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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.