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Showing 6 results for Literacy
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Volume 17, Issue 2 (9-2014)
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to investigate how Iranian EFL learners used their literacy practices and multimodal resources to mediate interpretation and representation of an advertisement text and construct their understanding of it. Fifteen female adolescents at an intermediate level of proficiency read the "مبلمان برلیان" (“Brelian Furniture”) advertisement text and re-created their understandings in pictures and sentences. The data was analyzed based on Kress and Van Leeuwen’s (1996, 2001) theory of social semiotics. The findings suggest that students situated the meanings of the advertisement texts in specific contexts that reflected their own social and cultural experiences. Furthermore, the students demonstrated that the use of multimodal resources had the potential to enhance language and literacy learning in a way that was transformative and was affected by their identities. In addition, the use of multimodal/multiliteracies pedagogy permitted the students to enter into text composition from different paths. Finally, multimodal/multiliteracies pedagogy could foster critical literacy practices by offering EFL students the opportunities to create new identities and challenge discursive practices that marginalize them. The implications of the findings are also discussed.
Rajab Esfandiari, Razieh Nouri,
Volume 19, Issue 2 (9-2016)
Abstract
Professionalism requires that language teachers be assessment literate so as to assess students’ performance more effectively. However, assessment literacy (AL) has remained a relatively unexplored area. Given the centrality of AL in educational settings, in the present study, we identified the factors constituting AL among university instructors and examined the ways English Language Instructors (ELIs) and Content Instructors (CIs) differed on AL. A researcher-made, 50-item questionnaire was constructed and administered to both groups: ELIs (N = 155) and CIs (N = 155). A follow-up interview was conducted to validate the findings. IBM SPSS (version 21) was used to analyse the data quantitatively. Results of exploratory factor analysis showed that AL included three factors: theoretical dimension of testing, test construction and analysis, and statistical knowledge. Further, results revealed statistically significant differences between ELIs and CIs in AL. Qualitative results showed that the differences were primarily related to the amount of training in assessment, methods of evaluation, purpose of assessment, and familiarity with psychometric properties of tests. Building on these findings, we discuss implications for teachers’ professional development.
Masoomeh Taghizadeh, Golnar Mazdayasna, Fatemeh Mahdavirad,
Volume 23, Issue 2 (9-2020)
Abstract
In the educational setting of Iran, language assessment literacy (LAL) is still an underexplored issue. This paper investigated the development of LAL among EFL students taking language assessment course at state universities in Iran. The three components of LAL (i.e., knowledge, skills, and principles) were the focus of the inquiry. To collect the required data, a questionnaire, encompassing 83 Likert items and a set of open-ended questions, was developed, and responses from 92 course instructors were collected. Teaching and assessment practices of two course instructors were also observed throughout an educational semester. SPSS (26) was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that these courses mainly focused on knowledge and skills, overlooking the principles of assessment. Adherence to traditional assessment approaches, use of inappropriate teaching materials, and lack of practical works in assessment also characterized the investigated courses. The paper concludes with suggestions to better design language assessment courses to increase the assessment literacy of English graduates who will probably enter the teaching contexts after graduation.
Fateme Pirbeig,
Volume 25, Issue 2 (9-2022)
Abstract
The process of foreign language syntactic development regarding learners’ L1 literacy level is different among adult learners. Many studies have shown that illiterate and low-literate learners follow the same path in the L2 morphosyntax development despite their L1 literacy level. However, little research has been carried out to focus on differences in the new language literacy development among learners with varying first language proficiency. Therefore, the current study was carried out to investigate the differences in learning English adjectival and prepositional phrases among three Kurdish adult groups of literate, low-literate, and illiterate learners in one term. Additionally, it probed the major difficulties they faced through the English phrase acquisition process. Mixed methods were used for data collection including observations of the classes supplemented by audio recording and English phrase tests. Through the application of three tests of recognition, matching, and multiple-choice type, the outcome knowledge of adjectival and prepositional phrases was assessed and compared among groups. The obtained data were analyzed through the Kruskal-Wallis test. Some tangible results were detected from tests that did not ascribe the differences in learning English absolutely to background schooling and literacy. In fact, they showed that there were significant differences among groups in matching and multiple-choice type post-tests, while there were no considerable differences in recognition-type post-test. Furthermore, results also revealed that illiterate and low-literate learners encountered further complicated difficulties and made an unusual combination of pronunciation and grammatical errors in their production.
Ahmadreza Eghtesadi Roudi,
Volume 26, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
Reading is the main language skill in English as a Foreign Language (EFL)contexts, and the key to the reading skill is the knowledge of the alphabet. Although there are various approaches to teaching early reading and the alphabet in L1, such as whole language, language experience, literature-based, whole word, alphabetic method, and analytic and synthetic phonics, the topic of teaching alphabet and early reading is almost missing in language teaching methodology textbooks, and the few sources which deal with the subject seem to be mainly concerned with English as a Second Language (ESL) contexts where the learners’ mother tongue also uses a Latin alphabet. Early reading and alphabet teaching in EFL contexts has also received little research attention, and many aspects of literacy teaching in these contexts such as the effectiveness of different approaches for different age groups are still a mystery. ELT community, hence, needs to pay more heed to the needs of teachers and learners in EFL contexts. This paper intends to sensitize the international ELT community, including the researchers, teachers, and publishers to the importance and necessity of taking early literacy in EFL contexts into account.
Ms. Aysen Chokani, Dr Hossein Navidinia,
Volume 27, Issue 1 (3-2024)
Abstract
The current study examines the interplay of Iranian EFL teachers' assessment literacy and self-efficacy. Therefore, firstly, it sought to examine whether these variables are significantly correlated. Secondly, it attempted to probe the demographic factors potentially influencing teachers' assessment literacy. To achieve this aim, a sample comprising 100 Iranian EFL teachers participated in this study by simultaneously filling out two questionnaires: Tschannen Moran and Hoy's (2001) teachers' self-efficacy scale and an abridged version of Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment Inventory-III (TCoA), validated by Brown (2006). The findings obtained from the study indicated a statistically significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers' assessment literacy and their perceived self-efficacy, thereby highlighting the interconnectedness of these constructs within the context of educational practice. Furthermore, among the demographic variables examined (participants' gender, level of education, field of study, and age), teachers' assessment literacy is most significantly influenced by their level of education, suggesting a strong link between educational background and assessment competencies. The implications of these results for English language teachers are discussed.
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