Does Lexical Frequency affect rater judgement of essays? An experimental design using quantitative and qualitative data

Many correlational studies show a positive relation between written assessments of language and use of more diverse vocabulary (Lexical Diversity) and more infrequent words (Lexical Frequency). However, there have been no experimental studies that have isolated the effects of Lexical Frequency from Lexical Diversity. In the present study, 14 raters judged two versions of the same essay that differed only in Lexical Frequency. A Paired T-test showed no difference in mean scores between essays (t(13) = .396, p = .70) when the Lexical Frequency of 23.5% of Content Words were changed in a 347 word essay. Comments explaining scores given to essays showed that features other than vocabulary had a far greater influence on rater judgement. It is possible that the Lexical Frequency manipulations were not great enough to affect rater judgement, whether subliminal or conscious. Implications of these results for standardized language proficiency tests and future research in vocabulary are discussed

Online Instruction in Higher Education: Promising, Research-based, and Evidence-based Practices

The purpose of this study was to review the research literature on online learning to identify effective instructional practices. We narrowed our scope to empirical studies published 2013-2019 given that studies earlier than 2013 had become quickly outdated because of changes in online pedagogies and technologies. We also limited our search to studies with undergraduate and graduate students, application of an empirical methodological design, and descriptions of methodology, data analysis, and results with sufficient detail to assure verifiability of data collection and analysis. Our analysis of the patterns and trends in the corpus of 104 research studies led to identification of five themes: course design factors, student support, faculty pedagogy, student engagement, and student success factors. Most of the strategies with promising effectiveness in the online environment are the same ones that are considered to be effective in face-to-face classrooms including the use of multiple pedagogies and learning resources to address different student learning needs, high instructor presence, quality of faculty-student interaction, academic support outside of class, and promotion of classroom cohesion and trust. Unique to the online environment are user-friendly technology tools, orientation to online instruction, opportunities for synchronous class sessions, and incorporation of social media. Given the few studies utilizing methodological designs from which claims of causality can be made or meta-analyses could be conducted, we identified only faculty feedback as an evidence-based practice and no specific intervention that we could identify as research-based in online instruction

Online Instruction in Higher Education: Promising, Research-based, and Evidence-based Practices

The purpose of this study was to review the research literature on online learning to identify effective instructional practices. We narrowed our scope to empirical studies published 2013-2019 given that studies earlier than 2013 had become quickly outdated because of changes in online pedagogies and technologies. We also limited our search to studies with undergraduate and graduate students, application of an empirical methodological design, and descriptions of methodology, data analysis, and results with sufficient detail to assure verifiability of data collection and analysis. Our analysis of the patterns and trends in the corpus of 104 research studies led to identification of five themes: course design factors, student support, faculty pedagogy, student engagement, and student success factors. Most of the strategies with promising effectiveness in the online environment are the same ones that are considered to be effective in face-to-face classrooms including the use of multiple pedagogies and learning resources to address different student learning needs, high instructor presence, quality of faculty-student interaction, academic support outside of class, and promotion of classroom cohesion and trust. Unique to the online environment are user-friendly technology tools, orientation to online instruction, opportunities for synchronous class sessions, and incorporation of social media. Given the few studies utilizing methodological designs from which claims of causality can be made or meta-analyses could be conducted, we identified only faculty feedback as an evidence-based practice and no specific intervention that we could identify as research-based in online instruction

Teaching and Learning of Mathematics through CLIL, CBI, or EMI—A Systematic Literature Review

This study provides a systematic literature review of research in the field of teaching and learning mathematics through Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), Content-Based Instruction (CBI), and English Medium Instruction (EMI). The review aims to examine the most relevant literature with a focus on mathematics and CLIL, CBI, or EMI in Scopus and Web of Science per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines. Based on 151 sources, 52 papers were selected according to predefined selection criteria. The papers were analysed and coded according to the following categories: (1) geographical productivity, (2) diachronic productivity growth, (3) main objectives, (4) methodology, and research design, (5) variables and measurement instruments, (6) context and sample details, and (7) main findings. The results reveal that most of the research analysed has been carried out in the Asian continent, followed by Europe. The analysis of diachronic productivity shows that the study of the application of CLIL, CBI, and EMI programs in the teaching-learning process of mathematics has notably increased in recent years, especially in the last triennium (2020–2022). Regarding the objectives of the selected corpus, the majority aimed at teaching practices and learning processes, and outcomes in mathematics and language proficiency in CLIL, CBI, and/or EMI classrooms. The corpus analysed fits within one or more of the following categories: empirical, qualitative, descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional. The samples utilized in different studies differ significantly, both in terms of quantity –ranging from one person to 700– and in the educational level being studied, which would be primary, secondary, or tertiary education. The main variables studied in the corpus focus on mathematical competence, language proficiency, teaching practices, teacher training, science competence, and teachers’ perceptions. The most widely used instruments have been objective tests, such as questionnaires, together with standardized tests to measure some aspects related to mathematical competence and language proficiency. They are followed by an analysis of documents (academic records, teaching materials, official documents...), participant or non-participant observation, interviews, and video and audio recordings. In summary, in the scientific literature analysed, a positive or neutral view predominates on the effects of the CLIL, CBI, and EMI approaches on the learning of mathematics and the L2. This can be due to methodological issues fundamentally related to the methodology, research design, sample, and measurement instruments. Thus, we must highlight that some of the results from the selected papers must be interpreted with caution. Taking this factor into consideration, further comparative studies on a wider scale are required to examine thoroughly the effects of CLIL, CBI, and EMI on the teaching and learning of mathematics in an L2. Besides, it is important to study in greater depth the different levels of language acquisition since the research analysed shows that these have not been sufficiently addressed in the mathematical field of knowledge

A Corpus-Based Analysis of Cohesion in L2 Writing by Undergraduates in Ecuador

In finding out the nature of cohesion in L2 writing, the present study set out to address three research questions: (1) What types of cohesion relations occur in L2 writing at the sentence, paragraph, and whole-text levels? (2) What is the relationship between lexico-grammatical cohesion features and teachers’ judgements of writing quality? (3) Do expectations of cohesion suggested by the CEFR match what is found in student writing? To answer those questions, a corpus of 240 essays and 240 emails from college- level students learning English as a foreign language in Ecuador enabled the analysis of cohesion. Each text included the scores, or teachers’ judgements of writing quality aligned to the upper-intermediate level (or B2) as proposed by the Common European Framework of Reference for learning, teaching, and assessing English as a foreign language. Lexical and grammatical items used by L2 students to build relationships of meaning in sentences, paragraphs, and the entire text were considered to analyse cohesion in L2 writing. Utilising Natural Language Processing tools (e.g., TAACO, TextInspector, NVivo), the analysis focused on determining which cohesion features (e.g., word repetition/overlap, semantical similarity, connective words) predicted the teachers’ judgements of writing quality in the collected essays and emails. The findings indicate that L2 writing is characterised by word overlap and synonyms occurring at the paragraph level and, to a lesser degree, cohesion between sentences and the entire text (e.g., connective words). Whilst these cohesion features positively and negatively predicted the teachers’ scores, a cautious interpretation of these findings is required, as many other factors beyond cohesion features must have also influenced the allocation of scores in L2 writing

The Link between Speech Mastery and Writing Achievement: The Case of Madrasah Students in South Sumatera

This study investigated the link between students’ parts of speech mastery and their achievement in writing skill. This study was aimed at finding out whether or not there was any significant link and significant influence among the two variables. The population of the study was tenth grade Madrasah students in South Sumatera. There were 330 students from five classes as the population in this study. However, 96 students were taken as the sample of this study. There were two variables involved in this study, students’ parts of speech mastery (variable X), and writing achievement (variable Y). The score of parts of speech mastery was taken from multiple choice questions, while the student’ writing achievement was taken from the test which was scored based on experts’ judgment. Based on the data analysis, it was found that the r-obtained (.293) was higher than r-table (.200). Then, the level of probability (p) significance (sig.2-tailed) was .443. It means that p (.004) was lower than .05. Thus, null hypothesis (H0) was rejected and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted. Based on the findings, it was concluded that there was significant link between students’ parts of speech mastery and their writing achievement. The obtained R-square was .083 indicated that students’ parts of speech mastery was likely to contribute with 8.3% contribution and to affect writing achievement

Unregulated Space: Text-Messaging Habits as a Predictor of Punctuation Errors in the Academic Writing of College Students

Most college-aged students use text messaging to communicate with others (Smith, 2011). Text messaging, though it requires a writer to be concise, makes allowances for “textese,” an informal register of English. At the same time, college students and college graduates are expected to be proficient in writing. Using a theoretical framework influenced by self-regulation (Bandura, 1986), memory (Bartholomae, 1980; Flower & Hayes, 1981; Hayes, 1996; Hayes & Chenoweth, 2006; Kellogg, 2006), and transfer (Perkins & Salomon, 1992; Salomon & Perkins, 1989), a correlational study was conducted to compare the participants’ text messaging habits to participants’ frequency of punctuation errors in their academic writing. The predictor variables were the frequency of text messaging (Grace, Kemp, Martin, & Parrila, 2014; Rosen, Chang, Erwin, Carrier, & Cheever, 2010) and the frequency textese (Thurlow & Brown, 2003); the criterion variable was the frequency of punctuation errors (Lunsford & Lunsford, 2008) a participant uses in his or her academic writing. The participants were 115 college students from a four-year college in the Southeast United States. Data were collected via a survey, writing samples, and content analyses. The data obtained from these instruments were analyzed by a multiple regression, a statistical method that showed the relationship between the participants’ text-messaging habits and literacy. The null hypothesis was not rejected because there was no significant relationship between the combined predictor variables and the criterion variable

An Investigation of Factors Predicting Academic Writing Difficulties Among First-Year Doctoral Students

This exploratory study investigated the variables that predict academic writing difficulties (AWDs) among first-year doctoral students, international and domestic, at a large, publicly funded research university in Southeastern United States. Data were collected through an online survey. The final sample size contained 111 first - year students, domestic and international from various doctoral programs. The first analysis examined factors predicting first-year doctoral students\u27 self-assessed writing difficulties, using Multiple Linear Regression. Five factors were statistically significant predictors of AWDs: Asian race, Colleges of Business, Engineering, and Science, and the age between fifty-five to sixty-four. The remaining factors associated with age, Race, or College were not statistically significant. The second analysis examined differences between domestic and international students using Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The MANOVA results indicated statistically significant differences in the AWD and GRE writing scores between domestic and international students, but no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups for Motivation. However, when GRE writing scores were used as a covariate, the MANCOVA revealed statistically significant differences for both Motivation and AWD between international and domestic doctoral students. The findings of this study have important pedagogical implications for doctoral students, graduate faculty, curriculum designers, university\u27s administrators, and universities writing support programs

Las relaciones entre las estrategias de aprendizaje de idiomas y las medidas de complejidad léxica

This study examines the hypothesis that language learning strategies (LLS) partly account for the level of L2 proficiency (i.e. the level of L2 lexical complexity produced in the written output of English language learners). To test the hypothesis, 152 English-proficient freshman students of Bosnian L1 linguistic background were surveyed utilizing the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) designed by Rebecca Oxford (1990). Their lexical output was collected through short essays that were written during formal exams held in English for Academic Purposes undergraduate courses at the International University of Sarajevo. The written samples were converted to an electronic format and analyzed with the Web-based Lexical Complexity Analyzer (Lu, 2012; Ai & Lu, 2010). Relationships between six SILL subscales and twenty-five lexical complexity (LC) measures were assessed through applying the principles of correlational design. The results confirmed the hypothesis. Statistically significant correlations were found between memory strategies and three LC measures, cognitive strategies and twenty LC measures, compensation strategies and nine LC measures, and affective strategies and three LC measures. It is concluded that the relationship between LLS and LC levels is mostly conditioned by LLS types.Este estudio está basado en la hipótesis según la cual las estrategias de aprendizaje de idiomas (LLS) se pueden explicar en parte por el nivel de la complejidad léxica obtenida en la producción escrita de los estudiantes de inglés. Para probar a la hipótesis, un grupo de ciento cincuenta y dos estudiantes de inglés de primer año, de origen lingüístico bosniaco L1 c, fue encuestado en el marco del Inventario de estrategias para el aprendizaje de idiomas (SILL) diseñado por Rebecca Oxford (1990). Su producción léxica fue recogida a través de los ensayos cortos escritos durante los exámenes formales sostenidos en inglés con fines académicos de los estudios de pregrado en la Universidad Internacional de Sarajevo. Las muestras escritas fueron convertidas en un formato electrónico y fueron analizadas  gracias al Analizador de Complejidad Léxica basado en la Web (Lu, 2012; Ai & Lu, 2010). Las relaciones entre seis subescalas SILL y veinticinco medidas de complejidad léxica (LC) fueron evaluados a través de la aplicación de los principios del diseño correlacional. Los resultados han confirmado la hipótesis. Se concluye que la naturaleza de las relaciónes entre los niveles de LLS y LC está, en su mayoría, condicionada por los tipos de LLS