. According to study guide, the Rasch model attempt to generalize from test data to estimate candidate ability and item characteristics (difficulty, discrimination and fit to the model). Estimates of candidate ability take task or item difficulty into account and are based on the assumption that the propability of a correct response is a function of the difference between the persons ability and difficulty of the task. For instance, ESL tests are being increasingly used by the Australia government to manage immigration. One test, assess, raises ethical issues in the way it is used to limit numbers and types of immigrants. There are many immigrants from the other countries want to move to Australia, the government should take effective measures to control this situation; the other, step, was used to hasten the determination of residential statu s for substantial numbers of asylum seekers (McNamara, 1998). The Australian tradition of using language tests in immigration policy contexts, dating back to the notorious dictation test which was used to implement a blatantly discriminatory immigration policy until the 1960s, is analyzed by Davies (1996). Cumming (1994) has stressed the responsibility of language assessment practice to promote the welfare of immigration. As a result, where language assessment is being considered, policy makers are urged to first consider issues at a deeper level. 690 Second of all, different language and educational background influences the assessment of English language learners. This point of view describes factors to consider when developing assessments and make useful decisions relate to testing accommodations for English language learners. The factors provide useful context for the guidelines presented in the later parts of the document. As for language factors, many English language learners in Australia are from a wide range of linguistic backgrounds. This is particularly important to keep in mind when considering the use of native language testing accommodations, since it may not be possible to provide assessments in all native languages represented in a large school district to a state. For example, in Deakin University English Language Institute (DUELI), which is a language training school related to Deakin University, many overseas students are from different country, they can communicate with each other in English, through a period o f language learning, at the end of the step there is a language assessment provided. That is to detct the progress of students in language learning. Furthermore, different levels of proficiency in English for English language learners will influence their assessment of language. They may have varying levels of oral and written English proficiency. It also conclude the native speakers, some may not have had any formal schooling in their native language. The language learners should not be assumed that they can converse easily in language learning will have the literacy skills necessary to understand the written directions for a standardized test. Some English language learners may be proficient in the English used for interpersonal communications but not in the academic English needed to fully access content-area assessments (Educational Testing Service, 2009). According to some research that shows the level of language proficiency has an influence on processing speed. Comparing with native speakers, English language learners probably take longer on tasks presented in English. This is important to keep in mind when designing and scoring the assessment, as well as when making decisions about testing accommodations. In addition, as for educational background factors, English language learners vary widely in the level of formal schooling they have had in their native language (Educational Testing Service, 2009). The degree of native language formal schooling affects not only native language, but also for the assessment of English language learners. The other the proficiency of the language learners in literacy in the native language is involving the skills and knowledge. For instance, some students are refugee people, they want to go to the school which the educational system with little or no formal schooling in any language. These students must learn English and content-area knowledge simultaneously, while also being socialized into a school context that may be extremely unfamiliar. The other English language learners may come to the formal schooling and may have received instruction in the content area in their native language. Accord to Educational Testing Service (2009) describes the primary challenge for these students is simply to change their existing content knowledge into English. In addition, these factors come into play when making decisions about appropriate accommodations. Moreover, there are vary degrees of exposure to standardized testing, it should not be assumed that the English language learners have had the same exposure to the standardized testing that is prevalent in Australia. The learners in some countries may have had no exposure to multiple-choice questions, while those from other countries may never have seen a constructed-response question. Even English language learners from educationally advantaged backgrounds and with high levels of English language proficiency may not be accustomed to standardized, large-scale assessments and may be at a disadvantage in these testing situations. Thirdly, cultural factors can be potential sources of construct-irrelevant variance that add to the complex of appropriately assessing English language learners. Culture is an important facet of the learners social environment as cultural beliefs guide and direct behaviour. Each culture has different value systems and these guides the individual. English language learners are from a wide range of cultural background, and cultural difference may place the English language learners at a disadvantage in a standardized testing situation. Lack of familiarity with mainstream Australia culture, they may potentially have an impact on test scores for English language learners. The learners who are unfamiliar with Australia culture may be at disadvantage relative to their peers because they may hold different assumptions about the testing situation or the educational environment in general, have different background knowledge and experience, or unfamiliar with Australia culture may be at a pos sess different sets of cultural values and beliefs, and therefore respond to questions differently (Accord to Educational Testing Service, 2009). In fact, assessment the true value of language assessment is to check the language learners learning level, and based on the assessment results to help students progress. Culture differences are inevitable factors and impact on language assessment obviously. In addition, assessment can be used for a variety of purpose such as diagnosis of learners strengths and weaknesses, grading of learners performance, placement of learners in an appropriate class or teaching programme, and evaluation of learners for further studies. August, D., Pease-Alvarez, L. (1996) maintains that assessment presented builds on the school-wide and classroom cultures, policies, and practices that characterize effective schools for English language learners. Elements of these include a core curriculum aligned with rigorous content standards, student assessment that i s culturally responsive, teacher knowledge of strategies that support students cultural backgrounds, and a challenging and responsive learning environment. Every element of the model is first presented in a research-based discussion and then followed by attributes of effective practices based on examples from school sites. All cultures promote specific norms of behavior that can influence the assessment and intervention process with members of ethnically diverse groups, cultural issues related to the assessment process and culturally sensitive recommendations. Last but not least, technological aspects impact on assessment of language in schools. Each technology is likely to play a different role in students learning. Rather than trying to describe the impact of all technologies as if they were the same, researchers need to think about what kind of technologies are being used in the classroom and for what purposes, applied linguists might consider technology in language assessment by discussing ways in which streamlines the testing process. Two general distinctions can be made. Students can learn from computers-where technology used essentially as tutors and serves to increase students basic skills and knowledge; and can learn with computers-where technology is used a tool that can be applied to a variety of goals in the learning process and can serve as a resource to help develop higher order thinking, creativity and research skills (Reeves, 1998; Ringstaff Kelley, 2002). In fact, much progress can be identified with respect to this worth while goal, as many language tests today are delivered on microcomputers and over the internet. An equally important strand of language assessment concerns its effects on language learning, language teaching, and knowledge within the field of applied linguistics. The story of technology in language assessment needs to encompass both the efficiency of technical accomplishments, which is evident in part through the success of testing programs in constructing technology-based tests, as well as the effects of these test. Technology can encompass a board range of devices used in the testing process, from recording equipment, statistical programs, and data bases, to programs capable of language recognition (Burstein, Frase, Ginther, and Grant, 1996). Many different types of technology can be used to support and improve learning, involving the language assessment. Everything from video content and digital moviemaking to laptop computing and handheld technologies have been used in classroom s, and new uses of technology such as podcasting are constantly emerging(Marshall, 2002). For example, writing assessment is a suitable point which can support this belief that the students can become better writers when they use the computer for writing. By creating more frequent opportunities for students to learn, Students writing in digital form makes it possible to analyze writing quality in more detail, grade the writing by automated means, and provide immediate feedback to both the student and the teacher about how well the student performed (Miller, 2009), quoted from Bejar (2010). A digital writing environment also can provide students with tools or scaffolds (Deane, Quinlan, Kostin, in press) that can facilitate writing. The feasibility of detailed writing analysis also makes it possible to study the development of writing skills and to chart their development on a meaningful scale (Attali Powers, 2008). Many years ago, access to technology was limited and writing school was one of the nations highest education priorities. Public schools have also made consistent progress in expanding Internet access in instructional rooms. Technology is introduced into our nations school systems. Along with expanded access has come a growing pervasiveness of technology in society. For the new generation of young people, technology, particularly the Internet, has assumed a substan tial stake in their social and educational lives. To sum up, English as a world language, in the past few decades a significant change about the language, researchers have found that these changes not only from English language itself, but also from other factors. This chapter has attempted to outline the issues that need to be considered and, by implication, the issues for which policy makers should take responsibility. The questions of what type of assessment is necessary for the intended purpose, and what it can be expected to measure should be considered first. For the successful use of a language test for migration and citizenship purposes, those who define the policy must work with the test providers on several aspects after the decision to use a test has been made. During these changes will impact on language -related changes in language teaching and assessment. Assessment is the practice of collecting evidence of student learning. In the past, the English test or assessment still to the native English speakers of the languag e for criteria, which language closed to the native English speakers is a good standard of evaluation results, and vice versa is not up to the standard learning objectives. Language testing and evaluation is changed now, set the highest standards and evaluate the assessment of the highest standards from the distance and differences, and then view the object of study and progress through the content analysis. Language assessment also based on the different factors is change, and position of the language assessment is more important in the world, therefore, linguists, educators, and testing evaluators should pay more attention on the advantages and limitations of the language assessment, and to grasp these changes then take effective measures.

Lifestyle Choices Limit Good Health

The Scottish diet has been identified as particularly poor, it is high in salt, sugar and fat, and low in fresh fruit and vegetables. Neither women nor men meet the recommended levels of exercise; only 33% of women and 45% of men meet the recommended levels Of exercise. It is therefore not surprising that 59% of Scottish women and 69% or Scottish men are overweight and it is also not surprising that Scotland suffers from very high levels of weigh- related health problems, from diabetes to cancer.This suggests that the choices that we make about what we eat are impacting on the nation's health to a great degree. In addition, habits such as smoking certainly do have a connection with ill health. Smoking is a known cause of 25 serious diseases, including lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory problems. One in every four Scottish people will die from smoking related causes. It is therefore clear that the 23% of Scottish people who smoke are putting both their own health and others ar ound them in danger.Although all individuals have the ability to make healthy choices some of us are more likely to live healthy lifestyles than others. It can be cheap to live healthily – buying fruit or going for a walk – but for those in poverty, who are less likely to do so due to solicitation, knowledge, motivation or time. For instance, in Scotland least deprived areas, 1 1% of people smoke. In the most deprived areas, 40% of people smoke. Consequently, there are higher rates of lung cancer, heart disease, and low birth-weight babies in the most deprived areas of Scotland than in the least deprived areas.However, it is too simple to blame the poor for causing their own ill health through â€Å"bad choices†. For instance, Dry Harry Burns has spoken of the biology of poverty. In which he has argued that infants born into deprivation are exposed to the great stress, which has a lasting effect on the brain and body and leaved them more vulnerable to ease in la ter life. This has contributed to an astonishing 28 year male life expectancy gap between Gallon in Glasgow and the wealthy suburb of Leonie.Therefore, the health gap between rich and poor cannot be explained by lifestyle alone and we must take into account the wider effects of poverty on health. As a final point, other factors that are unrelated to lifestyle can also limit good health. Certain illnesses can be passed on in the genes. F-or instance, it is believed that 60% of cancers are linked to family history. However, few illnesses are purely hereditary and even those who carry a emetic Rick can lessen their risk of falling ill by making good lifestyle choices.For example, strokes do run in families, but it is said that 25% of them could have been prevented by doing regular daily exercise, such as walking. Therefore, lifestyles can still have an impact in the case of hereditary illnesses and is an important factor. In conclusion, while lifestyle factors do impact on health, the causes of ill health are more complex. Ill health is most usually the result of a combination of genes, environment and lifestyle factors and it is therefore too simple to say lifestyle is the main cause of ill health.

Definition and Examples of Adjectives

An adjective is a part of speech (or word class) that modifies a noun or a pronoun.  In addition to their basic (or positive) forms (for example, big and beautiful), most adjectives have two other forms: comparative (bigger and more beautiful) and superlative (biggest and most beautiful). Adjectives often—but not always—serve as modifiers, providing additional information about another word or word group, such as a noun or noun phrase. But adjectives can also  themselves  act as nouns in a sentence. Learning a few basic grammatical rules and recognizing the various types of adjectives will have you correctly using these important parts of speech in no time. Below are the main types of adjectives you are likely to encounter in English, together with accompanying explanations for each. Absolute Adjectives An  absolute adjective—such as  supreme  or  infinite—is an adjective with a meaning that cannot be  intensified  or  compared. It is also known as an  incomparable,  ultimate, or  absolute modifier.  English Language Centres  gives this example of an absolute adjective: He is dead. In the sentence, the word  dead  is an absolute adjective. The person is either  dead  or he is not, says the firm that offers online and in-person English language courses. You cannot be  deader  than someone else and you cannot be the  deadest  among a group. According to some  style guides, absolute adjectives are always in the  superlative degree. However, some absolute adjectives can be quantified by the addition of the word  almost,  nearly, or  virtually. Attributive  and  Predicative Adjectives An  attributive adjective  usually comes before the  noun  it modifies without a  linking verb. For example, take this sentence from  Maya Angelous work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: In those  tender  mornings, the Store was full of laughing, joking, boasting, and bragging. The word  tender  is an attributive adjective because it precedes and modifies the noun  mornings.  Attributive adjectives are direct  modifiers  of  nominals. By contrast, a  predicative adjective  usually comes  after  a  linking verb  rather than  before  a  noun. Another term for a predicative adjective is a  subject complement. The Oxford Online Living Dictionaries gives this example: The cat is  black. In general,  when adjectives are used after a verb such as  be,  become,  grow,  look,  or  seem, they’re called  predicative  adjectives, says the dictionary. Appositive Adjectives An appositive adjective is a traditional grammatical term for an  adjective  (or a series of adjectives) that follows a  noun  and, like a  nonrestrictive  appositive, is set off by  commas  or  dashes. For example: Arthur was a big boy,  tall, strong, and broad-shouldered.– Janet B. Pascal, Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street As the example shows, appositive adjectives often appear in pairs or groups of three, called  tricolons. Comparative and Superlative Adjectives The  comparative  adjective is the form of an  adjective  involving the comparisons of more or less as well as  greater or lesser. Comparative adjectives in English are either marked by the  suffix  -er  (as in the  faster  bike) or identified by the word  more  or  less  (the  more difficult  job). Almost all  one-syllable  adjectives, along with some two-syllable adjectives, add  -er  to the  base  to form the comparative. In most adjectives of two or more  syllables, the comparative is identified by the word  more  or  less. The  superlative adjective, by comparison, is the form or  degree  of an  adjective that indicates the most or the least of something. Superlatives are either marked by the  suffix  -est  (as in the  fastest  bike) or identified by the word  most  or  least  (the  most difficult  job). Similar to comparative adjectives, almost all  one-syllable  adjectives, along with some two-syllable adjectives, add  -est  to the  base  to form the superlative.  In most adjectives of two or more  syllables, the superlative is identified by the word  most  or  least.  Not all adjectives have superlative forms. After a superlative,  in  or  of  plus a  noun phrase  can be used to indicate what is being compared (as in the  tallest  building  in  the world and the  best  time  of  my life). Compound Adjectives A compound adjective is made up of two or more words (such as  part-time  and  high-speed) that act as a single idea to  modify  a  noun  (a  part-time  employee, a  high-speed  chase). Compound adjectives are also called phrasal adjectives  or  compound modifiers. As a general rule, the words in a compound adjective are  hyphenated  when they come before a noun (a  well-known  actor) but not when they come after (The actor is  well known). Compound adjectives formed with an  adverb  ending in  -ly  (such as  rapidly changing) are usually not hyphenated. Demonstrative Adjectives A  demonstrative adjective  is a  determiner  that comes before and  points to a particular  noun. Indeed, a  demonstrative adjective is sometimes called a  demonstrative determiner. For example: Son, take  this  bat and hit  that  ball out of the park. There are four demonstratives in English: The near demonstratives:  this  and  theseThe far demonstratives:  that  and  thoseThe  singular  demonstratives:  this  and  thatThe plural  demonstratives:  these  and  those Denominal Adjectives A  denominal adjective  is formed from  a  noun, usually with the addition of a  suffix—such as  hopeless, earthen, cowardly, childish, and  Reaganesque. An example would be: Our new neighborhood seemed romantic, somehow, and very  San  Franciscoish, especially to a couple of young people who hailed from Idaho. In this sentence, the  proper noun  San Francisco is altered with the suffix  -ish  to form the denominal adjective. These kinds of adjectives can heighten the drama and descriptiveness of a sentence, as in this example: The presidents oration was...Lincolnian  in its cadences, and in some ways, was the final, impassioned, heart-felt rebuke to all those, including his opponent, who tried to portray him as somehow un-American.– Andrew Sullivan, The American President.  The Daily Beast, Nov. 7, 2012 Nominal Adjectives The term  nominal  adjective  refers to an adjective or group of adjectives that function  as  a noun. The Complete English Grammar Rules by Farlex International notes that nominal adjectives are generally preceded by the word the and can be found as the subject or the object of a sentence or clause. For example: The elderly are a great source of wisdom. The word  elderly  generally acts as a true adjective—an  elderly  gentleman—but in the previous sentence, it functions as a  collective noun  and as the subject of the sentence. Nominal adjectives  are also known as substantive  adjectives.   Participial Adjectives A  participial adjective  is an  adjective  that has the same form as the  participle  (a  verb  ending in  -ing  or  -ed/-en) and usually exhibits the ordinary properties of an adjective. For example: What kind of a man was he to fall in love with a  lying  thief?– Janet Dailey, The Hostage Bride In the sentence, the verb  lie  is altered by adding the ending  -ing to form the participial adjective  lying, which then describes the noun  thief.  Also, the comparative  and  superlative  forms of participial adjectives are formed with  more  and  most  and less  and  least—not with the endings  -er  and  -est. Adjectival Observations Not everyone is a fan of adjectives. Constance Hale, in Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose, noted that the famous humorist and author Mark Twain had some rather negative comments about this part of speech: When you catch an  adjective, kill it. No, I dont mean utterly, but kill most of them—then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart.​ And in his 2002 memorial  eulogy  to former British Cabinet Minister Barbara Castle, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw recalled her remark: Bugger the  adjectives. Its the nouns and verbs people want.– Ned Halley, Dictionary of Modern English Grammar Nouns generally  are  the subject of a sentence, while verbs do  describe the action or state of being. But used effectively and correctly, as you see from the previous examples, adjectives can indeed  enhance many sentences by adding colorful, vivid, and detailed  description, increasing interest in an otherwise mundane sentence.

The Evolution of the Space Suit From 1961 to Today