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Exploring the Idea of “Assessment with Learners” in Discussing Language Assessment Literacy
Get PDFInspired by Fulcher’s (2012) data-driven approach to language assessment literacy (LAL), I introduce learners’ voices as a way to better understand teachers’ LAL. I also incorporate learnings from recent literature on child development regarding research with children to suggest that we consider assessment with learners in LAL and language assessment studies more generally. Assessment with learners offers a new perspective on discussions of LAL as well as a new means of assisting learners to enhance their own understanding of how assessment works. Drawing from examples in my own work on LAL, I address a few potential benefits of incorporating learners’ voices in LAL discussions. With an emphasis on “by doing” and “learner-centered” elements, assessment with learners can resonate well with Fulcher’s apprenticeship content approach to LAL
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Evolution of the Patient-general Practitioner Relationship
Get PDFThe present paper aims to highlight the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the way the Patient-general Practitioner (GP) relationship evolved throughout the pandemic period. Patients' communication with the GP has acquired special importance throughout the pandemic, considering the significant number of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and also taking into account the health authorities' recommendations for the population to immediately contact their GP at the first potential symptoms of SARS-COV-2 infection. The research aims to show the changes in patients' communication with their GP, taking into account both the epidemiological context generated by the pandemic and the increased interaction between the two parties, due to the raised patients' need to reach the GP more often than before. For a thorough analysis of this matter, quantitative research was conducted using the survey method and the questionnaire as a tool. The research was performed on a sample of over 200 patients from the largest polyclinics in Bucharest, Romania, between December 2021 and February 2022. The main findings of the study showed that with the outbreak of the pandemic, the communication between patients and their GP, both online and offline, increased significantly, also the patients' confidence in the GPs' advice grew, as well as patients' adherence to the treatment indicated by the physician. The study indicated that analyzing the evolution of the patient-GP relationship during and after the COVID-19 pandemic is an important asset that allows polyclinics to identify the factors that have the most influence on improving communication between the GP and their patients. In this way, in order to improve the quality of medical services and the patients' journey, polyclinics can monitor over time the actions that have the most impact on improving the patient-GP relationship
The Effects of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) Feedback on Students’ English Writing Quality: A Systematic Literature Review
Get PDFThe purpose of this review is to examine the effects of automated writing evaluation (AWE) feedback on students’ English writing performance. We systematically reviewed studies that have empirically focused on this purpose. This review uses several combinations of key words to search in the databases of JSTOR, SSCI, and ERIC for peer-reviewed articles published from 2005 to April 2020. The systematic review produced 22 eligible studies categorized as within-group and between group studies based on Stevenson and Phakiti’s (2014) categorization. The results indicated that AWE feedback might be helpful for student writing under certain conditions. Specifically, the feedback was helpful when it was provided for one single group of students. The feedback was also helpful when the writing performance of a group of students receiving the feedback was compared to the writing performance of the other group of students receiving no such feedback. Moreover, AWE feedback should be continuously offered to help students benefit most from it. This review is an update about the effects of AWE feedback on student writing and may serve as a guide for researchers and instructional practitioners through informing them of the latest research on AWE feedback. 
Young Chinese EFL Learners’ Referential Strategies in Written Chinese and English Narratives
Get PDFA good command of referential skills has been seen as an effective indicator that reveals learners’ discourse-related competence. However, in the realm of second language learning, a scant of attention has been paid to investigate L2 learners’ referential skills in narratives. Therefore, the present study aims to address the gap through examining young Chinese EFL learners’ abilities in using referential forms in English narratives. Three Chinese EFL fourth graders in Taiwan were asked to produce English and Chinese written narratives, elicited through a wordless picture book Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer, 1969). The results showed that the participants made few mistakes and achieved high level of appropriateness in the use of referential expressions in English narratives. It was also found that they used similar referential strategies across different discourse contexts in both English and Chinese narratives. It was suggested that their near-proficient performance regarding the referential skills may be attributed to the positive transfer from L1 to L2. However, the analysis of some mistakes by the participants also demonstrated that L2 overgeneralization played a role that hinders the participants’ performance. Finally, implications for pedagogy and suggestions for future research are made
Individual Differences and Willingness to Communicate in Second Language: The Role of Student Age, Gender and Socioeconomic Status
Get PDFIt has been widely argued that willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2) is a dual construct of the learner’s trait and state. This study aimed to explore the relationships between trait-level antecedents (students’ demographic features) and their L2 WTC. A sample of 1502 university students was recruited to participate in this study. Data of their age, gender, family socioeconomic status (SES) were collected. A questionnaire of L2 WTC was adopted to measure the participants’ WTC in meaning-focused activities and WTC in form-focused activities. A path model was tested via structural equation modeling and significant relationships between student demographic features (age, gender and SES) and L2 WTC were observed. The major findings were: 1) male students had higher WTC in meaning-focused activities, but female students showed higher WTC in form-focused activities, 2) student age was negatively related to WTC in meaning-focused activities, and 3) students SES positively predicted WTC in meaning-focused activities. Implications for L2 instruction in tertiary education were also discussed
Rethinking Individual Differences in SLA: A Special Issue in Honour of Richard Sparks
Get PDFRichard Sparks is currently Professor Emeritus of Special Education in Mount St. Joseph University's Department of Graduate Education in Cincinnati, USA. For over 40 years, Richard has had a celebratory career in teaching, researching, and servicing language education. His broad research interests and academic influence span various sub-domains of individual differences in L1 and L2 reading and writing, language learning difficulties, and language aptitude. Richard has published extensively in top journals of language and education, producing an impressive list of empirical studies and thought-provoking theoretical position papers related to key topics and issues in foreign language education, educational psychology, and learning disability. Scholars and practitioners in both language and psychology have read his works with interest and cited frequently many of his influential works on language, education, psychology, dyslexia, hyperlexia, and in particular language aptitude
Organizational Culture, Organizational Support, and Positive Psychological Capital: Validation of a Theoretical Model
Get PDFThis article aims to check the correlation between organizational culture, organizational support, and positive psychological capital in employees from public and private organization and comprises a survey with 206 workers in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, who answered a questionnaire containing the scale of organizational support, positive psychological capital at work, organizational culture, and social-demographic data. The scales presented reliable psychometric indexes besides an interdependency correlation among the constructs. ANOVA highlights that the interaction among the constructs was meaningful: organizational culture influences the high organizational support and the high positive psychological capital. Based on these results, the empirical hypothesis has been confirmed. Therefore, the study could be useful for managers who understand the organization-employee correlation as a factor of qualitative importance in healthy labor dynamics. 
Relations Between Shareholding Nationality, Controllership and Organizational Characteristics: A Study in Publicly Traded Companies Listed on B3
Get PDFThis paper identifies the relationship between the nationality of shareholding nationality, controllership and organizations characteristics than 426 companies publicly listed in Brazil, Bolsa e Balcão (B3). The organization structure is characterized for the standardize structure through the similar actions with the objective for guide the company to achieve its long‐term purposes set as goals. The organizational characteristics are single and needed to be in consistence with the mission, vision and values of the companies. The research was characterized as exploratory, descriptive and quantitative, using the documental research technique and relying on a checklist as a data collection instrument. The operationalization of the data took place by descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that regardless of the nationality of the company's shareholding control, its business behavior is similar, its cultures, values and characteristics are not related to the organizational characteristics adopted, identifying isomorphic behaviors. This perspective of isomorphic behaviors believes the companies have tendencies for to copy practices and customs of others, making them similar, independent of their symbols, myths and beliefs. Although many works talk about the individual characteristics of companies, this study identifies the isomorphic behavior among all publicly traded companies listed on the Brazilian stock exchang
The Determinants of FDI Inflows in Romania
Get PDFThe growth of foreign direct investment around the world has been significant in recent years. It is a critical element of any and every nation's economy, including Romania's. The main objective of the study is to examine the potential determinants of FDI inflows in Romania during the period from 1997 to 2019. We employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound co-integration technique to identify the potential determinant factors of FDI inflows such as trade openness, gross domestic product, interest rate, education level of the labor force, exchange rate, inflation, and control of corruption. As per the findings, the log of gross domestic product and labor force education variables have a positive impact on inbound FDI, whereas trade openness has a negative impact in the long run. In the long run, other variables, such as interest rates, real effective exchange rates, and corruption control variables, cannot explain the variation in inbound FDI. In the short run, the log of gross domestic product, labor force education, real effective exchange rate, and corruption control explain the variation in FDI inflows, although the interest rate and inflation are insignificant. The findings revealed some important policy implications, including the need to maintain a stable exchange rate and promote strong open trade policies to improve the investment climate, increase gross domestic product to create needed markets for foreign investors, improve labor force education by introducing training and workshops, and control corruption by implementing rules that are more effective. 
Educational Management as an Imperative of High Business Results
Get PDFThe business of companies in modern conditions is exposed to major changes related to systematic and systematic investment in employee education, especially management, which is an attempt to maximize productivity and improve individual and organizational knowledge. An important premise is the acceptance and understanding of the fact that systematic investment in employees is an opportunity to improve various business processes within the business company. Management has the task of achieving product quality and overall business of its own company based on a quality educational approach. Therefore, it is necessary to adequately design, implement, monitor and evaluate the process of education and training. Thus, the choice of quality methodology of the educational process is a complementary part of establishing a continuous model of training, which is the competitive strength of modern organizations. A systematic approach to the choice of training methodology allows organizations to connect the planned activity with the real business needs of both individuals and organizations. At the end of each training process, the results of the training are obtained as the end result of changing and shaping the skills, abilities, attitudes and behavior of employees according to the needs of organizational goals. The implications of training should be visible in various activities of employees, such as: job satisfaction, increased productivity, ability to manage complex processes and other functions that explicitly affect the competitiveness of the organization. The paper presents the management of the educational process for achieving high results and goals that are closely related to organizational goals