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- Sundqvist, Pia, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Rater Training on the Assessment of L2 English Oral Proficiency
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Modern Language Methodology. - Kristiansand, Norge : University of Agder. - 1894-2245. ; 8:1, s. 3-29
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The main objective of this study was to examine whether a Rater Identity Development (RID)program would increase interrater reliability and improve calibration of scores againstbenchmarks in the assessment of second/foreign language English oral proficiency. Elevenprimary school teachers-as-raters participated. A pretest–intervention/RID–posttest designwas employed and data included 220 assessments of student performances. Two types ofrater-reliability analyses were conducted: first, estimates of the intraclass correlationcoefficient two-way random effects model, in order to indicate the extent to which raterswere consistent in their rankings, and second, a many-facet Rasch measurement analysis,extended through FACETS®, to explore variation regarding systematic differences of raterseverity/leniency. Results showed improvement in terms of consistency, presumably as aresult of training; simultaneously, the differences in severity became greater. Results suggestthat future rater training may draw on central components of RID, such as core concepts inlanguage assessment, individual feedback, and social moderation work.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Sundqvist, Pia, 1965-
(författare)
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Commercial-off-the-shelf games in the digital wild and L2 learner vocabulary
- 2019
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Ingår i: Language Learning & Technology. - Honolulu, HI : National Foreign Language Resource Center. - 1094-3501. ; 23:1, s. 87-113
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purposes of this study are to examine the relation between playing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games in the wild and L2 English vocabulary and to offer comparisons with non-gamers’ vocabulary. Data were collected from two samples of teenage L2 English learners in Sweden, Sample A (N = 1,069) and Sample B (N = 16). Questionnaires and English grades were collected from A and B, productive and receptive vocabulary tests from A, and interviews and essays from B. A quantitative-dominant mixed-methods approach was adopted. Results showed a significant positive correlation between time played and test scores. They also showed that time played was related to types of games played. Multiple regression analysis including time played and types of games as predictor variables and L2 vocabulary as the outcome variable showed that the effect from type disappeared when it was entered into the model, whereas time remained significant. A close examination of 45 words (productive test) revealed significantly higher scores for gamers (compared with non-gamers) at all vocabulary frequency levels, and for particularly difficult words. Overall, findings from Sample B regarding gaming habits and vocabulary (i.e., use of advanced or infrequent words in essays) reflected the results from Sample A, making it possible to conclude that playing COTS games matters for L2 learner vocabulary.
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| 4. |
- Sundqvist, Pia, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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The teacher as examiner of L2 oral tests : A challenge to standardization
- 2018
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Ingår i: Language Testing. - : Sage Publications. - 0265-5322 .- 1477-0946. ; 35:2, s. 217-238
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present paper looks at the issue of standardization in L2 oral testing. Whereas external examiners are frequently used globally, some countries opt for test-takers’ own teachers as examiners instead. In the present study, Sweden is used as a case in point, with a focus on the mandatory, high-stakes, summative, 9th-grade national test in English (speaking part). The national test has the typical characteristics of standardized tests and its main objective is to contribute to equity in assessment and grading on a national level. However, using teachers as examiners raises problems for standardization. The aim of this study is to examine teachers’/examiners’ practices and views regarding four aspects of the speaking test – test-taker grouping, recording practices, the actual test occasion, and examiner participation in students’ test interactions – and to discuss findings in relation to issues concerning the normativity and practical feasibility of standardization, taking the perspectives of test-takers, teachers/examiners, and test constructors into account. In order to answer research questions linked to these four aspects of L2 oral testing, self-report survey data from a random sample of teachers (N = 204) and teacher interviews (N = 11) were collected and quantitative data were analyzed using inferential statistics. Survey findings revealed that despite thorough instructions, teacher practices and views vary greatly across all aspects, which was further confirmed by interview data. Three background variables – teacher certification, work experience, gender – were investigated to see whether they could provide explanations. Whereas certification and gender did not contribute significantly to explaining the findings, work experience bore some relevance, but effect sizes were generally small. The study concludes that using teachers as examiners is a well-functioning procedure in terms of assessment for learning, but raises doubts regarding assessment of learning and standardization; a solution for test authorities could be to frame the test as non-standardized.
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| 6. |
- Sundqvist, Pia, 1965-
(författare)
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About a boy : A gamer and L2 English speaker coming into being by use of self-access
- 2015
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Ingår i: Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal. - 2185-3762. ; 6:4, s. 352-364
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This is an interview study of Eldin, a 14-year-old Bosnian boy living in Sweden since the age of six. The aim is to investigate how Eldin became a gamer and how he, strongly motivated, learned foreign/second (L2) English mainly through self-access gameplay. Using language learning motivation theories, Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) L2 Motivational Self System and Dweck’s (2006) concept of mindsets, the questions are: (i) By whom and at what age was the learner introduced to video games?, (ii) What was it about the games that kept the learner motivated for two years before he started to play ‘for real’?, and (iii) How does the learner himself describe his process of language learning? Data consist of an in-depth interview and three university-level vocabulary/multiple-choice tests measuring English proficiency. Guided by the questions, interview data were analyzed qualitatively. Eldin’s mindset seems to favor naturalistic language learning, matching his interest in gaming. Experiences of having fun and daring to use ‘trial-and-error’ in gaming have contributed to his English proficiency, which is equivalent to a passing grade at second-semester university level. Elements of gaming (in particular, competition, stories, and escapism) appeal to Eldin, thereby indirectly contributing to his successful learning of English.
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| 7. |
- Sundqvist, Pia, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Engelska på fritiden och engelska i skolan : en omöjlig ekvation?
- 2015
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Ingår i: Educare. - Malmö : Malmö högskola. - 1653-1868 .- 2004-5190. ; :1, s. 53-71
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present article explores challenges facing English language classrooms in Sweden and elsewhere due to new informal out-of-school language learning settings created by the current media landscape. The article also discusses the empowerment of teachers and teachers’ perceived ability to bridge the gap between the English used in school and the English used outside of school (extramural English) in various activities (blogging, playing digital games, watching TV/films etc.). Generally young people engage in extramural English activities on a voluntary basis and because of a specific interest; that is, they do not commonly do it for the purpose of language learning. As a consequence, they may become discouraged and demotivated during English classes in school. After an extensive literature review about motivation/demotivation in second language learning in general, and the current media landscape in relation to English language learning in particular, this article discusses problems with learner demotivation, the empowerment of teachers, and the development of teaching practices in order to meet the new challenges. The discussion draws on the authors’ experiences of in-service training programs (related to language teaching methodology) and on the results of a small-scale survey carried out among English teachers participating in Boost for teachers (Lärarlyftet).
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| 8. |
- Sundqvist, Pia, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Out-of-school digital gameplay and in-school L2 English vocabulary outcomes
- 2015
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Ingår i: System. - : Elsevier. - 0346-251X. ; 51, s. 65-76
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the present study is to examine the relation between out-of-school digital gameplay and in-school L2 English vocabulary measures and grading outcomes. Data were originally collected from a sample of 80 teenage Swedish L2 English learners and comprise a questionnaire, language diaries, vocabulary tests, assessed essays, and grades. Using an observational post-hoc design, three Digital Game Groups (DGGs) were created based on frequency of gameplay: (1) non-gamers (0 h/week), (2) moderate gamers (<5 h/week), and (3) frequent gamers (≥5 h/week). Results show that DGG3 had the highest rated essays, used the most advanced vocabulary in the essays, and had the highest grades, closely followed by DGG1, while DGG2 trailed behind. For the vocabulary tests, DGG3 was followed by DGG2 and DGG1, indicating that gameplay aligns more directly with vocabulary test scores than vocabulary indicators drawn from essays. Due to the gender distribution of non-gamers (predominantly girls) and frequent gamers (exclusively boys), a subsidiary aim is to investigate how gameplay correlates with outcomes for boys and girls: significant correlations were found for gameplay–vocabulary tests/English grades for the boys.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Sundqvist, Pia, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Language-related computer use : Focus on young L2 English learners in Sweden
- 2014
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Ingår i: ReCALL. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0958-3440 .- 1474-0109. ; 26:1, s. 3-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents findings from a study investigating young English language learners (YELLs) in Sweden in 4th grade (N=76, aged 10–11). Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire and a one-week language diary. The main purpose was to examine the learners’ L2 English language-related activities outside of school in general, and their use of computers and engagement in playing digital games in particular. A comparison is made between language-related activities in English, Swedish, and other languages. Another purpose was to see whether there is a relationship between playing digital games and (a) gender, (b) L1, (c) motivation for learning English, (d) self-assessed English ability, and (e) self-reported strategies for speaking English. In order to do so, the sample was divided into three digitalgame groups, (1) non-gamers, (2) moderate, and (3) frequent gamers (>4 hours/week), based on diary data (using self-reported times for playing digital games in English). Results showedthat YELLs are extensively involved in extramural English (EE) activities (M=7.2 hrs/w).There are statistically significant gender differences, boys (11.5 hrs/w) and girls (5.1 hrs/w; p < .01), the reason being boys’ greater time investment in digital gaming and watching films.The girls, on the other hand, spent significantly more time on pastime language-relatedactivities in Swedish (11.5 hrs/w) than the boys (8.0 hrs/w; p < .05), the reason being girls’greater time investment in facebooking. Investigation of the digital game groups revealed that group (1) was predominantly female, (2) a mix, and (3) predominantly male. YELLs with an L1 other than Swedish were overrepresented in group (3). Motivation and self-assessed English ability were high across all groups. Finally, regarding the self-reported strategies, code-switching to one’s L1 was more commonly reported by non- and moderate gamers than frequent gamers.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Sandlund, Erica, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Diverging task orientations in L2 oral proficiency tests : a conversation analytic approach to participant understandings of pre-set discussion tasks
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Modern Language Methodology. - 1894-2245. ; 2:1, s. 1-21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Presumably most students strive to do well in school and on national tests. However, even in standardized tests, students’ and examiners’ expectations on what it means to ‘do well’ may diverge in ways that are consequential to performance and assessment. In this paper, we examine how students and teachers in an L2 English peer–peer speaking national test (9th grade) display their understandings of appropriate ways of dealing with pre-set discussion tasks. Using conversation analysis and 38 recorded national tests in English in Sweden, we demonstrate, e.g., how teachers’ displayed understandings of how tasks should be appropriately handled steer the interactional trajectory between students in particular directions. The analysis shows that participants spend much time on negotiating understandings of the task-at-hand. We argue that in terms of valid assessment of oral proficiency, task understandings merit more attention, as task negotiations inevitably generate different conditions for different dyads and teachers.
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| 13. |
- Sundqvist, Pia, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Classroom vs. extramural English : Teachers dealing with demotivation
- 2013
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Ingår i: Language and Linguistics Compass. - : Wiley. - 1749-818X. ; 7:6, s. 329-338
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present article explores challenges facing EFL classrooms in Sweden due to new informal out-of-school language learning settings created by the current media landscape. A recent Swedish national evaluation identifies that a problematic situation in secondary school EFL classrooms has emerged. EFL teachers find it difficult to bridge the gap (cf. Olsson 2011) between the English used in school and the English used outside of school, extramural English (Sundqvist 2009). As a consequence, the pupils (aged 13–16) become discouraged and demotivated. Based on experiences from language teaching methodology in-service training programs and a small-scale survey, the article discusses the problem with demotivation, the empowerment of EFL teachers, and the development of teaching practices in order to meet the new challenges. The article argues that the challenges that Swedish EFL teachers currently meet can be viewed as an early indication that similar challenges are likely to emerge also in EFL classrooms elsewhere.
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