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Computer-mediated Oral Assessment and Its Implications for Teaching Speaking to Thai Students

Computer-mediated Oral Assessment and Its Implications for Teaching Speaking to Thai Students. Kanchana Prapphal and Prakaikaew Opanon-amata Chulalongkorn University Language Institute. The Computerized Oral ProficiencyTest (COPI). Developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics.

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Computer-mediated Oral Assessment and Its Implications for Teaching Speaking to Thai Students

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  1. Computer-mediated Oral Assessment and Its Implications for Teaching Speaking to Thai Students Kanchana Prapphal and Prakaikaew Opanon-amata Chulalongkorn University Language Institute

  2. The Computerized Oral ProficiencyTest (COPI) • Developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics • OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) • SOPI (Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview, tape-mediated) • COPI (Computerized Oral Proficiency Test)

  3. Characteristics of COPI • Non-linear • Different tasks • Computer-mediated • Easier feedback for examinees • Electronic storage of examinees’ performances • Electronic storage of rating data (Malabonga et al., 2000)

  4. Advantages ofCOPI • Time saving • Automatic computation of score • Report generation • Data-saving in electronic form • Efficient • Easy-to-use format • Flexible for raters

  5. Chula Context • Chula students should be able to • *communicate in English • *use the computer for their academic work as well as for their future career

  6. Objectives of the Study 1. Assess the students’ speaking ability by using the computer 2. Investigate the students’ communication strategies

  7. Research Questions 1. Can computer-mediated oral assessment (CU COA) assess students’ oral proficiency? 2. What communication strategies do the students use in taking the CU-COA test?

  8. Subjects • 30 first year students (16 male and 14 female) from the Faculties of Science, Education and Political Science • They studied English for 8 years. • Their equated TOEFL scores ranged from 370-640.

  9. Instrument • The Chulalongkorn University Computer-mediated Oral Assessment (CU-COA) • There are 4 sections: - Introduction - Section 1 (Give personal information.) - Section 2 (Give information about familiar topics.) - Section 3 (Describe future plans.) • Rating scale: 6 levels

  10. Rating Scale • Level 6 : Excellent speaker of English • Level 5 : Very good speaker of English • Level 4 : Good speaker of English • Level 3 : Fair speaker of English • Level 2 : Poor speaker of English • Level 1 : Very poor speaker of English

  11. Descriptors of the Scale • Example : Level 6 : -employs native-like prosody -uses complex grammatical structures - rarely makes a mistake - links ideas coherently

  12. Data Collection • October-November 2005 • 7 raters (28-59 years old) • Rater training before the test administration

  13. Data Analysis Correlation coefficients among raters They range from .514 to .884. • All correlation coefficients are significant at the .01 level. • One rater is the least reliable. (lacking the computer skills)

  14. Results • Grand mean = 3.198 • SD = .918 • Correlation with CU-TEP = .879

  15. Conclusion Research Question 1: “Can CU-COA assess students’ oral proficiency? The CU-COA can assess their oral ability and can classify them into different levels according to their proficiency levels.

  16. Research Question 2 What communication strategies do the students use in taking the CU-COA test ?

  17. Communication Strategies • Nakatani(2005), Dornyei & Scott(1997) and Bialystok (1990) • Achievement or compensatory strategies • Reduction or avoidance strategies

  18. Achievement Strategies “Good learner” behaviors Use various ways to reach the original goal by means of whatever resources are available

  19. Avoidance Strategies “Low-proficiency learner’s behaviors” Avoid solving a communication problem and give up on conveying their message

  20. Analysis of Speech Production • Four recorded oral tests selected • Six communication • strategies (Nakatani 2006)

  21. 1. Social Affective Strategies • Try to control their own anxiety • Try to enjoy the process of oral communication • Are willing to encourage themselves to use English • Risk making mistakes

  22. 1. Social Affective Strategies

  23. 1. Social Affective Strategies Utterances of the level 5 student “I think I have a lot of friends because I’m a friendly girl and I’m very lively.But I have one best friend. Her name is Prae. We knew each other from 11th grade from high school. She was very nice and very sincere and we still keep in touch now although she’s in another college. But she will remain my best friend.”

  24. 1. Social Affective Strategies Utterances of the level 2 student “……..Yes, I have a lot of friends……..(A long pause of 40 seconds)………... Korawit is my best friend……(Silence until time’s up)

  25. 2. Message Abandonment Strategies • Give up their attempt to communicate • Leave the message unfinished

  26. 2. Message Abandonment Strategies

  27. 3. Fluency-oriented Strategies • Pay attention to the pronunciation • Pay attention to clarity of their speech • Try to make the speech flow

  28. 3. Fluency-oriented Strategies

  29. 4. Accuracy-oriented Strategies • Desire to speak English accurately • Pay attention to forms • Seek grammatical accuracy by self-correcting

  30. 4. Accuracy-oriented Strategies

  31. 4. Accuracy-oriented Strategies Utterances of the level 5 student “Well, now , I’m studying to be a computer programmer at the Faculty of Science in the field of computer science at Chulalongkorn University. So, definitely, I want to be a programmer in the future. But after I graduate from Chulalongkorn University, I might probably go for a master’s degree, I suppose.(Continuing with correct English……….And then I would think about ….studying more…maybe at MIT. That’s where I want to go although my Dad graduated from Harvard. Maybe he wants me to go to Harvard as well. That will…That I will see in the next four years………Yes, but but my main future plan is to graduate and be a professional programmer. Yes.”

  32. 4. Accuracy-oriented Strategies Utterance of the level 2 student “……(A pause of about 8 seconds)…I want to teacher…I want much money and big car.I want……a big house……….(A very long pause of 1 minute and 40 seconds)……….I want to marriage.”

  33. 5. Message Reduction and Alteration Strategies • Reduce an original message • Simplify their utterances • Tend to use familiar words • Avoid taking the risk of using new or unfamiliar words

  34. 5. Message Reduction and Alteration Strategies

  35. 5. Message Reduction and Alteration Strategies Utterances of the level 5 student “OK, about newspaper. My family will receive…ah..Thai Rat, I think….But I don’t really usually read them because I’m more in the Internet world. I read news from the Internet because they are more updated. You know up to date, sorry…

  36. 5. Message Reduction and Alteration Strategies Utterances of the level 2 student “Manager (pronounced with completely Thai accent) newspaper…….(Silence until the time is up.)”

  37. 6. Attempts to think in English Students of high proficiency: • Can produce a natural flow of speech • Tend to think in English Students of low proficiency: • Tend to think in their native language • Construct the English sentences

  38. 6. Attempts to think in English

  39. 6. Attempts to think in English Utterances of the level 5 student “ Well, basically we watch the TV together…..and we watch…..you know…..after dinner. First we have dinner together as a family and then e go and watch TV together and each of us have our favorite TV show and every night we get to pick the show we want to see and the rest of the family will watch the show with you and …sometimes we go out of the city..and that just about it.”

  40. 6. Attempts to think in English Utterances of the level 2 student “I watch television with my parent …..(A long pause of 30 seconds)..…….I make….useful…..things with my parent.

  41. Implications on Teaching Speaking Goals of Teaching Speaking “All students should be able to talk accurately and fluently about themselves, express feelings or opinions about things in their daily lives.”

  42. Implications on Teaching Speaking Speaking Test = Teaching device Personal Interview Role play

  43. Personal Interview Conducted constantly Willingness to speak Fluency Accuracy (Myint 1993)

  44. Role Play Expose students to conversational English Encourage students to participate physically Dramatize a specific situation Real world of conversational English (Bogart 2006)

  45. Conclusion The CU-COA can: • Assess Thai students’ speaking ability • Differentiate the students into various levels of speaking ability • Illustrate different communication strategies

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