DOCSLIB.ORG

Gender Dynamics in Peer Interaction and Their Influence on Second Language Learning in the English-As-A-Second Language Classroom Xiulian Zhu

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Gender Dynamics in Peer Interaction and Their Influence on Second Language Learning in the English-As-A-Second Language Classroom Xiulian Zhu The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Doctoral Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects 2009 Gender dynamics in peer interaction and their influence on second language learning in the English-as-a-second language classroom Xiulian Zhu Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Zhu, Xiulian, "Gender dynamics in peer interaction and their influence on second language learning in the English-as-a-second language classroom" (2009). Doctoral Dissertations. 166. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/166 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of San Francisco GENDER DYNAMICS IN PEER INTERACTION AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE ENGLISH-AS-A-SECOND-LANGUAGE CLASSROOM A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education International and Multicultural Education Department In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Education by 朱秀蓮 Hsiu-Lien Chu San Francisco May 2009 THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO Dissertation Abstract Gender Dynamics in Peer Interaction and Their Influence on Second Language Learning in the English-as-a-Second-Language Classroom In the field of second language acquisition, few studies have addressed the issue of gender, particularly its influence in class participation. This study investigates gender in three areas: gender dynamics, interactional styles, and its impact on second language learning. Qualitative research was conducted in a university-level ESL program. Data were collected for over two months including classroom observations, fieldnotes, and individual interviews. Ten participants, five males and five females, were selected from diverse cultural backgrounds. Data analysis was based on a dynamic, interactional, scaffolding, and holistic (D.I.S.H.) approach, offered by the diversity framework of language and gender studies and Vygotsky’s the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The results showed that each participant carried his or her own repertoire of gender dynamics, which contained its potentials and could be expanded when social relations varied. These repertoires centered on familiarity, which served as a factor to mediate gender dynamics. Gender was imbedded in seven major interactional styles, from word, phrase, and sentence level to discourse levels. In addition, gender promoted as well as hindered second language learning in linguistic, psychological, and social levels. Familiarity not only influenced gender dynamics but also second language learning. The findings imply that the view of fixed interaction is challenged. Equal time of participation could be achieved not by increasing the amount of time but by increasing familiarity. Instructors and curriculum developers may design activities to establish familiarity. Social conversations meet the needs of language learners for establishing familiarity. Therefore, teaching and learning could be accomplished through guided or theme-based social conversations, which facilitate gender dynamics as well as create opportunities for second language practices. Hsiu-Lien Chu Susan Katz Hsiu-Lien Chu, Author Susan Roberta Katz Chairperson, Dissertation Committee ii This dissertation, written under the direction of the candidate’s dissertation committee and approved by the members of the committee, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. The content and research methodologies presented in this work represent the work of the candidate alone. Hsiu-Lien Chu May 19, 2009 Candidate Date Dissertation Committee Susan Katz May 19, 2009 Chairperson Shabnam Koirala-Azad May 8, 2009 Stephanie Vandrick May 8, 2009 iii This dissertation is dedicated to God & My Family iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dissertation Topic The original idea was from Dr. Mohammad Popal’s class of Sociology of Language Where I learned about gender and language Dr. Susan Katz’s class of Cross-Cultural Literacy Where I met Vygotsky Without them all I would not have thought about gender in collaborative learning. Dissertation Committee Members The main resource for my dissertation Dr. Susan Katz Warm and helpful Cared about me when I faced difficulties Led me to positive thinking Effective leadership and compliments Guided me to move forward efficiently Dr. Koirala-Azad Patient and friendly . Guided me to design my methodology Strengthened my understanding about gender Professor Vandrick Considerate and careful Shared her bibliography and published articles Built on the knowledge of gender in ESL pedagogy Provided immediate help when I encountered difficulties Sponsors Dr. Allen and Dorothy Calvin Through their generosity I received the Allen and Dorothy Calvin Doctoral Dissertation Award To assist in my research The ESL Program The coordinator of the ESL program Allowed me to conduct this research Professor Shelwyn Corrigan Facilitated my data collection All Participants Provided insights to guide my study v Family The main support of my life Father, How-Suey Encouraged me by this Chinese poem 放開肚量吃飯 打起精神讀書 Mother, Mei-Hsien Supported me on the phone Brother, Hsien-Ping Motivated me through email Second Mother, Francoise Martynoff Loves me as her daughter Cares about me from her heart Taught me how to face difficulties Through her humor and jokes English Teachers and Professors Influential teachers in my life From high school to graduate school Prepared me for doctoral study In a second language Rita Sun Pi-Fang Unlocked my potential for learning English Ming Mei Lin Taught me English pronunciation for a speech contest Dr. Pi-Hua Tsai Inspired me to learn English actively Dr. Michael Reed Encouraged me to advance to doctoral study Supportive Friends Ken Yoshioka Helped me to format the layout of my dissertation Carol Spector Brainstormed key words for searching journal articles Jayson Madriaga Helped me to access a linguistic database Sandra Jewett Supported me in the journey of writing Church Friends Prayed for me and my family I have so many friends to thank vi God I thank God for creating all social connections Keeping my parents good health Listening to my prayers This dissertation is completed Under God’s Love vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER I: THE RESEARCH PROBLEM .................................................................... 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem................................................................................................ 6 Background and Need for the Study............................................................................... 8 Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................................... 9 Research Questions......................................................................................................... 9 Theoretical Framework................................................................................................. 10 Delimitations and Limitations....................................................................................... 14 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 16 Definition of Terms....................................................................................................... 17 Summary....................................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE........................................................... 20 Introduction................................................................................................................... 20 Gender and Interaction.................................................................................................. 20 Gender....................................................................................................................... 21 Language and Gender ............................................................................................... 23 Gender and Interactional Styles ................................................................................ 26 Gender and Interaction in the ESL classroom .......................................................... 27 Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Acquisition............................................. 28 Sociocultural Theory................................................................................................. 28 Scaffolding in the Second Language Classroom ...................................................... 35 Gender and Second Language Acquisition..................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Language Variation and Ethnicity in a Multicultural East London Secondary School
    Language Variation and Ethnicity in a Multicultural East London Secondary School Shivonne Marie Gates Queen Mary, University of London April 2019 Abstract Multicultural London English (MLE) has been described as a new multiethnolect borne out of indirect language contact among ethnically-diverse adolescent friendship groups (Cheshire et al. 2011). Evidence of ethnic stratification was also found: for example, “non-Anglo” boys were more likely to use innovative MLE diphthong variants than other (male and female) participants. However, the data analysed by Cheshire and colleagues has limited ethnographic information and as such the role that ethnicity plays in language change and variation in London remains unclear. This is not dissimilar to other work on multiethnolects, which presents an orientation to a multiethnic identity as more salient than different ethnic identities (e.g. Freywald et al. 2011). This thesis therefore examines language variation in a different MLE-speaking adolescent community to shed light on the dynamics of ethnicity in a multicultural context. Data were gathered through a 12-month ethnography of a Year Ten (14-15 years old) cohort at Riverton, a multi-ethnic secondary school in Newham, East London, and include field notes and interviews with 27 students (19 girls, 8 boys). A full multivariate analysis of the face and price vowels alongside a quantitative description of individual linguistic repertoires sheds light on MLE’s status as the new London vernacular. Building on the findings of Cheshire et al. (2011), the present study suggests that language variation by ethnicity can have social meaning in multi-ethnic communities. There are apparent ethnolinguistic repertoires: ethnic minority boys use more advanced vowel realisations alongside high rates of DH-stopping, and the more innovative was/were levelling system.
    [Show full text]
  • Language and Gender: Differences and Similarities
    2013 International Conference on Advances in Social Science, Humanities, and Management (ASSHM 2013) Language and Gender: Differences and Similarities Lihong Gu Foreign Language Teaching Department, Hebei Finance University No.3188, Hengxiang St. Baoding, Hebei Province, China Abstract gender differences and similarities. Firstly, the previous researches into gender differences are reviewed, then, The relationship between gender and language has been some problems existing in research methodology and studied with main focus on differences between the research findings are pointed out, and finally some language of male and female from different angles with suggestions are put forward that researchers should pay different methodologies. The research findings lay more attention to the similarities between the language different emphasis on the differences, but there are of male and female, the similarities play the same some problems in the researches. This paper will review important part as differences in research. the previous researches into gender differences, then point out the problems existing in methodology and 2. Review of the researches into gender and research findings, and finally propose that researchers language should pay more attention to the similarities between the language of both genders, the similarities play the 2.1. The Beginning of the research same important part as well as differences. Early in the 1970s, linguists, psychologists began to Keywords: language, gender, differences, similarities attach great importance to differences between the language of male and female, the representatives were Key, Lakoff and Thorne. The mainstream views 1. Introduction include the deficit theory by Lakoff (1975), who “Language and gender” refers to the relationship considers that female language is inferior to male between the language of male and female.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Gender and Language Learning Strategies in Learning English
    THE ROLE OF GENDER AND LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY OKTAY ASLAN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING September 2009 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer AYATA Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Prof. Dr. Wolf KÖN ĐG Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gölge SEFERO ĞLU Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oya Yerin GÜNER Đ (METU, EDS) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gölge SEFERO ĞLU (METU, ELT) Assist. Prof. Dr. Çi ğdem Sa ğın ŞĐ MŞEK (METU, ELT) ii I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name: Oktay ASLAN Signature: iii ABSTRACT THE ROLE OF GENDER AND LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH Aslan, Oktay M.A., Program of English Language Teaching Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu September 2009, 158 Pages This study intended to investigate the language learning strategies used by learners of English as a foreign language, aiming to find the amount of strategies and the domain differences of the strategies used; to reveal the link between strategy use and success levels; and to find out the difference in strategy use between genders and its influence on their achievement in English.
    [Show full text]
  • Linking Gender and Second Language Education in a Database
    LINKING GENDER AND SECOND LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN A DATABASE ROSA MARÍA JIMÉNEZ CATALÁN Universidad de La Rioja (España) RESUMEN Este artículo define los fundamentos de una base de datos especializada en los factores sexo/"genero" en el aprendizaje y enseñanza de lenguas. En primer lugar, describimos las conexiones entre "género", sexo, coeducación, y aprendizaje/enseñanza de lenguas. En segundo lugar, repasamos las principales bases de datos disponibles en red y en CD-ROM relacionadas con los factores sexo/"género",y coeducación, dentro del campo de aprendizaje y enseñanza de segundas lenguas. Por último, esbozamos un posible modelo de base de datos que puede ser de utilidad a la hora de investigar y enseñar cuestiones relacionadas con los factores sexo/"genero", y coeducación, en el contexto de aprendizaje y enseñanza de segundas lenguas. PALABRAS CLAVE Enseñanza y aprendizaje de L2, "genero", coeducación ABSTRACT This paper defines the basis for a datábase specialised in sex/gender and language education. First, it places the context with a description of the main connections between gender, sex, coeducation and second language learning and teaching. Second, it reports a survey of the main Internet and CD-ROM da- tabases available for searching information on sex/gender/coeducation within the field of second language learning and teaching. The paper ends with a des- cription of a tentative model of datábase designed with the purpose of filling a gap in bibliographical references and audio-visual resources useful for either researching or teaching issues related to sex/gender/ and coeducation within the context of second language learning and teaching.
    [Show full text]
  • Language Learning Strategies and Students' Performance in ESL
    Global Language Review (GLR) DOI: 10.31703/glr.2018(III-I).02 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/glr.2018(III-I).02 Language Learning Strategies p-ISSN: 2663-3299 | e-ISSN: 2663-3841 and Students’ Performance in L-ISSN: 2663-3299 ESL Classrooms Vol. III (2018) | Page: 17 – 38 Arshad Ali Khan* Sayyed Rashid Ali Shah† Hussain Ahmad‡ Abstract: This study investigates the Introduction relation of language learning strategies, memory, cognitive, compensation, In the field of education and science, metacognitive, social and affective most of the research is carried out in strategy with the language performance of English. Being the primary and undergraduate students in ESL classroom. secondary language of many Data from the sample of 97 male and 63 countries around the world, English is female learners in a private university was learned and taught all over the world. collected through Strategy Inventory for SLA researches mainly focus on Language Learning (SILL) by Oxford understanding the acquisition process (1990), which is based on 50 items on the through establishing general learning pattern of five-point Likert scale. Students’ principles which can be dealt GPA scores were collected for the relevant pedagogically. As a result many course in order to examine language learner related characteristics are performance. For descriptive and discovered that can influence the inferential statistics, the data have been language learning process. Many analyzed through SPSS 15.0. The results learner related variables have been showed a significant difference between studied by researchers including age, used language strategy and performance. gender, motivation, personality, The cognitive and memory strategies were cognitive style and learning strategies more significant while social and affective etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender and Language Use
    GENDER AND LANGUAGE USE OLeh: Rahmi (The Lecturer of Dakwah and Communication Faculty, UIN Ar-Raniry Darussalam Banda Aceh) Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Gender issue which is a social construction according to culture and belief has been studied in language use since 1970s. When a language is expressed, it is considered that men and women use different expressions. There are some theories that have been proposed related to this concern such as the Deficit Theory, the Dominance Theory, the Radical Theory, the Difference Theory and the Reformist Theory. Gender in language use which is one of discussions in pragmatics consists of some terminologies that are used to represent men and women directly in a language, those are Grammatical Gender, Lexical Gender, Referential Gender and Social Gender. Furthermore, lots of stereotypes found express more negative opinions related to the language of women compared to men. Some factors affect gendered use of linguistic varieties like work and marriage opportunities, industrialization and urbanization, and social network. In education in particular, three areas important to be focused on, those are subject matter, teaching and learning process and classroom material. ABSTRAK Isu gender yang merupakan sebuah konstruksi sosial dalam suatu budaya dan kebudayaan tertentu telah dipelajari dalam penggunaan bahasa sejak tahun 1970an. Ketika bahasa dieekspresikan, maka diyakini bahwa laki-laki dan perempuan menggunakan bahasa yang berbeda. Ada beberapa teori yang dikembangkan yang berkenaan dengan isu tersebut, diantaranya the Deficit Theory, the Dominance Theory, the Radical Theory, the Difference Theory and the Reformist Theory. Gender dalam penggunaan bahasa yang sering didiskusikan dalam studi pragmatic memiliki beberapa istilah yang menunjukkan perbedaan penggunaan bahasa pria dan wanita secara langsung diantaranya Grammatical Gender, Lexical Gender, Referential Gender and Social Gender.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender and Language Acquisition
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals Research on Humanities and Social Sciences www.iiste.org ISSN (Paper)2224-5766 ISSN (Online)2225-0484 (Online) Vol.4, No.19, 2014 Gender and Language Acquisition Innocent E. Agu Department of English and Literary Studies, Federal University, Wukari-Nigeria Email: [email protected] Abstract Opinions have been divergent concerning the rate of language acquisition between male and female learners. This paper examined the claims that male learners acquire language better and faster than their female counterparts using phonology of English as a unit of language study. The scores of forty students (twenty males and twenty females) of the Federal College of Education Yola in phonology-related courses were examined. One research question and a null hypothesis were posed. A t-test of the scores gave a verdict of no significant difference in the mean scores of the two groups. The study recommended that equal educational opportunities should be provided to all students irrespective of their gender differences Introduction In this paper, the very simplified definition of gender as ‘’...the fact of being male or female’’ (Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1981) is adopted. The paper examines the role gender plays in the acquisition of language. In other words, such questions that have been begging for answer for quite some time are addressed. Some of these include: Do women learn languages (in this case the English language) better than men? Are there certain social dispositions/factors that make a particular gender learn language faster than the other? Since language itself is a set of very intricate activities, the paper focuses on one aspect of language— phonology of English.
    [Show full text]
  • Why the Long FACE?: Ethnic Stratification and Variation in the London Diphthong System
    University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics Volume 24 Issue 2 Selected Papers from New Ways of Article 6 Analyzing Variation (NWAV 46) 10-15-2018 Why the Long FACE?: Ethnic Stratification and ariationV in the London Diphthong System Shivonne M. Gates Queen Mary University of London Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl Recommended Citation Gates, Shivonne M. (2018) "Why the Long FACE?: Ethnic Stratification and ariationV in the London Diphthong System," University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: Vol. 24 : Iss. 2 , Article 6. Available at: https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol24/iss2/6 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol24/iss2/6 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Why the Long FACE?: Ethnic Stratification and ariationV in the London Diphthong System Abstract This study attempts to challenge the monolithic representation of race and ethnicity in multicultural contexts in the UK. Whilst there are various descriptions of ethnic varieties of British English (e.g., Kirkham 2012, Rampton 2006, Sebba 1993, Sharma 2011), our understanding of race and ethnicity in the UK and its role in language variation and change is still rather limited. Recent work on Multicultural London English (MLE) found some evidence of ethnic stratification; for example, non-Anglo" " boys were often more likely to use innovative linguistic features (Cheshire et al. 2011). Despite this, MLE is described as an "ethnically-neutral variable repertoire" (Cheshire et al. 2013). In order to shed light on the dynamics of race and ethnicity in multicultural contexts, the present study uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine a different diverse inner London adolescent community.
    [Show full text]
  • City Research Online
    City Research Online City, University of London Institutional Repository Citation: Litosseliti, E. ORCID: 0000-0002-3305-4713, Gill, R. ORCID: 0000-0002-2715- 1867 and Favaro, L. (2019). Postfeminism as a critical tool for gender and language study. Gender and Language, 13(1), pp. 1-22. doi: 10.1558/genl.34599 This is the accepted version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/19895/ Link to published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/genl.34599 Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to. Reuse: Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. City Research Online: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/ [email protected] Postfeminism as a critical tool for gender and language (study) Lia Litosseliti, Ros Gill and Laura Favaro City, University of London Abstract: This article introduces the concept of postfeminism and highlights its value for research in language and gender studies. After discussing theoretical, historical and backlash perspectives, we advance an understanding of postfeminism as a sensibility – a patterned-yet-contradictory phenomenon intimately connected to neoliberalism.
    [Show full text]
  • Differences in Language Use by Male and Female Students in Tertiary Academia in Dhaka City
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by BRAC University Institutional Repository Differences in Language Use by Male and Female Students in Tertiary Academia in Dhaka City Ishrat Akhter ID: 11103026 Department of English and Humanities December 2014 \ BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Differences in Language Use by Male and Female Students in Tertiary Academia in Dhaka City A Thesis Submitted to the Department of English and Humanities of BRAC University by Ishrat Akhter ID: 11103026 In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics December 2014 Abstract Gender variation in language use has become a very common issue in everyday discourses of our life. When we use language frequently, we generally make differences from each other. The differences mainly occur among male and female. Now days, a variety of language use are occurring mostly among the young people of Bangladesh. This paper examines the common difference and reasons behind variation of language use among the undergraduate students of private universities of Dhaka city in Bangladesh. Questionnaires were given to fifty students of five well-known private universities of the capital of Dhaka to conduct the survey. It was found that the students have multiple reasons behind the variation of language use between male and female. Acknowledgement I would like to express my gratitude towards my supervisor, Mr. Mohibul Hasanfor his valuable advices, guidance, and time in this research. Without his understanding and assistance, the present study would not have been completed. I would also like to thank Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • A Learning Experience of the Gender Perspective in English Teaching Contexts
    http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/profile.v19n1.56209 A Learning Experience of the Gender Perspective in English Teaching Contexts Aprendizajes de la perspectiva de género en los escenarios para la enseñanza del inglés * Claudia Patricia Mojica1 Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia Harold Castañeda-Peña** Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Bogotá, Colombia Eighteen Colombian English teachers participated in a course with an emphasis on gender and foreign language teaching in a Master’s program in Bogotá. This text describes the design, implementation, and the learning in this educational experience. The analysis of the course was based on a view of learning as a process of participation rooted in the praxis of English teachers’ classrooms. This experience reveals that gender is a relevant category in the frame of English language teacher education as it provides teachers with tools from a broader social and educational perspective. This reflection also leads to implications for teachers’ practices with a gender perspective. Key words: English teachers, gender and foreign language education, language teacher education, learning, participation. Dieciocho profesores de inglés participaron en un curso con énfasis en género y la enseñanza de lengua extranjera, en el marco de un programa de maestría en Bogotá. Este texto describe el diseño, la implementación y los aprendizajes que surgen en esta experiencia educativa. El análisis del curso se basa en una comprensión del aprendizaje como el resultado de un proceso de participación en la práctica de la enseñanza de los docentes. Esta experiencia revela que género es una categoría importante en el marco de la educación de la enseñanza del inglés, por cuanto aporta elementos desde una perspectiva social y educativa.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Gender in Oral Proficiency Testing
    The impact of gender in oral pro ciency testing Kieran O’Loughlin The University of Melbourne To date, the role of gender in speaking tests has received limited attention in language testing research. It is possible in oral interviews, for instance, that both interviewing and rating may be highly gendered processes. In tests like the IELTS interview, where the interviewer also acts as the rater, this poses the question of whether a gender effect, if it exists, stems from the interview itself, the rating decision or a combination of both these ‘events’. The data collected for this study consisted of the audio-taped performances of 8 female and 8 male test-takers who undertook a practice IELTS interview on two different occasions, once with a female interviewer and once with a male interviewer. The interviews were tran- scribed and analysed in relation to previously identi ed features of gendered lang- uage use, namely overlaps, interruptions and minimal responses. The scores later assigned by 4 raters (2 males and 2 females) to each of the 32 interviews were also examined in relation to the gender of both raters and test-takers using multi- faceted Rasch bias analyses. The results from both the discourse and test score analyses indicated that gender did not have a signi cant impact on the IELTS interview. These ndings are interpreted in relation to more recent thinking about gender in language use. I Introduction Recent research into oral language interviews has indicated that inter- viewers vary considerably from each other in relation to their test behaviour. Such variability includes the amount of support they give to candidates, the amount of rapport they establish with candidates and the extent to which they follow the instructions relevant to their role (e.g., Young and Milanovic, 1992; Brown and Hill, 1996; Lazara- ton, 1996; McNamara and Lumley, 1997; Morton et al., 1997).
    [Show full text]