The EDRC Journal of Learning and Teaching
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The EDRC Journal of Learning and Teaching Volume 1 Number 1 January 2016 ISSN 2411-3972 Editor-in-Chief Professor Dr. M. Maniruzzaman Executive Editor Dr. M. Enamul Hoque Editors Professor Md. Jahurul Islam Professor Ahmed Reza Professor Dr. M. Mamunur Rahman Professor Dr. Md. Muhasin Uddin Ranjit Podder Khandoker Montasir Hassan Ayesha Siddiqua Education and Development Research Council (EDRC) Dhaka, Bangladesh Website: www.edrcbd.org Email: [email protected] [email protected] 88-01712661241, 88-01715785156 1 Editorial Policies The EDRC Journal of Learning and Teaching (EJLT) published by Education and Development Research Council (EDRC) is an open access international journal embodying research papers, articles, book reviews and so forth rigorously peer-reviewed. The main objective of the EJLT is to provide a platform for the international scholars, academicians, practitioners and researchers to share the contemporary original thoughts and research findings in all fields of education with special emphasis on classroom practices. The EJLT quarterly publishes original papers, review papers, conceptual frameworks, analytical and simulation models, case studies, empirical research, technical notes, and book reviews. Selection of submissions for publication is based on relevance, clarity, topicality, individuality and interest to academics and practitioners. We firmly believe that ethical conduct is the most essential virtue of any academic activities. Hence, any act of plagiarism is a totally unacceptable academic misconduct. Upon receipt of a submission, the Board of Editors establishes a panel of reviewers for the purpose of reviewing the submission, and sends the submission to a Double-blind Peer-review Process. The Editorial Board then makes a decision on one of the following actions to be taken next: If the standard of written English language contained in the submission is not acceptable, the Board will return the submission to the author(s) and request that the submission be edited/rewritten by a person very proficient in English. This service is also offered by the editorial staff of EDRC at an additional cost. If the submission requires minor or major revisions as recommended by the reviewers, the editorial board will return the submission to the author(s). The author(s) must then modify the submission and return it to the board for final edit and publication. If the submission is rejected, the author(s) will be notified by email. He/she/they will also receive the comments made by the reviewers. Articles initially rejected by the journal may be submitted again after it has been modified/rewritten. If submission passes review and/or experiences any required rewrites, the Editorial Board conducts a final edit and then includes the article in the next issue of the journal to be published. This action constitutes publication and endorsement of the submission in the journal, and the review process for that submission is completed. The author(s) is notified by email of the endorsement and publication of the submission. The views expressed in the papers published in this journal are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and perspectives of the publisher and/or the Board of Editors. Dr. Md. Enamul Hoque Executive Editor 2 Table of Contents Page Prof. M. Maniruzzaman, PhD, PDW 04 Assessment Literacy and ESL/EFL Teachers Dr. Md. Enamul Hoque 09 Teaching to the EFL Curriculum or Teaching to the Test: An Investigation Ranjit Podder 34 Challenges of Implementing CLT at Secondary Level of Education in Bangladesh Ayesha Siddiqua 46 Impact of ELT Methodology: Students’ Attitudes and their Achievement Md. Zubair Al Mahmud 61 Md. Rezaul Karim Md. Rakibul Islam An Investigation of the Use of the Term Ms. among the University Students in Sylhet Abul Hayat 71 Naqibun Nabi Firoz Ahmed Using Reading Strategies for Developing EFL Reading Skill: A Study at Undergraduate Level in Bangladesh Sheikh Shahbaz Riad 92 Status of Learner-centred Participatory Approaches at Secondary Schools in Bangladesh Dr. Md. Shafi Uddin 101 A Survey on Farmers’ Practices for Prevalence of Natural Enemies of Yard Long Bean in Major Growing Areas of Bangladesh Mst. Shahanaz Khanam 112 Integrating Reading and Writing in the ELT Classroom Mohammad Majharul Haq 125 The Implications of Teaching and Testing English as a Global Language Khandoker Montasir Hassan 136 Shakespeare in the EFL Class at Tertiary Level: Difficulties and Possible Solutions 3 Assessment Literacy and ESL/EFL Teachers Prof. M. Maniruzzaman, PhD, PDW* Abstract Assessment is inseparably associated with ESL/EFL curriculum/course objectives and instructional techniques. Achieving learning outcomes indispensably depends on proper alignment of objectives, instruction, and assessment. Assessment literacy provides essential information on dealing with the varied facets of assessment modifying objectives, enhancing instruction, and facilitating learning. Hence, to be competent in assisting learners to achieve learning outcomes, ESL/EFL teachers need acquire assessment literacy in addition to knowledge of curriculum/course objectives and instructional strategies. This paper examines the pertinence of assessment literacy to ESL/EFL teachers. Keywords: Assessment, EFL/ESL, learning curriculum, literacy, instruction 1. Introduction Curriculum/course objectives, instructional strategies and assessment are inextricably interrelated and interdependent especially in second/foreign language education. To ensure the achievement of the learning outcomes, the establishment of appropriate alignment of these three components is as critical as demanding (Burger, 2008). Assessment literacy imparts imperative information on addressing the different issues relating to assessment contributing to modifying objectives and instruction in particular. Assessment literacy provides trainee teachers with knowledge of and training in the varied measurements – traditional and alternative (NCLRC, 2004) administered in classrooms so as to determine students’ progress, determine their general proficiency, diagnose the effectiveness of teaching, evaluate the impacts and appropriateness of materials (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010), ensure accountability of the teacher to him/herself, the administration and the students (Popham, 2009), and improve the institution in general based on their findings besides fine-tuning outcomes, revising the curriculum and instruction, and refining the assessment methods themselves (Greater Expectations Project on Accreditation and Assessment (2004). It is a prerequisite for a second/foreign language * Dr. M. Maniruzzaman, Professor in the Department of English at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh; e-mail: [email protected] 4 teacher to acquire essential professional competency to be enhanced by a well-planned and well-implemented professional development program embodying assessment literacy as one of its core components. This is because without assessment knowledge and expertise a teacher evidently remains ignorant about one of the three major constituents of a language course/program, and is hence incapable of employing proper instructional strategies resulting in the expected learning outcomes. 2. Assessment of Learning or Assessment for Learning To master relevant, required, balanced and adequate assessment literacy, a teacher needs to have both theoretical and practical information about the varied aspects of assessment. First, he/she has to learn what assessment is, how it is different from testing and evaluation, and what the purpose and function of an assessment are (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010; Coombe et al., 2007). Second, he/she has to learn to analyze and evaluate the designing, administering and scoring of a test by using the cornerstones– usefulness, validity, reliability, practicality, authenticity, beneficial washback, transparency, and security suggested by Coombe et al. (2007). Third, he/she has to understand and be trained in constructing and employing different kinds of assessments, especially “summative assessment” used periodically to assess what students know and do not know at a specific point in time, and “formative assessment” exploited as part of the instructional process and as a tool providing the information required to adjust teaching and learning while occurring (Burger, 2008). Fourth, a teacher has to learn to appropriately align an assessment with his/her instructional strategies and the course objectives/learning outcomes set according to Blooms’ Taxonomy and the ABCD format (Burger, 2008; Forehand, 2005; Maryland Faculty Online, 2001). Fifth, he/she has to acquire knowledge of alternative, authentic, and performance-based assessments (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996) such as peer-assessment, self-assessment, portfolio assessment (Davis & Ponnamperuma, 2005), project-based assessment (George Lucas Educational Foundation, 2001; Railsback, 2002) and so on complementing the traditional ones including particularly paper-and-pencil tests (NCLRC, 2004; Brown & Hudson, 1998). Sixth, a teacher has to have training in constructing and using scoring rubrics and checklists (NCLRC, 2004; Folse, 2006) immensely facilitating self-assessment, peer-assessment and portfolios in particular. Last but not least, he/she has to learn, believe, and practice that assessment is not of learning, but for learning. “When classroom assessments are conceived as assessments for learning, rather than assessments of learning, students will learn better what their