LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Foundations in Language Testing and Assessment 2011
Event date: 19 November, 2011
Location: Rooms SR 322, SR 324, Third Floor, Ken Edwards Building, University of Leicester

Enhancing modern foreign languages teaching for new tutors
Event date: 23 September, 2009
Location: SR 1.06 Business School, University of Leeds, Leeds

e-Learning symposium 2010
Event date: 28 January, 2010 - 29 January, 2010
Location: Avenue Campus, University of Southampton

How to provide student feedback using screen capture software
Event date: 26 March, 2009
Location: Coventry University - GE619 (download map, pdf)

e-Learning symposium 2009
Event date: 29 January, 2009 - 30 January, 2009
Location: Avenue Campus, University of Southampton

Mark my words: creative assessment and effective feedback in linguistics
Event date: 30 May, 2008
Location: CILT, London SE1

LLAS pedagogic research forum
Event date: 14 November, 2007
Location: Senate House, University of London

Foundations in language testing and assessment
Event date: 16 November, 2007
Location: Senate House, University of London

Junior CULP: the national perspective (10 July 07)
Event date: 10 July, 2007
Location: Homerton College, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2PH

Foundations in language testing and assessment (25 May 07)
Event date: 25 May, 2007
Location: University of Leicester

Assessment and feedback in modern languages (Leeds, 27 June 07)
Event date: 27 June, 2007
Location: Leeds University Business School

Assessment and feedback in modern languages (London, 8 May 07)
Event date: 8 May, 2007
Location: CiLT, The National Centre for Languages, 20 Bedfordbury, London WC2N 4LB.

E-Learning conference (1-2 Feb 07)
Event date: 1 February, 2007 - 2 February, 2007
Location: Avenue Campus, University of Southampton

e-Portfolios (16 June 06, Coventry)
Event date: 16 June, 2006
Location: Coventry University

e-Portfolios (16 May 06, Manchester)
Event date: 16 May, 2006
Location: University of Manchester

Learning and teaching coordinators focus group (15 Apr 05)
Event date: 15 April, 2005
Location: London

Teaching, Learning and Assessing Linguistics
Event date: 4 May, 2001
Location: CILT, London

Identifying, teaching and assessing key skills in Linguistics
Event date: 23 May, 2003
Location: CILT, London

Computer Assisted Assessment
Event date: 27 January, 2003
Location: University of Strathclyde

Assessment Tools and Interoperability
Event date: 19 March, 2002
Location: University of Hull

Strategies for moderating successful online courses

After completing the tasks in this learning object, you should; understand what online education is about, increase your confidence in moderating courses online, improve your skills in designing online courses. This learning object has been subject to peer review and editing. This learning object has been subject to peer review and editing.

Language Testing: Dialang: Diagnostic Tests for Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish

DIALANG offers validated tests of different language skills, together with a range of feedback and expert advice on how to improve your skills. It also offers scientifically validated self-assessment activities and allows users to determine their language level, strengths and weaknesses as well as to increase their awareness of current skills and of what it means to know a language. It has been developed by more than 20 major European institutions, with the backing of the European Commission and is based on the Council of Europe's "Common European Framework of reference", which has become established throughout Europe as the most widely recognized frame of reference in the field of language learning.

German: grammar question bank
This bank of over 1,000 questions was created using Question Mark Perception. It was aimed at first year Undergraduate students of German. The grammar topics covered include definite and indefinite articles, adjective endings, personal pronouns, demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, relative pronouns, indirect speech and verb tenses. Question types are either Selection (student chooses correct item from drop-down list) or Fill in Blanks. All questions have minimum feedback of correct answer; many have differentiated feedback and marking. The questions have been drawn mainly from GramEx German or devised using the Astcovea German concordancer. The bank can be used by institutions running Question Mark Perception to create diagnostic, formative or summative tests.

French grammar question bank
This bank of over 1,000 questions was created using Question Mark Perception. It was aimed at first year Undergraduate students of French. The grammar topics covered include possessive adjectives, partitive articles, demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, relative pronouns, direct and indirect object pronouns and verb tenses. Question types are either Selection (student chooses correct item from drop-down list) or Fill in Blanks. All questions have minimum feedback of correct answer; many have differentiated feedback and marking. The questions have been drawn mainly from GramEx French or devised using the Astcovea French concordancer. The bank can be used by institutions running Question Mark Perception to create diagnostic, formative or summative tests.

Spanish: grammar question bank
This bank of over 1,000 questions was created using Question Mark Perception. It was aimed at first year Undergraduate students of Spanish. The grammar topics covered include uses of ser and estar, definite and indefinite articles, object pronouns, prepositions, comparative and superlative adjectives, verb tenses and the subjunctive mood. Question types are either Selection (student chooses correct item from drop-down list) or Fill in Blanks. All questions have minimum feedback of correct answer; many have differentiated feedback and marking. The questions have been drawn mainly from GramEx Spanish or devised by Spanish tutors. The bank can be used by institutions running Question Mark Perception to create diagnostic, formative or summative tests.

Linguistics: Item Bank
A bank of multiple choice questions that can be used to examine first year linguistics students. Some 69 HEIs currently offer courses which include Linguistics as a named portion of an undergraduate degree, and most of these run a general introductory course - often called An Introduction to Language and Linguistics, or some variation on this theme. These courses attract large numbers of students, and therefore represent a significant marking burden for first year teachers. At the same time, these introductory courses often cover much the same ground in different institutions. These factors suggest that there is a strong case for sharing examination questions at this level. The fact that many institutions now use multiple choice questions in first year examinations opens up the possibility of establishing a national item bank for linguistics. A bank of this sort would allow institutions to set first year examinations with formally defined characteristics, and thus help to standardise achievement at this level.

Student diversity and the assessment dilemma

Widening access to higher education has implications for modern foreign language learning, teaching and assessment. This paper addresses dilemmas when assessing increasingly diverse cohorts of students. It draws on analysis of questionnaires with 88 students taking free modules at ab initio level at University of Worcester in 2007-08. The aim was to study students’ previous language learning experiences. The paper considers the benefits and drawbacks of a portfolio-based approach to assessment, assessing students with visual impairment and dyslexia, and questions how to encourage students of diverse backgrounds to enter into language learning whilst maintaining rigorous standards of assessment.

The case for a common framework of reference for the validation of assessments of written English on English language degree programmes in Europe
The Bologna process carries out an agreement by European governments to create by 2010, a European Higher Education Area with two main degree cycles, undergraduate and graduate, and a common system of credits and quality assurance. In this climate of review, revision and collaboration, this paper describes a survey of existing practice with regard to expectations of attainment on degree programmes in Europe. It will also outline a proposal for a collaborative project to develop a framework for the self-validation of skill assessment on a language programme. The concept of validity informed the design of a questionnaire to collect qualitative and quantitative data on the final assessment of students' written English on English language degree programmes across Europe. Analysis of responses from 30 universities in 12 European countries revealed wide variation between different countries, within the same country and, in some cases, within the same degree programme. As a result of this survey, European partners have been identified to collaborate on the development of a framework for the self-validation of assessments of written English, which can inform the assessment of other skill areas and other languages.

Online languages and reflective learning
This paper describes a programme of university language courses, delivered as a combination of both online and face-to-face teaching. The authors believe that the approach taken can promote learner reflection. Evaluation studies reported a good level of student satisfaction and focus groups indicated an increased quality of student work. Further work to foster greater reflection is discussed.

An interim assessment of the introduction of accredited portfolios in introductory French courses
This paper reports on the introduction of accredited portfolios into an ab initio French language course at the University of Stirling. These were introduced to help students progress from a teacher-led learning environment into one in which a more autonomous approach was required. Student feedback was mainly positive, whilst a slight improvement in grades was also reported. However, some areas of difficulty would benefit from further development.

LATCOF: Lessons from a secondary/sixth-form - HE consultative forum for language teachers
The University of Manchester has hosted a forum for dialogue between tertiary and secondary language teachers to share pedagogic and curricular experiences and realities with the aim of facilitating student progression and bridging the secondary-tertiary 'gaps'. Participants have been surveyed to assess the impact of the dialogue process on them and their practice and to start to identify issues of broader relevance to the sector as a whole. This paper reports the experience of participants and responses to the survey.

Applying the CEF to Slovak university courses
The author starts her presentation with the historical background and current trends towards the application of the Common European Framework (CEF) in Slovak schools. Giving an example of an English course for Social Sciences, she then describes the specific phases of the application of the CEF.

Marking students’ written work: principles and practice
This practical guide to marking MFL and EFL students’ written work covers continuous writing and translation. Marking is considered as one stage in an integrated, collaborative process of teaching and learning, requiring awareness of the tutor’s dual role as coach and assessor, and consultation and calibration among tutors. Issues discussed include: How much to mark; making appropriate comments; using symbols for the nature and seriousness of errors; consistency and fairness; giving positive feedback through ticks; converting quantitative scores into marks. The guide concludes with three illustrated case studies: a marked copy of a piece of first-year writing in French; suggested criteria for assessment of Year Abroad projects; a marked copy of a final-year English to French translation. Reference is made to surveys of research findings on marking.

Teaching and assessing phonetic transcription: a roundtable discussion
This report is from the 2nd meeting of the Phonetic Transcription Group held on 3 May 2007 in the Dept of Linguistics and Phonetics, University of Leeds. Attendees represented a number of different perspectives and specialisms, including general phonetics, clinical phonetics and phonology, corpus linguistics, sociophonetics, English language.

Portfolio assessments
Portfolios have been around for a long time, either as collections of artefacts in an artist's portfolio or as documentation of teaching practice and staff development in a teaching or professional portfolio. However portfolios are finding a wider application as a form of educational assessment, especially in the USA. Even though they may vary in format, educational portfolios distinguish themselves from other portfolios by including reflective elements. They are therefore not merely a collection of best practice or artefacts but are also intended to document the learning process and involve students in actively reflecting on their learning. This article begins with a brief introductory overview of portfolios, followed by a look at the portfolio model which emerged from the TransLang project. We conclude with a summary of some findings which were common to our individual case studies elsewhere in this volume.

Portfolio of independent learning at the University of Central England (UCE)

A portfolio of independent learning has been introduced to post A-level students at various levels in the three languages of Spanish, French and German at UCE. The Translang Approach has been chosen as a framework for development of transferable skills.

Principles of assessment
This article contains a brief introduction to the main principles which should be followed by the constructors of tests and assessments. It briefly introduces the key concepts of test validity, reliability and washback, and provides guidelines for pre-testing. It gives the addresses of three other language testing web sites and has bibliographical pointers to more detailed discussion of language testing, in particular. A comprehensive glossary of testing terms is also provided.

Post-graduate certificate of education: modern foreign languages
This entry gives detail of the Post-graduate Certificate of Education in Modern Foreign Languages in Britain.The number and names of leading institutions is listed. The context for the PGCE is given in relation to the main organisation and quality assurance of teacher training courses. The content of the PGCE is described together with a rationale in terms of the National Currciculum for MFLs in Britain. Reference is made to the Standards against which trainees are trained and assessed. Recent trends are set out along with possible future developments. The entry ends with a list of salient documents and publications. Web based sites are listed and details of research into MFLs teacher education.

Evaluating tandem interactions
This article provides an overview of the principles of tandem learning. It then focuses on the types of assessment (self assessment, formal assessment, holistic approach) which can be used to provide a rounded evaluation of tandem interaction.

Dictionaries
Dictionaries are of many types and useful to students not only of languages but of all subjects. Their design has undergone major changes in recent years, making them much more soundly based, and user friendly. Alongside this there is increasing research into the dictionary strategies of the user: clearly there is a limit to what the dictionary can do to help the user and good dictionary skills need to be trained, though such training has often been neglected.

Linguistics in first year single honours courses
This document suggests ways of building up the first year of a single honours course in linguistics. It suggests that the year should consist of certain core courses introducing basic concepts relevant to the field, most importantly phonetics, grammar and semantics. In addition, there should be a set of optional courses on aspects of the field which interact with other subject areas (e.g. sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics). The document provides some ideas for text books to be used and also gives some other sources, in particular web-based facilities. The document also contains a brief discussion of assessment.

Pedagogic Research Fund 2002/03 (Phase 1)