English language examination reform: International trends and a framework for Nepal

This chapter is based on desk research on examinations and their reforms globally. Although the chapter is about English language examination reforms, it draws on the literature related to general education where relevant. The chapter begins by exploring why governments reform school examinations. In particular, the chapter focuses on the external environment: political, educational and economic factors which influence the nature of school examinations in different ways (Shohamy, 2007). These factors are important because a combination of at least two of these factors or all are taken into account when a government decides to reform its school examination system. Having considered these factors, the chapter showcases case studies of examination reform in other countries from Africa (Kenya), Asia (Hong Kong SAR and Singapore) and Europe (Norway), drawing on the most current literature. How examination reforms were carried out in these countries, and their consequences and lessons learned are discussed. From these case studies, key issues for Nepal are identifi ed. In order to give the reader a perspective on the examination system in Nepal in relation to the other countries discussed, this chapter then briefly reports on the history of examination reform, particularly English language examinations in Nepal. After providing the context of the examination system in Nepal, the chapter makes a proposal for a framework of English language examination reform for Nepal based on research and current good practices. This section will specifically focus on what Nepalese education policy makers can do to reform examinations that have minimal negative consequences and how they can carry this out. Drawing on Shohamy (2007) and McNamara and Rover (2006), the proposed framework will discuss how it needs to consider the essential aspects of examination reform: stakeholder engagement, needs-basedness, links with the curriculum, intended and unintended consequences, and continuous research and development. Finally, a set of recommendations for Nepalese policy makers are made

Introduction

Innovation (i.e., a new beneficial idea or practice) in English language teaching (ELT) has been a constant subject of academic discussion over the last few decades. This topic continues to be a concern to all English language practitioners because, as teachers, we are constantly encouraging new challenges in our teaching context and as a result we find new ways of addressing and resolving them. Innovation in the context of ELT is, however, still under-researched (Waters, 2014) although this area of research is emerging in the fields of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) (e.g., see Hyland & Wong, 2013). Despite both EAP and ESP tending to be innovative, pioneering practices are often limited to individual teachers or institutions. Therefore, there is a need for more research in this area of EAP and ESP. Such innovative practices can benefit other EAP and ESP practitioners globally. In this context, this edited volume, the fourth book from the IATEFL ESP SIG, aims to contribute by bringing together EAP and ESP practitioners from around the world to share their innovations and research on their novel practices. Innovations in EAP and ESP are generally initiated locally to meet certain needs. Innovative practices, due to their nature being small-scale and local, may not flourish if there is no institutional support or there is resistance to change (Waters, 2009). Even if the innovation is national or large-scale, implementing it may still be challenging (Hu & McGrath, 2011). Despite these barriers, if local innovative practices in EAP and ESP are shared with other practitioners, EAP and ESP learners from around the world may benefit from these innovative practices given the increasing demand of English language skills globally for various purposes. As you will see, this volume aims to showcase local innovations from a global perspective in each of the 12 chapters

Book Review: Language Planning and Policy in the Pacific, Vol. 1: Fiji, The Philippines and Vanuatu by Richard B. Baldauf, Jr. and Robert B. Kaplan

RICHARD B. BALDAUF JR. AND ROBERT B. KAPLAN (Eds.). Language Planning and Policy in the Pacific, Vol. 1: Fiji, The Philippines and Vanuatu. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters Ltd., 2006. pp. 239. Hb £ 34.95. pp 369 - 371

ELT, ESP & EAP in Nepal: whose interests are served?

This paper gives an overview of the state of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Nepal in general and draws a link between ELT and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The researcher briefly examines the current situation at primary, secondary and tertiary level. The impact of this is assessed from a critical applied-linguistics perspective, to see how the English language has affected the society as a whole, particularly the English-vernacular (Nepali) divide in the country. The study concludes that the ELT situation in the country is far from satisfactory. The factors responsible for this are ineffective teacher education, the medium of instruction, language policies, university entrance examinations and a lack of resources

Investigating the learning transfer of genre features and conceptual knowledge from an academic literacy course to business studies: Exploring the potential of dynamic assessment

Academic literacy courses aim to enable higher education students to participate in their chosen academic fields as fully as possible. However, the extent to which these students transfer the academic skills taught in these courses to their chosen disciplines is still under-researched. This article reports on a study that investigated the potential of dynamic assessment (an assessment approach that blends instruction into assessment) in the transfer of genre features and conceptual knowledge among undergraduate business studies students in a UK public university. The data includes three students’ written assignments (N = nine), interviews (N = three) and business studies tutor (N = three) feedback. Drawing on Vygotskian sociocultural theory of learning and a genre theory based on Systemic Functional Linguistics, the data were analysed. The findings suggest that dynamic assessment may contribute to the transfer of genre features and conceptual knowledge to a new assessment context. Implications of this for academic literacy instruction and assessment design are presented

Mobile technologies for (English) language learning: An exploration in the context of Bangladesh

Milton’s (2002) literature review of languages, technology and learning found that language laboratories “…proved to be a useful tool, but only one tool, in the hands of a good teacher, and a huge waste of time and money in the hands of a bad teacher” (p16) with computer language labs being “..something of an oddity… [with] no clear method or best practice for using them’ (p17). Instead, Milton identified numerous examples of effective language learning supported by broadcast (radio) or recorded (tape, CD) audio. Recently, research has begun to focus upon mobile learning (e.g. Naismith et al, 2004), but the potential of mobile media players (for example, the iPod) is only recently being explored. It has been suggested that language learning is one of the disciplines particularly likely to benefit from widespread ownership of mobile devices such as phones and media players (Kukulska-Hulme, 2006). For example, Rosell-Aguilar (2007) has begun to develop a theoretically informed pedagogy of podcasting, as a means of providing language-learning resources on mobile devices, suggesting podcasts offer a number of advantages for language learning (p. 479). This paper examines the opportunities for mobile language learning in the context of Bangladesh, where mobile devices are becoming increasingly affordable and ubiquitous. It is hoped that this paper also provides some insights into mobile learning for language education policy makers, distance education institutions and language teachers

Is there a role for mobile technologies in open and distance language learning? An exploration in the context of Bangladesh

In this paper, we briefly examine the changing landscape of language teaching methodolgies, in particular, English language teaching (ELT). We, then, explore ways in which information and communication technologies (ICTs) have influenced language learning. We particularly consider how mobile technologies may enhance ELT practices in Bangladesh. To this end, we describe the English in Action (EiA) project in Bangladesh which is a major (inter)national ELT initiative employing mobile technologies

Construct validity of the Nepalese school leaving english reading test

There has been a steady interest in investigating the validity of language tests in the last decades. Despite numerous studies on construct validity in language testing, there are not many studies examining the construct validity of a reading test. This paper reports on a study that explored the construct validity of the English reading test in the Nepalese school leaving examination. Eight students were asked to take the test and think-aloud, followed by retrospective interviews. Additionally, seven experts were asked to make judgments regarding the skills tested by the test. The findings provide grounded insights into students’ response behaviors prompted by the reading tasks, and indicate some threats to the construct validity of the test. Additionally, the study reports a low level of agreement among the experts, and a big gap between the skills used by the students and the skills that the experts thought were being examined by the test

Approaches to teaching ESP and EAP in open and distance learning

The field of ESP (including EAP) has grown tremendously over the last four decades. It seems to have flourished not only in English-speaking countries but also in countries where English is used as a foreign language. However, its growth in the open and distance learning sector seems to be limited and the ESP literature appears to report very little with regard to this sector. In this talk, I will be presenting the approach(es) followed by OpenELT in The Open University UK while designing two modules for open and distance learning: one ESP and another EAP. I will also share the implication of producing these two modules for other ESP/ EAP practitioners