A new approach to classroom-based language assessment

If one considers the number of language learners that are worldwide,the number of classroom-based language assessments(CBLAs)that are given each year,and the number of decisions that are made on the basis of these,it is obvious that in terms of sheer numbers,more students are affected by CBLAs per year than by those based on large-scale language assessments.Because of this,it is essential that classroom teachers have the knowledge,skills,and tools to enable them to develop and use CBLAs that they can justify to stakeholders,e.g.,students,parents,and school authorities.In this paper we describe the approach to CBLAs that we have developed.First,we discuss the role of assessment in teaching and learning,the kinds of decisions that classroom teachers need to make,and the different modes of CBLAs.We then describe the process of using CBLAs to help teachers make decisions that will have beneficial consequences.Next,we discuss fairness and accountability in assessment and the process of assessment justification,including an assessment use argument.Finally,we discuss the process of developing CBLAs,using an example of a classroom-based language assessment to illustrate this.

An Investigation into Typical English Language Use Tasks across Jobs by International Talents

Along with the progress of economic globalization and the Belt and Road Initiative,there is a great need for international talents with global vision,knowledge of international rules and regulations,English language proficiency,and the ability to participate in international affairs and competitions.Through text analysis and interviews,this study collects typical English language use tasks in the workplace,and uses questionnaires to investigate the importance and difficulty of different tasks for English language users in different industries,positions and ranks,hence providing references for the design of English training and assessment tasks for international talents.

POLITENESS RANKING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE

The politeness ranking is thought to be one of the features of the Politeness Principle (PP) (He Ziran 1988 P. 102). In the views of Leech, Brown and Levinsodn, speakers, when obeying the PP may choose appropriate politeness ranking according to contextual factors——social distance and status,age,sex,the ranking of impositions, the formality of the occasion and so on and the extent that a given act benefits or costs the addressee in a given situation.

DEVIATION IN THE SENSE OF THE CREATIVE ASPECT OF LANGUAGE USE

Winds stampeding the fields (Ted Hughes) (1) He sang his didn’t he danced his did (E. E. Cummings) (2) Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green (Dylan Thomas) (3) That spanieled me heels,to whom I gave their wishes. (William Shakespeare, Anthony

College Students’ Use of Impoliteness Expression in the WeChat Diction

The purpose of this study was to investigate college students’ use of impoliteness expressions in WeChat diction and what factors influence college students’ use of impoliteness expressions. In-depth interview was used. The chatting records of a large WeChat group with 134 members—Hubin 12 Housings’ 2021 graduate Management group in a comprehensive university in Wuhan in the latest month were analyzed. 10 college students who were members of that WeChat group were interviewed. The interview was related to their inner activities when using impoliteness expressions and what factors could influence their use of impoliteness expressions. The results showed that college students were more likely to use motivated impoliteness, informational impoliteness and strategic impoliteness. College students’ use of impoliteness expressions were influenced by gender, social status and the relationship between the speaker and the hearer. The paper could provide a new study area for researchers. It will attract researchers’ attention on the use of impolite language, especially among different roles of people in society.

Influence of French on English During 1100 to 1400

French,the language then spread in a wide range,stands in the breach and become one of the main sources of the foreign fea-tures in English.Nevertheless,the process by which English underwent the influence from French cannot have been comparable withthat which led to the majority of Scandinavian addition,because the contacts between English and French was limited onto several as-pects.This essay aims to find out the main influence French brought to Middle English during the period of c.1100-c.1400 on everycontext.

USING AUTHENTIC LISTENING MATERIALS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

This paper argues for the need for authentic listening materials in the ELT classroom in China,discussing the selection of those materials,and their adaptation for classroom use,whilst outlinig theirconstraints.

An Analysis of the Implication of Communication Strategies to Students of English Learning in Polytechnic Colleges

The taxonomies of learner strategies and classification of communication strategies is reviewed; the role of communication strategies in language use and learning is discussed, with a critical appraisal included. Suggestions to avoid the problems arising from the limitations of the use of communication strategies was given for students of English learning in Chinese polytechnic colleges.