Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE LHN5004

 
TITLE ELT 4 Resources for Teaching and Language Testing

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Languages and Humanities Education

 
DESCRIPTION Resources in this study-unit take the shape of linguistic resources that teachers of languages can apply to enable students’ learning and which are fundamental in designing language tests and forms of assessment. In addition, resources refer to teaching resources that are widely available and which need to be critically evaluated.

Study-Unit Aims:

The study-unit aims to equip students with the necessary skills and linguistic knowledge to produce contextually relevant and pedagogically sound, no-tech and low-tech materials to meet learning outcomes and learners' needs. The study-unit also aims to enable students to see the usefulness of linguistics to teaching and to demonstrate this through application to teaching materials and resources Students will be guided to contend with the considerable range of resources that are available for the teaching of English and to critically evaluate these for their usefulness and effectiveness in helping learners in the classroom and beyond.

This study-unit also focuses on essential issues in language testing and the knowledge and skills teachers need to carry this out in a principled way. While recognising that the concept and practice of assessment has widened to embrace and give prominence to classroom-based assessment, formal testing still has a role to play in charting and accrediting learners' achievement. Students therefore will be sensitised to the powerful gate-keeping nature of examinations and to the imperatives of the various forms of reliability and validity when constructing any form of language testing whether at school level or national level. Assessment literacy is viewed as a pivotal part of becoming-teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. In addition, the truism that not all learners are the same leads to a recognition of the need for differentiated teaching and assessment. Principles of differentiated teaching in the English language classroom, both for classroom teaching and assessment will feature in this study unit.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Describe the various types of resources;
- Locate sources that provide resources;
- Analyse the possibilities or limitations within the resources;
- Discuss the advantages of teacher-made materials: contextualization, individual needs, personalisation, timeliness;
- Discuss the potential disadvantages of teacher-made materials: organisation around a theme, quality, time;
- Demonstrate an understanding of key factors when designing resources: learners, curriculum, context, personal confidence and competence;-- ---------
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of semantics, morphology, etymology, syntax, phonology, and discourse analysis
- Demonstrate an understanding of the various forms of reliability and validity in a language examination;
- Discuss the backwash effects of tests;

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Demonstrate an ability to apply criteria for evaluation and analysis by carrying out tasks under the lecturer's guidance in class;
- Apply a set of guidelines for the analysis and evaluation of commercially-produced material;
- Create contextually-relevant teaching material;
- Apply to teaching materials and resources an understanding of semantics, morphology, etymology, syntax, phonology, and discourse analysis to enhance students’ learning of English.
- Apply the tenets of language testing by critiquing a language test;
- Design parts of a language test.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Recommended readings and websites:

- Low-tech and no-tech learning resources in ELT.
- Lecturers’ lecture slides and worksheets made available on VLE.
- Aldridge-Morris, Kathryn. How To Write ESOL Materials (Training Course For ELT Writers Book 16) [Kindle Edition].
- Block, David and Cameron, Deborah (Eds) (2002) Globalization and Language Teaching. Dummett, Paul (2013) How To Write Critical Thinking Activities (Training Course For ELT Writers Book 4) Kindle Edition.
- Garton, Sue and Graves, Kathleen, Graves (Eds) (2014) International Perspectives on Materials in ELT.
- Harwood, Nigel (2010) English Language Teaching Materials: Theory and Practice (Cambridge Language Education).
- Krantz, Caroline (2013) How To Write Reading And Listening Activities (Training Course For ELT Writers) Kindle Edition.
- Richardson, Karen. How To Write Worksheets (Training Course For ELT Writers) [Kindle Edition].
- http://elt-resourceful.com/2012/02/17/ideas-for-providing-differentiation-that-dont-involve-writing-different-materials-and-a-different-plan-for-each-student-in-the-class-2/
- http://www.readingmatrix.com/files/11-1n844ug7.pdf
- file:///C:/Users/PC/Downloads/Evaluative%20checklist.pdf
- https://sites.google.com/a/twpums.net/the-writing-portal/elt-materials-design-adaption-and-evaluation.
- http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_1_No_12_September_2011/14.pdf.
- http://iteslj.org/Articles/Shave-CourseBookEvaluation.html.
- http://benz.nchu.edu.tw/~intergrams/intergrams/132/132-lhy.pdf.
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/246108464_Evaluating_ELT_textbooks_and_materials.
- http://www.palgraveconnect.com/pc/doifinder/view/10.1057/9781137384263.0013.
- http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/markthomas/2015/02/25/materials-now/
- http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/cels/essays/sylabusandmaterials/AWhiteCOURSEBOOKEVALUATIONsyllmat.pdf
- https://www.academia.edu/883104/
- https://scottthornbury.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/c-is-for-coursebook-writing/
- https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/whats-new-english-language-teaching
- http://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2014/05/authentic-materials-classroom-advantages/
- http://oupeltglobalblog.com/2014/03/12/creating-your-own-materials-to-use-in-class/
- http://www.paaljapan.org/resources/proceedings/PAAL9/pdf/Howard.pdf
- http://elt-resourceful.com/
- https://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/1470
- http://fernandotrujillo.es/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/resources.pdf
- http://www.etni.org.il/etnirag/issue4/miri_yochanna.htm.
- http://www.pearsonlongman.com/young_learners/PDFs/choosing-a-coursebook.pdf
- https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/curriculum-teaching-strategies/more-lessons-from-classrooms-in-south-korea-finland-and-poland/
- Carr, Nathan T. (2011) Designing and Analyzing Language Tests. A hands-on introduction to language testing theory and practice.
- Coombe Christine, Keith Folse, and Nancy Hubley (2007) A Practical Guide to Assessing English Language Learners, (Michigan Teacher Training).
- Fulcher, Glenn (2010) Practical Language Testing Kindle Edition.
- Green, Anthony (2014) Exploring Language Assessment and Testing: Language in Action (Routledge Introductions to Applied Linguistics) Kindle Edition.
- Genesee, F. and John A. Upshur, (1996), Classroom-based evaluation in Second Language Education, Cambridge Language Education Series.
- Gipps, C. (1998), Beyond Testing, Falmer Press.
- Harris, M. and P McCann, (1994) Assessment Heinemann.
- Heaton, J.B., (1988) Writing English Language Tests, Longman.
- McNamara, T., (2000) Language Testing, OUP.
- Mifsud, C. and Mallia, G. (Eds) (1999) Ways and Measures.
- Weir, C. J. (1990) Communicative Language Testing, Prentice Hall International.
- Weir, C.J. (1993) Understanding and Developing Language Tests, Prentice Hall.
- http://www.assessment-reform-group.org.uk/AssessInsides.pdf- Assessment for Learning.
- http://www.assessment-reform-group.org.uk/CIE3.pdf - Assessment for Learning, 10 Principles.
- http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Database/assessment.html (a variety of information on Assessment for Learning or Formative Assessment).
- http://ericae.net/books/nea/teachers.pdfWhat teachers need to know about assessment.
- http://www.fairtest.org/princind.htm- Principles and Indicators for Student Assessment Systems.
- http://ss.uno.edu/SS/TeachDevel/Asses/AssemTech.html Classroom Assessment Techniques.
- http://ericae.net/pare/getvn.asp?v=2&n=6 – Authentic Reading Assessment.
- http://ericae.net/pare/getvn.asp?v=2&n=2 – The Case for Authentic Assessment.
- http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed395500.html - Practical Ideas on Alternative Assessment for ESL Students.

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Pre-requisite Qualifications: First cycle degree and 70 ECTS in English, of which 25 ECTS must be in Language and Linguistics, and 25 ECTS in Literature.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment SEM2 Yes 50%
Examination SEM2 Yes 50%

 
LECTURER/S Doreen Spiteri

 

 
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