The CEFR rating scale functioning: an empirical study on self- and peer assessments

One of the criticisms on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) rating scales pertains to the lack of reference to the performance of learners in the construction process of the scales. Therefore, this study attempted to delve into rating scale functioning by English as a Second Language (ESL) learners during self-assessment and peer assessment of their oral proficiency practice. Two objectives guided the study: 1) to gauge the overall rating scale functioning and 2) to measure each criterion scaling structure. Three self- and peer assessments’ cycles were conducted in three months. In each cycle, eleven learners recorded their own speech, uploaded their video clips to a private YouTube channel and assessed their own videos as well as selected peers based on five CEFR oral assessment criteria with six levels of ratings (A1-C2). Findings revealed that four of the CEFR levels were utilised (B1-C2). Categories A1 and A2 (basic user level) however, were not observed during the practice. Analysis from the Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (MFRM) indicated that utilised categories seemed to function usefully since each category observed was advancing by more than 1.4 logits. Category B2 dominated four criteria of ratings awarded while B1 dominated the rating distribution for fluency. The implications of this study will be discussed in relation to rating scale development, specifically on matching learners’ proficiency to the psychometrically developed rating criteria as well as illustrating assessment as learning approach in the ESL classroom where learners become the key assessors for their own performance

Turn taking patterns of average achievers in an oral interaction test

This study aims to investigate the turn taking patterns of final year undergraduate students who are average achievers in an oral interaction test. The scope of this study focuses on profiling the students’ oral interactive ability in terms of their turn taking patterns in a small group discussion. In order to examine this, the oral test of 14 group discussion tasks in the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Test of English Communication Skills (UTMTECS) for graduating students were video recorded after consent was sought from the students before the recording took place. The recordings were then transcribed for analysis using an adapted version of Allwright (1988) model of turn taking patterns. From the transcribed files, it is observed that the average achievers mostly gave turns through ‘Neither’ turn giving pattern and gained turns through ‘Take’ turn getting pattern. From the findings, the average achievers in UTMTECS oral test are profiled as moderate speakers of English language. Nevertheless, they are still able to interact with other candidates in the group discussion with functional level of communication skills. This study also provides more insights into the setting of a benchmark to evaluate graduating students’ oral English communication competency and preparedness for the workplace

POLICY CHANGE IMPLEMENTATION: THE CASE OF THE CEFR IN MALAYSIAN ESL CLASSROOMS

Background and purpose: With rapid global development happening in the world today, the field of education has been awash with various change forces. In an effort to ensure its system is globally competitive, Malaysia has taken a step to align its English language education system to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). However, any change in policy is not without problems and challenges as studies have shown that challenges were inevitable and stakeholders’ buy-in on the new change is necessary. Hence, this study was undertaken to investigate the challenges faced by teachers in implementing the CEFR in Malaysian ESL classrooms, their belief on this new reform and their readiness to implement the CEFR.   Methodology: A mixed-method design was utilized with the use of questionnaire and semi structured interview as means for data collection. 365 English language teachers responded to the questionnaire while 15 English language teachers participated in interview sessions.   Findings: The data revealed five challenges namely teachers’ motivation, materials, time, students’ proficiency level and facilities. Despite facing multiple challenges, all teachers exhibited positive belief towards the adoption of the CEFR. The study also showed that although teachers were emotionally ready to accept the change, their cognitive readiness for change however is dependent upon three important facets namely time, collective effort and adequate materials.   Contributions: The study provides insights into the change in policy involving the CEFR implementation in the Malaysian English language education system which contributes to the scarce literature on the implementation of CEFR.   Keywords:  Policy implementation, challenges in policy change, teachers’ belief, Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), readiness for change.   Cite as: C. Alih, N. A., Abdul Raof, A. H., & Md. Yusof, M. A. (2021). Policy change implementation: The case of the CEFR in Malaysian ESL classrooms.  Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(2), 296-317. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss2pp296-31

Permeate flux measurement and prediction of submerged membrane bioreactor filtration process using intelligent techniques

Recently, membrane technology has become more attractive particularly in solid-liquid separation process. Membrane bioreactor (MBR) has found to be a reliable technology to replace the conventional activated sludge (CAS) process for water and wastewater treatment by adopting membrane filtration technology and bioreactor. However, numerous drawbacks arise when using membrane which includes high maintenance cost and fouling problem. An optimal MBR plant operation is needed to be determined in order to reduce fouling and at the same time reduce the cost of running the MBR. It is crucial to have a reliable MBR filtration prediction that can measure and predict the filtration dynamic performance especially the effect of fouling to the filtration and cleaning operations. With this prediction tool, suitable action can be taken to improve the operation in order to find the optimum setting of the filtration process. This paper presents the permeate flux measurement and prediction development for submerged membrane filtration process. Three input filtration parameters were used to predict the permeate flux in the filtration process. This work employed feed forward artificial neural network (FFNN) and radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) for the prediction purpose. The permeate flux prediction method was developed using operation settings such as aeration airflow, suction pump voltage and transmembrane pressure (TMP) under schedule relaxation condition. The result shows that FFNN method gives better performance compared with RBFNN method in terms of accuracy and reliability

Teaching CEFR-aligned writing to young learners: practices and voices of teachers

The introduction of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)-aligned English syllabus into the Malaysian education system is a welcome initiative taken by the government as a part of “memartabatkan Bahasa Melayu, memperkukuhkan Bahasa Inggeris” to empower Malaysian citizens to compete in this era of globalization (Ministry of Education, 2015). The new initiative has also brought forth shifts in teaching approach and technique, and assessment method. Teachers must incorporate in their teaching, among others, formative assessment and differentiation techniques. It prompted a study to be carried out to obtain insights into the practice of teachers teaching CEFR-aligned syllabus. Five primary school teachers teaching five different writing classes to nine-year-olds participated in the study. Classroom observation protocol and guided reflective interview were used to obtain data for the study. The findings revealed that the classes were mainly teacher-centered, and teachers hardly used differentiation techniques. Several formative assessment elements were exhibited but not comprehensively. Teachers' lack of training in CEFR and ineffective training system may be the cause of this observation

Three dimensional modeling of archaeological artifact using photomodeler scanner

This article describes the work of archaeological artifact data recording using close range photogrammetry method. A calibrated stereo camera was used to take the stereo images of the artifacts. Photomodeler Scanner software was used to process the stereo images to produce a three-dimensional model of the artifact. For verification purposes, VIVID 910 laser scanner was used to generate three-dimensional model of the same artifact. The study found that close range photogrammetry method is easy to use, with fast data recording, fast data processing and it is a method which is cheaper than the laser scanning method

Engaging summer school programme’s participants in reflective learning

Experiencing studying in one’s home country might be different from experiencing it in a host country. Hence, to help Japanese students who participate in the two-week Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) ESL summer school programme achieve their goals to better communicate in English and to experience an academic life in UTM, many in-class and out-of-class activities and tasks were conducted and organized for them. One of the out-of-class task was the half-day classroom visit designed based on the foundation of reflective learning where the participants had to attend their UTM buddies classes. While in the classrooms, they were encouraged to participate in the class activities. They were also required to write their own reflections on the visit in their journals. Once the task was completed, they were required to share their experience in a group discussion activity. From the analysis of both their written and oral reflections, it was found that many of the participants claimed that there were differences between the Japanese and UTM classrooms with regard to the teaching methods and the UTM students’ classroom behaviour. These findings revealed that the specifically designed half-day classroom visit had stimulated the participants to recognize their personal values, to build their confidence and to maximize their learning experience. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to share the summer school participants’ reflections on their experiences undergoing the half-day classroom situation in UTM

The analysis of grid independence study in continuous disperse of MQL delivery system

A sustainable cutting method of Minimum Quantity Lubricant (MQL) was introduced to promote lubrication effect and improve machinability. However, its performances are very dependent on the effectiveness of its mist to penetrate deep into the cutting zone. Optimizing the MQL system requires massive experimental work that increases cost and time. Therefore, this study conducts Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis using ANSYS Fluent and focuses on the grid independence study in dispersed-continuous phase of MQL delivery system. The main aim is to identify the best mesh model that influences the accuracy of the CFD model. The analysis proposed two different unstructured grid cell elements of quadrilateral and triangular that were only applicable for 2-dimensional fluid flow in CFD. The unstructured grid was controlled with three different mesh quality factors such as Relevance Center, Smoothing, and Span Angle Center at coarse /low, medium, and fine /high. The results showed that the best mesh quality for quadrilateral was at 60,000 nodes number and coarse mesh, whereas the triangular was at 90,000 nodes number and coarse mesh. Both combinations resulted the most consistent and reliable result when compared with past studies. However, this study decided to choose quadrilateral cell element with 60,000 nodes number and coarse mesh as it is considered to be sufficient to provide accurate and reliable result as well as practical in terms of computational time for the MQL model in CFD analysis

Facilitating content acquisition through language : the “Wall Poster” Technique

The ‘wall poster’ activity is one of the tasks conducted in English for Civil Engineering (ECE) classrooms aimed at facilitating learners’ acquisition of the content area of the subject in their specialized discipline of civil engineering. The English for Civil Engineering programme is based on a research project on English for Specific Purposes conducted in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The research was an attempt to create a programme which is derived from and integrated with the Faculty of Civil Engineering’s mainstream academic programme through collaboration between the English language instructors and the subject specialists. (Please refer to Khairi et al, 1995 for a description of the programme; Masputeriah et al., 1995 and Abdul Halim et al., 1996 for a discussion on the approach to materials preparation, nature of activities and the role of language instructors and language learners)

Peer-To-Peer Corrective Feedback In A Group Interaction

The study investigated the provision of corrective feedback and learner repair of errors following feedback in interactional context of peer-to-peer conversations, particularly in a group setting. A total of four students in their early twenties participated in the study. These students are participants of the “Friends of English” (FoE) programme conducted by Centre of Teaching and Learning, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The relationship among error types, feedback types and learner repairs were examined. The interaction between these students in a group setting was recorded using Sony Sound Forge. The recorded interactions were transcribed and coded for types of errors (Syntactic / Lexical / L1), types of negative implicit feedback (Negotiation / Recasts) and learner repairs. Findings indicate that the mentor focused on recasts. He provided implicit negative feedback in the form of recasts to all three types of learner errors while engaging in the discussions. The majority of L1 errors were corrected followed by Lexical errors. Syntactic errors had the least number of repairs. Lexical error was the focus of the mentor as over half of Lexical errors received feedback followed by Syntactic error and L1 use