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The Acid Test: Does Upper Secondary EFL Instruction Effectively Prepare Norwegian Students for the Reading of English Textbooks at Colleges and Universities
... Mjög margir í háskólasamfélaginu átta sig ekki á þessu misgengi og kenna sjálfum sér um að skilja ekki akademíska texta. Þetta kemur fram í erlendum rannsóknum (Coleman 2006;Wilkinson 2005;Hellekjaer 2005) og íslenskum (Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir og Hafdís Ingvarsdóttir 2018). Vanþekkingin verður til þess að enska er ekki talin þröskuldur í háskólanámi og veita háskólar almennt ekki tungumálaaðstoð þó að kennslumálið sé ekki móðurmál nemenda (Dearden 2015). ...
... En vandinn er kerfislaegur, ekki einstaklingsbundinn. Rannsóknir benda til þess, með fáeinum undantekningum, að hefðbundin kennsla í ensku sem erlendu máli samkvaemt námskrá með áherslu á óvirkt mál og bókmenntatexta þjálfi ekki þá akademísku ensku sem nemendur þurfa síðan að nota í háskólanámi (Hyland 2022;Hellekjaer 2005;Pecorari o.fl. 2011;Malmström o.fl. ...
... Despite the rising number of EMI programmes as discussed above and the importance of reading for academic success, there is to date only scarce knowledge about reading proficiency and academic reading skills in EMI universities. Two studies on EMI reading were conducted in a Scandinavian context (e.g., Hellekjaer, 2005Hellekjaer, , 2009Mežek, 2013;Shaw & McMillion, 2008). Hellekjaer (2005) investigated Norwegian students' English L2 reading proficiency as they were transitioning from upper-secondary school to higher education. ...
... Two studies on EMI reading were conducted in a Scandinavian context (e.g., Hellekjaer, 2005Hellekjaer, , 2009Mežek, 2013;Shaw & McMillion, 2008). Hellekjaer (2005) investigated Norwegian students' English L2 reading proficiency as they were transitioning from upper-secondary school to higher education. The study showed that two thirds of the students scored below Band 6 on the IELTS Academic Reading Module, i.e., below the threshold for admission to most British or Australian universities. ...
This study investigated to what extent the complexity of EMI university reading materials matches EMI students’ reading proficiency. Text complexity and student proficiency were compared utilizing the Lexile ® Framework for Reading text measures, reading test results, student questionnaire responses, and interviews with EMI lecturers. The results of the study indicate that, on average, Lexile text measures of EMI reading materials match students’ Lexile reading scores well. However, the analyses also show that there are wide disparities between texts in terms of difficulty and students in terms of proficiency. The questionnaire and interview data show that factors such as students’ topical knowledge, text length, and text structure and organization are relevant aspects of perceived text complexity beyond word frequency and sentence length. In terms of assessment practices in EMI contexts, the findings of the study suggest that (1) EMI language admission tests should consider reading ability separately; (2) integrated reading/speaking and reading/writing tasks should be authentic; (3) language tests for admission in EMI settings should also consider text length; and (4) texts in language tests for admission should vary in terms of Lexile scores to reflect real-world EMI contexts.
... among their test takers where 58 percent did not reach the lower threshold and only 8 percent reached the stricter 96.67 percent threshold 19 . Their results lend evidence to previous Norwegian research where a lack of vocabulary knowledge was stated as a hindrance to students' academic reading proficiency (e.g., Busby, 2020a;Hellekjaer, 2005Hellekjaer, , 2009). In line with Edgarsson (2018), Skjelde and Coxhead acknowledged the seemingly high level of academic vocabulary knowledge (.81) but noted that the variability in the data was large and that the number of students scoring below the lower mastery threshold (58%) indicated "a lack of appropriate receptive knowledge for these learners that can lead to difficulties with reading" (p. ...
This thesis explores Swedish upper secondary school students’ written receptive English academic word knowledge. Academic vocabulary are words that are more frequent in academic than in general discourse without being discipline-specific but frequent across disciplines, for example, however, related, partially and delineate. All the participants belong to study programmes which, according to the curriculum goals (Skolverket, 2013), prepare them for university studies, where English is a common reading language. Despite the university-preparatory goal, the syllabi contain no guidelines about academic English nor academic vocabulary.
The thesis is based on two premises: 1) academic vocabulary is a central component of reading at university, and 2) the curriculum goal of being prepared for university studies presupposes the ability to read literature in English.
The present thesis uses existing and validated tests targeting academic lexis. There are three validity arguments for using academic vocabulary measurements as indicators of students’ predicted academic reading comprehension. First, because reading comprehension largely depends on word knowledge (e.g., Gough & Tunmer, 1986; Grabe & Stoller, 2019), measures of academic word knowledge inform about an essential component of academic reading comprehension. Second, to comprehend an academic text a reader should know 98 percent of the words in a text (e.g., Nation, 2001). In academic texts, approximately 10–14 percent of the words are academic. Thus, without a high degree of academic word knowledge, the 98 percent threshold cannot be reached. Third, if basic word knowledge is lacking, more nuanced knowledge aspects which may be important for academic deep reading are likely lacking too. For this reason, it is worthwhile testing a basic aspect of word knowledge first; to this end, this thesis tests the connection of a word form to its most common meaning.
Based on these premises and validity arguments, the thesis seeks to estimate the academic vocabulary knowledge of students at the beginning and the end of mandatory English instruction. Furthermore, factors that may explain this word knowledge are explored.
The thesis adopts a cross-sectional design where almost 1,000 participants were administered vocabulary tests, questionnaires and a survey of out-of-school English activities. Mainly statistical analyses were used.
The results reveal large variations in academic vocabulary knowledge within and between samples. Significant factors positively related to academic vocabulary are involvement with out-of-school English, age, gender and study programmes. Approximately half of the students leaving mandatory English courses do not reach the minimum threshold score indicating mastery of academic lexis.
Since there are no guidelines in the English syllabi about academic vocabulary knowledge, the outcomes are expected, namely large variations in and, on average, a low level of academic word knowledge. There is a risk that many students falling below the threshold are not sufficiently prepared for taking on university reading tasks. The disruption in constructive alignment between the curriculum goal and the syllabi guidelines should be considered and the thesis suggests a curriculum change where the English mandatory courses for university-preparatory programmes include principled instruction about academic English reading ability of which academic vocabulary knowledge is one central component.
Link: http://su.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:1730999
... The texts pupils are exposed to have thus been chosen by the textbook writers and are generally short in length, thus typical for intensive reading, with a focus on form (Day & Bamford, 1998). Hellekjaer's (2005) research showed that a high proportion of Norwegian students entering higher education were lacking in adequate reading skills and proficiency to cope with the demands of reading English texts at that level, arguing that this was a consequence of limited reading input of English in school. In a study of English in grades 6 to 9 in neighbouring Sweden (Henry, 2014), many Swedish pupils claimed to learn more English outside than inside the classroom. ...
I denna artikel undersöks hur gemensam och individuell litteraturupplevelse i klassrumet kan hjälpa elever i låg-, mellan- och högstadiet att utveckla sin engelska literacy, det vill säga sin förmåga att läsa och skriva på engelska. Det finns belägg för att elever på dessa nivåer får för få meningsfyllda läsupplevelser på engelska. I artikeln redovisas forskning som visar vikten av gemensam läsning, i form av lärares högläsning och Readers Theatre, en gruppaktivitet med högläsning. Forskning om individuell läsning, speciellt nyttan av extensiv läsning, som till exempel läsning av stora mängder självvalda texter, diskuteras. Det riktas speciell uppmärksamhet mot två undervisningsvarianter i literacy, The Early Years Literacy Program och Reading and Writing Workshops, som båda inkorporerar gemensamma och individuella upplevelser i sin praktik. Forskningen om dessa metoder i engelskundervisning är begränsad. Trots metodernas uppenbara nytta för utveckling av engelskspråklig literacy, kan ingen av ansatserna betraktas som ledande. Det finns starka argument för att en kombination av gemensam och individuell läsning borde ges en mer framträdande roll i engelsk klassrumsundervisning.
... Vandkvaeði nemenda má t.d. skýra með misraemi í námsmarkmiðum milli skólastiga, sem gerir það að verkum að margir norraenir nemendur koma ekki naegilega vel undirbúnir af fyrri námsstigum til að takast á við fraeðilegt háskólanám á ensku (Hellekjaer, 2005(Hellekjaer, , 2009Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir og Gerður Guðmundsdóttir, 2014). Rannsóknir Guðmundar Edgarssonar (2018) sýndu t.d. ...
... As we can see, students should be taught learning strategies in order to deal with unfamiliar vocabulary and to develop their L2 reading. Teachers can enhance students' vocabulary knowledge by presenting new vocabulary or focusing on the importance of context to grasp general meaning (Grabe, 2009;Hellekjaer, 2005). ...
El aprendizaje integrado de contenido y lenguas extranjeras (AICLE) ha sido ampliamente implementado en nuestras instituciones educativas a través de diferentes enfoques. AICLE puede incluir una gran variedad de recursos de enseñanza pero este nuevo marco debe implicar una perspectiva innovadora que supere las restricciones del curriculum tradicional. La lectura es un proceso complejo que implica diferentes habilidades y estrategias. En el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia, está considerada como elemento clave en el proceso de aprendizaje de una lengua. Fomentar la comprensión lectora es también esencial en el enfoque AICLE (Wolff, 2005). Aunque la lectura ha sido considerada como una de las habilidades más importantes en la metodología AICLE, pocos estudios han centrado su atención en los resultados de la lectura en AICLE (Pérez Cañado, 2012). La primera parte de este artículo presenta un marco teórico general sobre la lectura en AICLE destacando sus principales características, potencial y ventajas en el aula. La segunda parte del artículo ofrece una serie de directrices para una implementación efectiva de actividades de lectura en los programas AICLE a través de diferentes ejemplos.
... Academic vocabulary knowledge is recognized as an essential component of the language skills needed for tertiary students (Coxhead, 2021;Pecorari et al., 2019). Correlations have been found between academic vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension (e.g., Hellekjaer, 2009Hellekjaer, , 2019Laufer & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010;Masrai, 2019) indicating that receptive knowledge of academic English lexis is essential. However, few previous studies have specifically examined academic vocabulary knowledge among tertiary students in Scandinavia; Pecarori et al. (2019) and Busby (2020) are two exceptions. ...
Parallellspråkbruk er utbredt i høyere utdanning i dag og refererer til bruk av engelske kursmaterial samtidig som undervisning og aktiviteter er gjennomført i et majoritetsspråk. Dette har utløst bekymringer om den manglende anerkjennelsen av de kognitive kravene som stilles til studenter som må navigere mellom akademiske språk. Tidligere nordisk forskning har vist en økning i arbeidsbyrden for skandinaviskspråklige studenter som må lese akademiske tekster på engelsk, og at et ukjent vokabular kan være et allment hinder for deres leseforståelse, til tross for et stort antall gresk-latinske kognater. Likheter i akademisk ordforråd mellom engelsk og skandinaviske språk kan imidlertid redusere de kognitive kravene til studentene, dersom de har en klar konsepsjon av konstruktet. Det vil si, kunnskap om karaterisk assosiert med dette vokabularet. Derfor undersøker denne studien, basert på metodetriangulering, studenters kunnskap om og konsepsjon av akademisk vokabular. Funn indikerte at deltagerne hadde ekstensiv reseptiv kunnskap om høyfrekvente akademiske ord. De klarte å gjenkjenne vanlige konsepsjoner for konstruktet, som latinske opprinnelser, likheter i stavelse og uttale, og polysemi. Likevel ga flere studenter uttrykk for at det var vanskelig å finne passende oversettelser for gresk-latinske kognater som finnes i akademisk engelsk, og det var en tendens til at L1-frekvensen påvirket oversettelsene. Funnene viste også at studenter gjenkjente vanlige konsepsjoner for akademisk vokabular som et konstrukt, som for eksempel latinske opphav, likheter i stavelse- og uttalemåter og polysemi. Noen deltakere uttrykte likevel en konsepsjon av akademisk ordforråd på norsk som mer hverdagslig enn engelsk, og det kom tydelig fram en usikkerhet hos studentene knyttet til egne konsepsjoner. Resultatene antyder at selv studenter som er kyndige i engelsk kan ha nytte av støtte til å konsolidere sine konsepsjoner av akademisk vokabular, og til å videreutvikle kunnskapen sin om gresk-latinske kognater i akademiske tekster.
... . Tidigare forskning i den nordiska kontexten visar att det finns skäl att anta att gymnasieskolan eventuellt inte förbereder eleverna tillräckligt för universitetsstudier (Hellekjaer, 2005;Malmström, 2017) och att test i akademiskt ordförråd kan hjälpa lärare att upptäcka elevers språkliga kunskapsluckor (t.ex. Skjelde & Coxhead, 2020). ...
Academic vocabulary is generally regarded as indispensable for academic literacy, e.g., for reading and understanding academic texts. Assessment of academic vocabulary knowledge can be relevant in a range of educational contexts. The aim of this study was to validate a multiple choice test of receptive Swedish academic vocabulary. A Swedish academic vocabulary test (SAVT) was extracted from an existing frequency-based word levels test. SAVT measures knowledge of words from a Swedish academic word list. Pilot studies were followed by minor revisions to the extracted test. Subsequently, the test, a sociolinguistic survey and a linguistic self-estimation instrument were administered to 551 students in university preparatory upper secondary education. Statistical and lexical analyses were conducted based on the results. Reliability and variance were sufficient and discriminated different proficiency levels among test-takers at group level. Positive covariance between test scores and self-reported reading ability and test score differences between groups of different gender and first languages added to the validity argument. The lexical analyses showed that word frequency, polysemy and meaning nuances between certain words could pose difficulties for some students, which is typical for a test group in the process of developing their academic literacy. Suggestions for further development of the test (and the underlying list of academic words), including the addition of more items, are discussed.
English academic vocabulary knowledge is needed for reading in many internationalized university contexts around the world. However, our knowledge is limited regarding the degree to which pre-tertiary education prepares students for the academic English reading demands at university. To explore this question, this cross-sectional study analyzed academic vocabulary scores from two Swedish student samples (N=952), at the beginning and at the end of upper secondary English education. Statistical analyses were conducted to describe and compare the academic vocabulary knowledge in the two samples, also in relation to gender, study disciplines and English grades. Large variations in vocabulary scores were observed within and between samples. The exit-sample outperformed the entry-sample. The exit-sample’s academic vocabulary knowledge correlated positively with English grades, however, these (CEFR-B2) students do not, on average, reach suggested mastery thresholds of academic vocabulary knowledge. A logistic regression analysis showed higher probabilities for male students and Arts/Humanities/Science/Technology students than female and Economics/Social science students to reach suggested mastery thresholds. This unequal distribution of academic word knowledge is discussed in the context of curricular goals about equality and university-preparation.
The study investigated students' views of reasons for the adoption of English medium instruction (EMI) in Afghan Higher Education, EMI effects on official languages and students' preference of medium of instruction. It also explored whether students' gender, first language and English proficiency had any significant impact on their responses. The data were collected from 840 students by means of an online questionnaire from four public universities based in northeastern Afghanistan. The dataset was analyzed using descriptive and infer-ential statistics. The results showed that students had a positive attitude towards EMI in higher education. They believed that the universities should adopt EMI for various reasons, e.g., internationalization of universities. They were aware of the negative effects of EMI on the official languages of Afghanistan. They were more likely to select a combination of English and official languages for the medium of instruction. Students' gender and first language did not have a significant impact on their attitudes towards EMI; however, their English proficiency significantly impacted their attitudes towards EMI. Moreover, their gender and first language, and English proficiency had significant effects on their preference of language of instruction. The study suggests a policy for gradual transition to bilingual education in Higher Education.
The trait structure of an experimental self-rating test of communicative language ability was investigated through the use of MTMM design and CFA procedure. The language abilities we attempted to measure comprised three main traits: grammatical competence, pragmatic competence, and socio linguistic competence. Three different question types were used. The subjects were 116 non-native English speakers from the Salt Lake City area. The results of this study indicate that self-ratings can be reliable and valid measures of communicative language abilities. The obtained reliabilities were much higher than had been expected, and all the self-rating measures had strong loadings on a general factor. In addition, some measures proved to be reasonably good indicators of specific language abilities. The measures of grammatical com petence appear to be better indicators of this trait than are the measures of pragmatic and sociolinguistic competence. Of the three question types used, the most effective appears to be that which asked about subjects' perceived diffi culty with various aspects of the language. The least effective question type was the so-called can-do question.
This study aimed to answer the question of how many words of the Dutch language, and which words, an adult non-native speaker needs to know receptively in order to be able to understand first-year university reading materials In the first part of this study, an assessment was made of the representativeness of a list of 23,550 words (lemmas), taken from a school dictionary, for a 42 million-word token corpus of contemporary written Dutch It was found that, using frequency as a criterion, text coverage substantially increased with up to 11,123 words (i e words occurring more than 100 times in the corpus), but not beyond In the second part of the study, an assessment was made of the representativeness of the same list of 23,550 words for a relatively small corpus of first-year university reading materials The percentage of tokens covered in this small academic corpus did not differ substantially from the percentage of tokens covered in the big corpus analysed in the first part The third part of the study consisted of the development and administration of a 140-item multiple-choice vocabulary test aimed at measuring test takers' receptive knowledge of 18,615 content words of the 23,550 word list This test was administered to (i) native speakers entering university as freshmen, (u) non-native graduate students, and (m) non-native prospective students taking a Dutch language entry examination test battery Extrapolations of the test scores showed that the average vocabulary size of these three groups of test takers was 18,800, 15,800, and 11,200 respectively It is concluded that the minimal vocabulary size needed for university studies is 10,000 base words Earlier Dutch studies, suggesting that knowledge of 3,000 or 5,000 base words would suffice, appear to have underestimated such a minimal vocabulary 1
Both reading research and practice have undergone numerous changes in the 25 years since TESOL was first established. The last decade, in particular, has been a time of much first and second language research, resulting in many new insights for reading instruction. The purpose of this article is to bring together that research and its implications for the classroom. Current reading research follows from certain assumptions on the nature of the reading process; these assumptions are reviewed and general perspectives on the reading process are presented. Specific attention is then given to interactive approaches to reading, examining research which argues that reading comprehension is a combination of identification and interpretation skills. Reading research in second language contexts, however, must also take into account the many differences between L1 and L2 reading. From the differences reviewed here, it is evident that much more second language reading research is needed. Five important areas of current research which should remain prominent for this decade are reported: schema theory, language skills and automaticity, vocabulary development, comprehension strategy training, and reading-writing relations. Implications from this research for curriculum development are briefly noted.
During the last 10 years there has been a surge of interest in methods for self- assessment of foreign language proficiency. Work has been undertaken in many parts of the world and several reports on both theoretical and practical issues have been published recently. This paper outlines the justification for adopting self-assessment principles in language teaching and learning, makes references to research and sources supporting the statements made, and also presents some ideas and materials that illustrate developments taking place.
Since language tests inevitably embody a view of language and indirectly a notion of language learning, it is important that
designers of tests should take account of generally accepted views of the nature of language, language proficiency, and language
use.When the ELTS Revision Project was initiated in 1986, it was felt important that the test should move away from an 'outdated
model' to reflect current thinking in applied linguistics, and one of the first activities of the Revision Project was to
consult applied linguists as to what view of language and language proficiency should be incorporated into the test.This paper
reports on the diverse views that resulted from this survey, and on the constraints that limit the extent to which current
applied linguistic theory can be implemented. It concludes with reflections on the proper relationship between applied linguistics
and language testing, arguing that language testers need not feel they are on the fringe of applied linguistics, and that
involving applied linguists in test development will not only help testing, but arguably may help applied linguistics even
more.
Reading text is a relatively recent human activity, only having been around for about 5,000 years. Through text, writers are able to communicate with others at great distances. Readers are able to perceive arbitrarily determined shapes presented against some background and then form them into meaning. As the reader becomes more proficient at reading and uses reading in more and different ways, this process of interpreting letters and words becomes increasingly automatic.
The relationship between the relative difficulty of passages and the number of unknown words in passages was investigated. In Study I, 219 students in Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 were given 100-word passages sampled from textbooks and library books (trade books) and then asked to underline each word that they did not know. In Study II, 60 graduate students were given a similar task involving 120 passages at the following levels of difficulty: junior high, senior high, college, and graduate school. Relative difficulty (or relative easiness) was determined from the difference between a measure of the reading ability of the student in grade equivalent (GE) units and a measure of the difficulty level of the material in GE units. The results from both Study I and Study II can be summarized as follows: (a) when the material is relatively easy then close to 0% will be unknown basic words, (b) when the material is relatively hard, then 2% or more will be unknown basic words, and (c) when the difficulty of the material is matched closely to the ability of the reader, then around 1% will be unknown basic words. These findings do not support the theory that free reading results in large vocabulary growth because free reading is likely to involve relatively easy material that contains few, if any, unknown words. Indeed, these findings call into question the practice of devoting large amounts of classroom time to free reading if the purpose is to increase vocabulary or reading level.
Argues that the semantic structure of texts can be described both at the local microlevel and at a more global macrolevel. A model for text comprehension based on this notion accounts for the formation of a coherent semantic text base in terms of a cyclical process constrained by limitations of working memory. Furthermore, the model includes macro-operators, whose purpose is to reduce the information in a text base to its gist—the theoretical macrostructure. These operations are under the control of a schema, which is a theoretical formulation of the comprehender's goals. The macroprocesses are predictable only when the control schema can be made explicit. On the production side, the model is concerned with the generation of recall and summarization protocols. This process is partly reproductive and partly constructive, involving the inverse operation of the macro-operators. The model is applied to a paragraph from a psychological research report, and methods for the empirical testing of the model are developed. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article reviews the empirical and pedagogical literature on the concept of “difficulty” (or “ease”) in second language (L2) reading at the university or adult level and discusses it within the framework of schema theory. A traditional view of difficulty/ease is explained as consisting of two factors: (1) Language (grammar and vocabulary) and (2) Text Length. A modern view of difficulty/ease is then proposed via four hypotheses: (1) The first Primary Ease Factor in L2 reading is background knowledge; (2) Signalling becomes the Primary Ease Factor in L2 reading when background knowledge is not useful for accessing content schemata; (3) Other factors being equal, the degree of signalling determines the degree of accessibility of a text for the L2 reader; and (4) Other factors being equal, Language, Discourse, and Length are of secondary importance — after Background Knowledge and Signalling — for accessing a text by L2 readers.