CRELLA Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment
Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment
Recent Submissions
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Compliments and refusals in Poland and EnglandThere are significant cross-cultural differences in the way compliments and refusals are made and responded to. The investigation of these speech acts touches on some interesting issues for pragmatic theory: the relation between the universal and the culturespecific features of complimenting and refusing, the importance of culture specific strategies in explaining how these speech acts are produced and responded to, as well as the relation between the message conveyed by a compliment or refusal and its affective/emotional effects on the hearer. The pilot study presented in this paper investigates the production and reception of compliments and refusals in the relatively proximate cultures of England and Poland. The findings reveal significant systematic cross-cultural differences relating to refusals, while the differences relating to compliments are fewer and more subtle. The data suggests that the cross-cultural similarities and differences observed can be explained in terms of (a) a universalist view of institutional speech acts and face concerns in rapport management, (b) the Relevancetheoretic view of communication and cognition as oriented towards maximising informativeness and (c) some culture-specific values. These tentative conclusions are based on very limited data and indicate useful directions for future research.
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The London Association for the Teaching of English 1947–67: a historyThis is the fascinating story of the birth, growth, and development of the London Association for the Teaching of English from its earliest years through to the formation of the National Association for the Teaching of English and thereafter. The work of founder members of LATE, such as James Britton, Harold Rosen, and Nancy Martin, was critical in the development of an English-teaching pedagogy that still influences the work of teachers across many parts of the world today. As a critical account of the rise of a progressive model of English, this book is essential reading for all those involved in the teaching and research of the subject, from prospective and new entrants to the profession to experienced teachers and researchers of English. With its first hand testimony and unpublished archive material, this book will also be of interest to students and researchers in the field of the history of education, and to those concerned with effective models for professional development.
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Assessing English: a trial collaborative standardised marking projectRecent policy developments in England have, to some extent, relaxed the hold of external, high-stakes assessment on teachers of students in the early years of secondary education. In such a context, there is the opportunity for teachers to reassert the importance of teacher assessment as the most reliable means of judging a student’s abilities. A recent project jointly undertaken by the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) and the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) was one attempt to trial a model for the collaborative standardised assessment of students’ writing. This article puts this project in the context of previous assessment initiatives in English and suggests that, given recent policy developments, now may be precisely the time for the profession to seek to be proactive in setting the assessment agenda.
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A tale of two conferences: L.A.T.E., two key moments in the development of ‘London' English and the questions that still need askingCurrent and recent policy around curriculum and pedagogy for English in England has seen a lack of principled thinking about what the subject should be and how it should best serve the needs of children. In postwar England, in London in particular, teachers and academics working within the London Association for the Teaching of English (L.A.T.E.) were engaged in just such principled thinking, driven by the need to formulate a ‘new' English in the context of a changing school landscape and a changing school population. Central to L.A.T.E.'s work was the focus on the child, and the need to devise a model of the subject that was, at its core, responsive to the experience, interests and language of students. Given the direction central policy around English has taken in the past 20 years, this article considers the importance of reevaluating L.A.T.E.'s work, and considers two key conferences in the history of the Association as important watershed moments in the development of these aspects of ‘London' English. In doing so, it argues that the questions for which L.A.T.E. members sought answers are precisely those that should be asked today, but that seem to be absent from policymakers' debates about English.
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'Readers' cognitive processes during IELTS reading tests: evidence from eye tracking'The research described in this report investigates readers’ mental processes as they complete onscreen IELTS (International English Language Testing System) reading test items. It employs up-to-date eye tracking technology to research readers’ eye movements and aims, among other things, to contribute to an understanding of the cognitive validity of reading test items (Glaser, 1991; Field forthcoming). Participants were a group of Malaysian undergraduates (n=71) taking an onscreen test consisting of two IELTS reading passages with a total of 11 test items. The eye movements of a random sample of these participants (n=38) were tracked. Questionnaire and stimulated recall interview data were also collected, and were important in order to interpret and explain the eye tracking data. Findings demonstrated significant differences between successful and unsuccessful test-takers on a number of dimensions, including their ability to read expeditiously (Khalifa and Weir, 2009), and their focus on particular aspects of the test items and the reading texts. This demonstrates the potential of eye tracking, in combination with post- hoc interview and questionnaire data, to offer new insights into the cognitive processes of successful and unsuccessful candidates in a reading test. It also gives unprecedented insights into the cognitive processing of successful and unsuccessful readers doing language tests. As a consequence, the findings should be of value to teachers and learners, and also to examination boards seeking to validate and prepare reading tests, as well as psycholinguists and others interested in the cognitive processes of readers.