Effect of Socially-Mediated Testing Factors on Iranian EFL University Students
محورهای موضوعی : نشریه زبان و ترجمه
Fatemeh Sadat Alamdar
1
,
Shahram Afraz
2
,
Fazlolah Samimi
3
1 - Department of English Language, Qeshm Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qeshm, Iran
2 - Department of English Language, Qeshm Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qeshm, Iran
3 - English Department, Bandar Abbas Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran
کلید واژه: learning, testing, Socially-Mediated, student, Vygotsky,
چکیده مقاله :
This study aimed at investigating the socially-mediated testing factors affecting Iranian university EFL students. The necessity to understand these factors to foster language learning gets bolder when one attempts to investigate them in settings, like that of the Islamic Republic of Iran, where English as a foreign language has witnessed great ups and downs due to political and social changes. For this purpose, the researcher used a qualitative design. The participants in this study comprised 30 EFL university learners (15 males and 15 females) studying or having finished language teaching discipline. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit data. The recorded interviews were transcribed, and each participant was assigned a fictitious name to protect their privacy. The transcripts as well as the researcher’s notes and memos were then returned to the participants to confirm that the data was genuine and reflected their viewpoints. The transcripts were read and reviewed a couple of times for the sake of familiarity. Then, they were transferred to a computer software called MAXQDA. As a result, a long list of codes emerged which was reduced to a smaller list of tentative categories (4 themes with 25 categories) through a constant comparative method. These four themes are, 1) positive points of socially mediated testing, 2) negative points of socially mediated testing, 3). learning measurement of socially mediated testing, and 4) goals of teachers in socially mediated testing.
This study aimed at investigating the socially-mediated testing factors affecting Iranian university EFL students. The necessity to understand these factors to foster language learning gets bolder when one attempts to investigate them in settings, like that of the Islamic Republic of Iran, where English as a foreign language has witnessed great ups and downs due to political and social changes. For this purpose, the researcher used a qualitative design. The participants in this study comprised 30 EFL university learners (15 males and 15 females) studying or having finished language teaching discipline. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit data. The recorded interviews were transcribed, and each participant was assigned a fictitious name to protect their privacy. The transcripts as well as the researcher’s notes and memos were then returned to the participants to confirm that the data was genuine and reflected their viewpoints. The transcripts were read and reviewed a couple of times for the sake of familiarity. Then, they were transferred to a computer software called MAXQDA. As a result, a long list of codes emerged which was reduced to a smaller list of tentative categories (4 themes with 25 categories) through a constant comparative method. These four themes are, 1) positive points of socially mediated testing, 2) negative points of socially mediated testing, 3). learning measurement of socially mediated testing, and 4) goals of teachers in socially mediated testing.
Ames, C. (1992). Classrooms: goals, struc-tures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 261e271.
Anderman, E. M. & Dawson, H. (2011). Learning with motivation. In R. E. Mayer & P. A. Alexander (Eds), Handbook of research on learning and instruction (pp. 219–241). New York, NY: Routledge.
Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Irvine, C. K. S., & Walker, D. (2013). Introduction to re-search in education: Cengage Learning. Bachman and Palmer, 1996).
Asari, S., Ma’rifah, U., & Arifani, Y. (2018). The use of a cooperative round-robin discussion model to improve students’ holistic ability in TEFL class. International Education Studies.
Baepler, P., Walker, J. D., & Driessen, M. (2014). It's not about seat time: Blending, flipping, and efficiency in active learning classrooms. Computers & Education, 78, 227-236.
Blazar, D., & Kraft, M. A. (2017). Teacher and teaching effects on students’ atti-tudes and behaviors. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 39(1), 146-170.
Bonwell, C. C., & Eison, A. J. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1. Washington, D.C: The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.
Bouville, M. (2010). Why is cheating wrong? Studies in Philosophy and Education, 29(1), 67-76.
Bradshaw, C. P., Mitchell, M. M., & Leaf, P. J. (2010). Examining the effects of schoolwide positive behavioral inter-ventions and supports on student out-comes: Results from a randomized controlled effectiveness trial in elementary schools. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 12(3), 133-148.
Bruner, J. 1985, ‘Vygotsky: A historical and conceptual perspective’, in J.V. Wertsch (ed.), Culture, Communication, and Cognition: Vygotskian Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 21–34.
Burchinal, M., Howes, C., Pianta, R., Bryant, D., Early, D., Clifford, R., & Barbarin, O. (2008). Predicting child outcomes at the end of kindergarten from the quality of pre-kindergarten teacher-child interactions and instruction. Applied Developmental Science, 12, 140–153.
Burkill, S., & Abbey, C. (2004). Avoiding plagiarism. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 28, 439–446.
Burnham, T. A., & Makienko, I. (2018). Factors affecting exam completion speed, exam performance, and nonexam performance. Journal of Marketing Education, 40(2), 140-151.
Çankaya, P. (2018). Demotivation factors in foreign language learning. Journal of Foreign Language Education and Technology, 3(1), 1-17.
Chen, T. Y., & Chang. G. B. (2004). The relationship between foreign language anxiety and learning difficulties. For-eign Language Annals, 37(2), 278-289.
Cho, Y., & Shim, S. S. (2013). Predicting teachers' achievement goals for teach-ing: The role of perceived school goal structure and teachers' sense of efficacy Teaching and teacher education, 32, 12-21.
Cole, J., & Vanderplank, R. (2016). Comparing autonomous and class-based learners in Brazil: Evidence for the present-day advantages of informal, out-of-class learning. System, 61, 31-42.
Cole, M. & Cole, S. (2001). The Development of Children. 4th Ed. New York: Scientific American Books. Distributed by W.N. Freeman and Company Daniels, H. (2001). Vygotsky and Pedagogy. NY: Routledge/Falmer.
Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Cole, M. (1997). Cultural Psychology: A Once and Future Discipline. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University.
Connolly, T. M., Boyle, E. A., MacArthur, E., Hainey, T. & Boyle, J. M. (2012). A systematic literature review of empirical evidence on computer games and serious games. Computers & Education, 59, 661–686.
Curry, N., Mynard, J., Noguchi, J., & Watkins, S. (2017). Evaluating a self-directed language learning course in a Japanese university. International Journal of Self-Directed Learning, 14(1), 17-36.
Daneshfar, S., & Moharami, M. (2018). Dy-namic assessment in Vygotsky's soci-ocultural theory: Origins and main concepts. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(3), 600-607.
Daniels, H. (2007). Pedagogy. In H. Daniels, M. Cole, & J. Wertsch (Eds.), The Cambridge companion to Vygotsky (pp. 307-331). New York: Cambridge University Press.
De Valenzuela, J. (2006). "Sociocultural views of learning." The SAGE Handbook of Special Education. SAGE Publications.
Derakhshan, A., Qafouri, M., & Faribi, M. (2021). An investigation into the demotivating and remotivating factors among Iranian MA and PhD exam candidates of TEFL. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 13(27), 81-112.
Deslauriers, L., Schelew, E., & Wieman, C. (2011). Improved learning in a large-enrollment physics class Science, 332(6031), 862-864.
Downer, J. T., Rimm-Kaufman, S., & Pianta, R. C. (2007). How do classroom conditions and children’s risk for school problems contribute to children’s behavioral engagement in learning? School Psychology Review, 36, 413–432.
Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95, 256e273.
Eslami-Rasekh, Z., & Valizadeh, K. (2004). Classroom Activities Viewed from Different Perspectives: Learners' Voice and Teachers' Voice. TESL-EJ, 8(3), n3.
Felder, M. R., & Brent, R. (2003). Learning by doing. Chemical Engineering Education, 37(4), 282–283. North Carolina State University.
Feuerstein, R., Rand, Y., Hoffman, M. B. & Miller, R. (1980). Instrumental Enrichment: An Intervention Programme for Cognitive Modifiability. Glenview, IL: University Park Press.
Garris, R., Ahlers, R. & Driskell, J. E. (2002). Games, motivation, and learning: a research and practice model. Simulation & Gaming, 33, 441–467.
Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Graesser, A. C., Chipman, P., Leeming, F., Biedenbach, S. & Graesser, A. (2009). Deep learning and emotion in serious games. In U. Ritter Feld, M. J. Cody & P. Vorderer (Eds), serious games: mechanisms and effects (pp. 81–100). Mahwah, NJ: Routledge, Taylor and Francis.
Gruber, T., Fuß, S., Voss, R., & Gläser‐Zikuda, M. (2010). Examining student satisfaction with higher education ser-vices: Using a new measurement tool. International Journal of Public Sector Management.
Gulliksen, H. (2013). Theory of mental tests. Routledge.
Hamayan, E. V. (1995). Approaches to alternative assessment. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 15, 212-226.
Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2001). Early teacher– child relationships and the trajectory of children’s school outcomes through eighth grade. Child Development, 72, 625–638.
Hamre, B., Hatfield, B., Pianta, R., & Jamil, F. (2014). Evidence for general and domain-specific elements of teacher–child interactions: Associations with preschool children’s development. Child Development, 85, 1257–1274.
Hancock, C. R. (1994). Alternative Assess-ment and Second Language Study: What and Why? ERIC Digest.
Harfitt, G. J. (2015). Class size reduction: Key insights from secondary school classrooms. Springer.
Hobfoll, S. E., & Stokes, J. P. (1988). The process and mechanics of social sup-port. In S. W. Duck, D. Hay, S. Hobfoll, W. Ickes, & B. Montgomery (Eds.), The handbook of personal relationships: Theory, research and interventions (pp. 497–517). London, UK: Wiley.
Imamura, Y. (2018). Adopting and adapting to new language policies in a self-access centre in Japan. Relay Journal, 1(1), 197-208.
Johnston, D. K. (1991). Cheating: Reflections on a moral dilemma. Journal of Moral Education, 20, 283–291.
Ke, F. (2009). A qualitative meta-analysis of computer games as learning tools. In R. E. Ferdig (Ed.), Handbook of research on effective electronic gaming in education. Vol. 1 (pp. 1–32). Hershey PA: IGI Global.
Kent, D. (2019). Viability of employing the Plickers SRS in the Korean TEFL uni-versity setting. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 16(1), 385-392.
Kiomrs, R., Abdolmehdi, R., & Rashidi, N. (2011). On the Interaction of Test Washback and Teacher Assessment Literacy: The Case of Iranian EFL Secondary School Teachers. English Language Teaching, 4(1), 156-161.
Kirriemuir, J. & McFarlane, A. (2004). Literature review in games and learning. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://www.nestafuturelab.org/research/lit_reviews.htm.
Kirschenbaum, R. J. (1998). Dynamic assessment and its use with underserved gifted and talented populations. Gifted Child Quarterly, 42(3), 140-147.
Kizlik, B. (2012). Measurement, assessment, and evaluation in education. Retrieved October, 10, 2015.
Krashen, S. D. (1987). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Kuckartz, U. (2007). MAXQDA: Qualitative data analysis. Berlin: VERBI software.
Lai, M. H., Ren, M. Y., Wu, A., & Hung, E. P. (2013). Motivation as mediator between national identity and intention to volunteer. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 23(2), 128-142.
Larkin, S. (2009). Metacognition in young children. Routledge.
Lee, K. M. & Peng, W. (2006). What do we know about social and psychological effects of computer games? A comprehensive review of current literature. In P. Vorderer & J. Bryant (Eds), Playing video games. Motives, responses, and consequences (pp. 325–346). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Leong, L. M., & Ahmadi, S. M. (2017). An analysis of factors influencing learners ‘English speaking skill.
Li, Y., Han, Y., & Gao, X. (2018). Young learners’ motivation for learning Eng-lish. In The Routledge handbook of teaching English to young learners (pp. 60-72). Routledge.
Luckner, A. E., & Pianta, R. C. (2011). Teacher– student interactions in fifth grade classrooms: Relations with children’s peer behavior. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 32, 257–266.
Lynch, B. K. (2001). Rethinking assessment from a critical perspective. Language testing, 18(4), 351-372.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1991a). Methods and results in the study of foreign language anxiety: a review of the literature. Language Learning, 41, 85-117.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994). The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language. Language Learning, 44, 283-305.
Malone, T. W. (1981). Toward a theory of intrinsically motivating instruction. Cognitive Science,5,4,333–369.
Mashburn, A. J., Pianta, R. C., Hamre, B. K., Downer, J. T., Barbarin, O. A., Bryant, D., Howes, C. (2008). Measures of classroom quality in prekindergarten and children’s development of academic, language, and social skills. Child Development, 79, 732–749.
Michael, J. A., & Modell, H. I. (2003). Active learning in secondary and college science classrooms a working model for helping the learner to learn. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Munoz, A., & Mackay, J. (2019). An online testing design choice typology towards cheating threat minimisation. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 16(3), 1-16.
Murphey, T., Falout, J., Fukuda, T., & Fukada, Y. (2014). Socio-dynamic motivating through idealizing classmates. System, 45, 242-253.
Mynard, J., & Kato, S. Enhancing Language Learning Beyond the Classroom through Advising. In The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 244-257). Routledge.
Othman, M., Sahamid, H., Zulkefli, M. H., Hashim, R., & Mohamad, F. (2015). The effects of debate competition on critical thinking among Malaysian second language learners. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 23(4), 656-664.
Oxford, R. L. (2001). Sources of variation in language learning. In R. Kaplan (Ed.), Oxford handbook of applied linguistics (pp. 245–252). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pappamihiel, N. E. (2002). English as a second language students and English language anxiety: Issues in the mainstream classroom. Proquest Education Journal, 36(3), 327-355.
Petko, D. (2008). Unterrichten mit Com-puterspielen. Didaktische Potenziale und Ansätze für dengezielteneinsat-zinschuleundausbildung. MedienPäd-agogik.ZeitschriftfürTheorieundPraxisderMedienbildung,15. Retrieved August 16, 2012, from http://www.medienpaed.ch.
Pianta, R. C., & Hamre, B. K. (2009). Conceptualization, measurement, and improvement of classroom processes: Standardized observation can leverage capacity. Educational Researcher, 38, 109–119.
Pianta, R. C., La Paro, K., Payne, C., Cox, M., & Bradley, R. (2002). The relation of kindergarten classroom environment to teacher, family, and school characteristics and child outcomes. Elementary School Journal, 102, 225–238.
Prensky, M. (2002). The motivation of gameplay: the real twenty-first century learning revolution. On thehorizon, 10, 5–11.
Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(3), 223–231.
Quinn, J. (2010). Learning communities and imagined social capital: Learning to belong. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Rafek, M. B., Ramli, N. H. L. B., Iksan, H. B., Harith, N. M., & Abas, A. I. B. C. (2014). Gender and language: Communication apprehension in second language learning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 123, 90-96.
Rana, N. P., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2016). Using clickers in a large business class: Examining use behavior and satisfaction. Journal of Marketing Education, 38(1), 47-64.
Rice, J. K. (1999). The impact of class size on instructional strategies and the use of time in high school mathematics and science courses. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 21(2), 215–229.
Rofiah, N. L., & Waluyo, B. (2020). Using Socrative for vocabulary tests: Thai EFL learner acceptance and perceived risk of cheating. Journal of Asia TEFL, 17(3), 966.
Roth, C. E. (1992). Environmental literacy: its roots, evolution and directions in the 1990s.
Rothstein, J. (2010). Teacher quality in educational production: Tracking, decay, and student achievement. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125(1), 175-214.
Salehi, M., & Marefat, F. (2014). The Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety and Test Anxiety on Foreign Language Test Performance. Theory & Practice in Language Studies, 4(5).
Sarason, Y., & Banbury, C. (2004). Active learning facilitated by using a game-show format or who doesn’t want to be a millionaire? Journal of Management Education, 28(4), 509–518.
Shapson, S. M., Wright, E. N., Eason, G., & Fitzgerald, J. (1980). An experimental study of the effects of class size. American Educational Research Journal, 17(2), 141–152.
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2002). Dynamic testing: The nature and measurement of learning potential. Cambridge university press.
Tae-Young, K., & Yoon-Kyoung, K. (2016). A quasi-longitudinal study on English learning motivation and attitudes: The case of South Korean students. Journal of Asia TEFL, 13(2), 138.
Tan, K. E., & Phairot, E. (2018). Willingness to communicate among Thai EFL students: Does English proficiency matter? Journal of Asia TEFL, 15(3), 590.
Teo, A. K. (2012). Effects of dynamic assessment on college EFL learners' reading skills. Journal of Asia TEFL, 9(1).
Tobias, S., Fletcher, J., Dai, D. Y. & Wind, A. P. (2011). Review of research on computer games. InS. Tobias & J. D. Fletcher (Eds), Computer games and instruction (pp. 127–222). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.
Tsinidou, M., Gerogiannis, V., & Fitsilis, P. (2010). Evaluation of the factors that determine quality in higher education: an empirical study. Quality assurance in Education.
Verenikina, I. (2003). Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory and the Zone of Proximal Development. In H. Hasan, E. Gould & I. Verenikina (Eds). Infor-mation Systems and Activity Theory: Expanding the Horizon, Wollongong: University of Wollongong Press (4-14).
Vogel, J. J., Vogel, D. S., Cannon-Bowers, J., Bowers, C. A., Muse, K. & Wright, M. (2006). Computer gaming and interactive simulations for learning: a meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 34,229–243.
Vygotsky, L. (1978/1995). Mind in society: The development higher psychological processes. (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds., and Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1934). Thinking and Speech. In R. W. Rieber & A. S. Carton (eds.)., The Collected Works of L. S. Vygotsky, Vol. 1, Problems of General Psychology, pp. 39-288. New York: Plenum Press. Vygotsky (1962(.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (Eds &
Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The De-velopment of Higher Psychological Pro-cesses. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1981). The development of higher forms of attention in childhood. In J. V. Wertsch (Ed.), The concept of activity in Soviet psychology (pp. 189–240). Armonk, NY: Sharpe.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1987/1934). Thinking and speech. (N. Minick, Trans.). In R. W. Rieber & A. S. Carton (Eds.), The col-lected works of L. S. Vygotsky: Vol. 1. Problems of general psychology (pp. 39–285). New York, NY: Plenum Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1997). The Historical Meaning of the Crisis in Psychology: A Methodological Investigation. In The Collected Works of L. S. Vygotsky. Vol. 3. Problems of the Theory and History of Psychology (pp. 233-344). R. W. Rieber & J. Wollock (Eds.). New York: Plenum.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1998a). The Problem of Age. In The Collected Works of L. S. Vygotsky. Vol. 5. Child Psychology. R. W. Rieber (Ed.). New York: Plenum.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1998b). Infancy. In Rieber R. W. (Ed.), The Collected Works of L.S. Vygotsky (207-241). Vol. 5. Plenum Press, New York.
Vygotsky, L.S. & Luria, A.R. (1930). Essays in the history of behavior. Moscow: Sozekgiz.
Wang, M. C., & Finn, J. D. (Eds.). (2000). How small classes help teachers do their best. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Center for Research in Human Development.
Wertsch, J. (1985). Vygotsky and the Social Formation of Mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wertsch, J. V. (1985a). Introduction. In. J. V. Wertsch (Ed.) Culture, communication and cognition (pp. 1-20). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Wertsch, J. V. (1985b). Vygotsky and the social formation of the mind. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
Wiggins, G. (2011). A true test: Toward more authentic and equitable assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(7), 81-93.
Yamashita, H. (2015). Affect and the devel-opment of learner autonomy through advising. Studies in Self Access Learning Journal, 6(1), 62-85. Retrieved from https://sisaljournal.org/archives/mar15/yamashita/.
Yaroshevsky, M. (1989). Lev Vygotsky. Progress Publishers.
