Standardization of the Saudi Secondary School Certificate Examinations and Their Anticipated Impact on Foreign Language Education

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Gumaa Siddiek
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
School Certificate

Reviving pedagogical translation

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Language Competency ◽  
Group Translation

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine to what extent translation may be an effective pedagogical tool for use by UK GCSE language students. It is offered as a contribution to the ongoing debate regarding the use of pedagogical translation. In March 2015, 41 students preparing for their GCSE Spanish exams were presented with a variety of translation-based activities, including a discussion about professional translation, a mistranslations exercise and a group translation task. The research design combined both translation as a means (explicative and process-oriented) and translation as an end (communicative and product-oriented), and was based upon a realistic, student-centred, socio-constructivist pedagogical foundation. Qualitative data, and a small amount of quantitative data, were collected via a post-session questionnaire and semi-structured group interview, through which students were asked about their experience of the translation sessions in order to answer the following questions: (1) According to students, does translation have a place in UK secondary school foreign language education? (2) If it does, what do students feel are its main benefits? (3) What form should translation activities take, according to students? Students felt that translation could add to their language classes in a variety of ways, including building their confidence, making their language learning more engaging, giving their learning a more ‘real-world’, practical focus and increasing their general language competency. They also felt that it was best delivered in the form of task-based group work. Students’ responses to the translation sessions were overwhelmingly positive, providing compelling support for further use of both explicative and communicative translation tasks in UK secondary school language education.

scholarly journals The 2016 National Matriculation and General Certificate of Secondary Education English Test: a Challenge to the Goal of Foreign Languages Education in Vietnamese Schools

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoang Van Van
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
School Education ◽  
Secondary School Education ◽  
General School ◽  
To Receive

Every year in Vietnam there are nearly a million Vietnamese 12 graders taking as compulsory the national general certificate of secondary education English testto be eligible to receive  general certificate of secondary school education. Since 2015, the English test has been used for students to achieve two goals: (1) to receive general certificate of secondary school education and (2) to gain entrance to Vietnamese universities and colleges. The test is referred to as “the national matriculation and general certificate of secondary education English test”. It has a clear format, clearly specified contents, a clear and detailed scoring scheme, and is made public in the Vietnamese mass media. However, looked at from both theoretical and practical levels, there are still problems with the test that need to be examined and discussed. This is the purpose of this paper. As a way of start, the paper will provide a description of the test. Then, it will examine some of its key qualities, and present its washback and impact on the Vietnamese general school foreign language education. In the conclusion, after summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of the test, the paper will conclude that due to its weaknesses in both content and format,and its long-term negative washback, the 2016 national matriculation and general certificate of secondary education English test presents a big challenge to the communication goal of the Vietnamese general foreign language education. The paper recommends that for the quality of foreign language teaching and learning in Vietnamese schools to be improved andfor the foreign language education in Vietnamese schools to meet the requirements of globalization in Vietnam, a radical renovation in both test format and test administration should be exercised.

scholarly journals Opinions of the Teachers Related with the Positive and Negative Aspects of the Authentic Task-Based Approach in Foreign Language Education

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Berna KARAKOC ◽  
Erdal BAY
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
5Th Grade ◽  
Implementation Stage ◽  
Made In

<p>This study has been made for researching the efficacy of the authentic task-based approach in secondary school 5th grade foreign language course. Interview technique from the qualitative research method is used in the study. The data is collected through the semi-structured interviews and the opinions of the teachers. The research process is made in April-May 2015 and is carried out with 5th grade students of Kadriye Abdulmecit Özgözen Secondary School and total 52 students as to be 26 in control group and 26 in experimental group have participated to the study. The opinions of the teachers in the study related with the authentic tasks are generally considered as positive however, they mention about some negativities that may be confronted during the implementation stage.</p><strong></strong>

Foreign Language Education and Dynamics of Foreign Language Competence

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 2141-2153
Author(s):  
Eva Stranovská ◽  
Silvia Hvozdíková ◽  
Dáša Munková ◽  
Gadušová Zdenka
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Competence
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document