Pub Date : 2014-02-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2013-0015
Sara Kennedy, P. Trofimovich
Abstract By the end of their studies, non-native speakers of English studying at English-medium universities have had several years of exposure to English in that setting. Do non-native students, particularly those enrolled in non-languagerelated programs, show different levels of second language (L2) speaking ability in their final semester of studies than non-native students in their first semester, as judged by other students in the university community? In this exploratory cross-sectional study, two matched groups of L2 English university students in their first or final semester of study in non-language-related programs (N = 20) were recorded in mock job interviews. The students were rated by two groups of raters for accentedness, comprehensibility, fluency, and communicative effectiveness. Both rater groups were university students; one group was from diverse academic programs, while the other group was studying human resource management (HRM). Although the first- and final-semester L2 English students differed in how long they had studied in English, no significant difference in ratings between first- and final-semester students was found. However, the two rater groups differed in how they rated accentedness and comprehensibility, suggesting that the nature of listeners' previous academic experience (e.g., with HRM) influences their judgments. The use of holistic rating scales to evaluate L2 speech is discussed, as well as the relationship between the nature of language exposure and the performance of the student and rater groups.
{"title":"First- and final-semester non-native students in an English-medium university: Judgments of their speech by university peers","authors":"Sara Kennedy, P. Trofimovich","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2013-0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2013-0015","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract By the end of their studies, non-native speakers of English studying at English-medium universities have had several years of exposure to English in that setting. Do non-native students, particularly those enrolled in non-languagerelated programs, show different levels of second language (L2) speaking ability in their final semester of studies than non-native students in their first semester, as judged by other students in the university community? In this exploratory cross-sectional study, two matched groups of L2 English university students in their first or final semester of study in non-language-related programs (N = 20) were recorded in mock job interviews. The students were rated by two groups of raters for accentedness, comprehensibility, fluency, and communicative effectiveness. Both rater groups were university students; one group was from diverse academic programs, while the other group was studying human resource management (HRM). Although the first- and final-semester L2 English students differed in how long they had studied in English, no significant difference in ratings between first- and final-semester students was found. However, the two rater groups differed in how they rated accentedness and comprehensibility, suggesting that the nature of listeners' previous academic experience (e.g., with HRM) influences their judgments. The use of holistic rating scales to evaluate L2 speech is discussed, as well as the relationship between the nature of language exposure and the performance of the student and rater groups.","PeriodicalId":60797,"journal":{"name":"高等建筑教育","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86313906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-02-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2013-0016
Federica Gori
Abstract Projects related to the European Language Portfolio (ELP) carried out at the Language Centre of the University of Trieste are concerned to examine whether and to what extent “can do” descriptors can be extended to courses in Languages for Specific Purposes. The project reported in this article had two aims. The first was to explore what is involved in transforming traditional course objectives into a “can do” format. We focused on courses in the Language of Tourism in the Economics Faculty (English and Spanish) and the German course for students of International Science and Diplomatic Relations. After determining which tasks were relevant to each course, we analysed which specific skills the students were expected to develop with reference to the proficiency levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Checklists of descriptors with examples and contexts of use were then presented to the students together with the official version of the CercleS version of the European Language Portfolio (ELP). Our second aim was to deal with the problem of continuity between language learning objectives at secondary school and university, and specifically to investigate how using the ELP can bring the two together. We carried out a survey of secondary school students who had worked with a checklist of descriptors for literary language, asking them about their perception of the ELP. Positive feedback confirmed that identifying and demonstrating the relevance of the ELP to students' academic or professional interests both enhances the perceived value of the ELP and leads to increased motivation for language learning.
{"title":"The European Language Portfolio and Languages for Specific Purposes: A project to develop “can do” descriptors focused on students' interests and motivation","authors":"Federica Gori","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2013-0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2013-0016","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Projects related to the European Language Portfolio (ELP) carried out at the Language Centre of the University of Trieste are concerned to examine whether and to what extent “can do” descriptors can be extended to courses in Languages for Specific Purposes. The project reported in this article had two aims. The first was to explore what is involved in transforming traditional course objectives into a “can do” format. We focused on courses in the Language of Tourism in the Economics Faculty (English and Spanish) and the German course for students of International Science and Diplomatic Relations. After determining which tasks were relevant to each course, we analysed which specific skills the students were expected to develop with reference to the proficiency levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Checklists of descriptors with examples and contexts of use were then presented to the students together with the official version of the CercleS version of the European Language Portfolio (ELP). Our second aim was to deal with the problem of continuity between language learning objectives at secondary school and university, and specifically to investigate how using the ELP can bring the two together. We carried out a survey of secondary school students who had worked with a checklist of descriptors for literary language, asking them about their perception of the ELP. Positive feedback confirmed that identifying and demonstrating the relevance of the ELP to students' academic or professional interests both enhances the perceived value of the ELP and leads to increased motivation for language learning.","PeriodicalId":60797,"journal":{"name":"高等建筑教育","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81608573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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