edb356 group oral presentation compiled
TRANSCRIPT
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LOGO
EDB356 Group OralPresentation
EDB356 Group OralPresentation
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Test Specification
Test purpose
The test is designed to assess students
abilities to apply reading skills in
comprehension as well as vocabulary skills tounderstand various texts based on the year 6
learning outcomes.
Target groupYear 6 students in a sub-urban schools with
mixed abilities and proficiencies
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Skills tested
Read and understand different texts such as
fiction and non-fiction
Skimming and scanning for main ideas andsupporting details
Understanding vocabulary in context
Inference
*Prediction
Transfer information based on understanding
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Text selection criteria
Text 1 Text 2
Narrative (
Non-fiction)150-200 words
Mix sentence structures(simple, compound andcomplex)Picture includedDifficulty level: medium toadvanced
Factual (Fiction)150-200 wordsMix sentence structure(simple, compound andcomplex)Picture includedDifficulty level: medium toadvanced
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Text Selection
These considerations are significant elements in determining text
readability (Crossley & McNamara, 2007) to fit into the curriculum
specifications and levels of Year Six students in the Malaysian context.
Adaptation of texts frominternet sources was
done initially.
Low in reliability.
Changed to using booksas text sources toincrease the reliability of
the texts
Reasons of
adaptation The complexity of the
texts, including
vocabulary and syntax
used.
The length of the text.
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Examples of Modification
Initial sentences Modified sentences Justification
Just then, the rat came by.
He saw the lion in trouble
and ran to help him. He
gnawed and gnawed right
through the net, until at
last the lion was freed
(line ).
The rat, recognising the
lions roar, came and
gnawedthe rope withhis
teeth, until at last the lion
was freed.
Syntax modification
- The unfamiliar sentence
structure beginning with
conjunctions.
So the little rat, by
patience and hard work,
was able to do what the
lion, in all his strength and
rage, could not.
The rat then told the lion,
you laughed at the idea
that I would ever be able
to help youNow you
know that it is even
possible for even a rat to
help out a lion
Aims to increase the
practicality of the text.
- The embedded sentence
is replaced by a simplified,
straightforward sentence
(Young, 1999), as modified
in the form of a dialogue.
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Text 2
Initial sentences Modified sentences Justification
They are kept warm in the
sea by a thick layer of
bubbler just beneath their
skins.
- This sentence is deletedas it is not part of the
characteristics of
mammals, and it contains
offlist words which reduce
the text readability.
These sounds
communicate a wide range
of information such as
dolphins identity, where
food might be and
warnings about predators.
To recognise food source
and give warnings about
predators.
Straightforward sentence is
used to clearly convey the
functions of sounds
produced by dolphins.
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The Writing Stage
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The writing stage: developingquestions
Greatconsiderationin terms of
Curriculumspecification
Proficiency ofstudents
level
Link to thereading skills
Reliabilityand validity
Initial question
After savingthe lion fromthe hunters,what wouldthe lion mostlikely do?
Changes made
According tothe story,what happento the lion inthe end?
Real question
What do youthink the lionwill do afterthe rat savehis life?
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The writing stage: developing the answerkey
Decisions made
Reliability
Consistency of
answers
Make questions that
require specific
details
ValidityPrediction Any
logical answer
Restriction of answers
More inference and
extracting specific
details questions
Disregard spelling and
grammar
Not emphasizing on
writing skill
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Piloting stage: Feedback from 2experienced teachers
Aspects of test that we asked feedbackfrom
Suitability of both texts
Suitability of the questions asked inrelation to the skills tested
Suitability of the distractors
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Text 1
Both the teachers felt that our textwas suitable.
However, there are some suggestionsgiven to the:
Appropriateness of the text
Choice of distractors
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Text 1
Changes made to the text based on the
teachers feedback:Initial After Justification
But the lion allowed
him to escapedunharmed
This angered the lion
but...
This sentence as
suggested by one of theteacher is added to thetext to set up a contextto show that the lionwas angry.
As suggested by McKay
(2006), the absence ofillustration mayinfluence the difficulty ofa reading text especiallysecond languagelearners.
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Initial Modification Justification
The lion laughed tohimself
The lion laughed to himself isomitted because oneof the teacherscommented that itmight confuse the
students as the ratwould not know thatthe lion was laughingat him if the lionwere to laugh tohimself.
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Initial Modification Justification
1) What is the story
about?
(a) A rats good deed of
saving a lion.
(c) It is possible for a rat to
save a lion
1) What is the story
about?
(a) The lions arrogant
behaviour.
(c) The rat fulfilled his
promised to the lion
One of the teacher
suggested that the
distractor (a) was too close
to the answer.
Both the teacher
suggested that we shouldrephrase our answer
(2) The word gnawned in
line 9 can best be replaced
with
(b)sucked
(c)swallowed
(2) The word gnawned in
line 9 can best be replaced
with
(b)tore
(c)swallowed
One of the teacher
commented that the
distractors for (b) and (c)
were not appropriate. The
teacher suggested tore andbit instead of sucked and
swallowed.
We did not change it to
bit because we felt that it
was quite similar to our
answer which is chewed.
Changes made to the choice of distractors:
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Text 2
Both the teachers felt that text 2 weredifficult and some suggestions weregiven as to how we should rephraseour text to enhance readability.
Questions formed were appropriate.
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Text 2
Changes made to the text based on theteachers
feedback:Initial Modification Justification
Like all mammals... They... Compoundsentence is usedinstead of complexsentence as thecomplexity of thesentences (McKay,
2006 ) will influencethe usefulness of atask (Alderson,2000).
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Initial Modification Justification
Sound is important indolphincommunication.
Dolphins use sound tocommunicate withone another.
This sentence isrephrased as one ofthe teachersuggested that it wasnot clear in meaning.
Air sacs near the blow
hole...
They... Both the teachers
felt that studentsmight be unfamiliarwith the term air sacsand echolocation.
echolocation sound signal
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Construct validity
Strengths of your test
Threats to construct validity
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Authenticity
Simplification of sentences might not bring positive impactsto text readability as the authenticity is reduced along with
the deletion of cohesion words (Alderson, 2000; Blau, 1982).
The STRENGTHS of our texts:
The modifications made only focus on simplification ofvocabulary and sentence types (complex to compound
sentences).
The meanings are retained and there are still cohesion
(transition )words (Keshavarz & Atai, 2007).
Hence, The same content of instruction can be delivered
differently to ESL students by repeating, and rephrasing in
simpler sentences yet maintaining the discourse structure
(Cook, 2008).
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References
Crossley, S.A., & McNamara, D.S. (2008). Assessing L2Reading Texts at the Intermediate Level: AnApproximateReplication ofCrossley, Louwerse, McCarthy & McNamara(2007). Language Teaching. 41:3, 409429. CambridgeUniversity Press. doi:10.1017/S0261444808005077
Keshavarz, MH (2007). "Content schemata, linguisticsimplification, and EFL readers comprehension and recall".Reading in a foreign language (0264-2425), 19 (1), p. 19.
Young, D. J. (1999). Linguistic simplification of SL ReadingMaterial: Effective Instructional Practice? The ModernLanguage Journal83, 350366.