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This chapter reports on research on effective, efficient and comfortable assessment practice in the field of adult Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). It is based on a small TESOL program in Tasmania, Australia which has an enrolment of 200 students with proficiency levels ranging from beginner to advanced. The principal tool used was a questionnaire and the respondents were 10 qualified and experienced teachers. For data analysis, responses were grouped under: proposals for change; problems with present practice; perception of the task and purpose of assessment; statements of teacher time involved in the assessment process; and, indication of areas of teacher need for professional development.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.251; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.252 to TD/TNC 69.261. Show less

The aim of this book is to expose some of the variety of significant issues underlying schooling and its relationship with the adult world outside of school. These issues relate to aspects of knowledge, gender, culture and assessment. The 12 chapters are divided into three parts: (1) Literacy, knowledge and gender; (2) Different literacies, different cultures; (3) Adult literacy, assessment and work. The chapters are: (1) Whose knowledge gets constructed in the learning process? / Claire Hiller and Hariklia Hearn-Kokkinos; (2) Best practice in Year 2 literacy classes / R. J. Braithwaite; (3) Negotiation in a secondary English curriculum renewal / Scott Johnston and Mike McCausland; (4) Boys and literacy at Bronston High School / Andre Kowaluk; (5) Literacies online: what's new? / Angela Dudfield; (6) The potted pair: rethinking the heterosexual pair as a site for liberatory relationships / Jacqui Martin; (7) Intercultural literacy: a developmental model / Mark Heyward; (8) Communicative aims of languages other than English (LOTE) education: a comparative study in Australia and China / Yuanfang Yu, edited by Lesley Harbon; (9) Assessment: the question of time / Elizabeth Hodson; (10) The National Reporting System (NRS) in the workplace / Maree Watts and Robeka Smith; Literacy, numeracy, self-confidence and values: chicken, eggs and 'access' / Ian Falk and Sue Kilpatrick; (12) Performance and assessment in second language learning: some problems and issues in the adult sector / Fiona Cotton.

Selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.252 to TD/TNC 69.261. Show less

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a test used by tertiary level institutions in Australia and overseas to assess the English language proficiency of students who are not native speakers of English and who wish to undertake tertiary studies in English-medium countries. Performance based assessment in the adult migrant sector focuses on achievement testing and the completion of a range of tasks to demonstrate second language competence. The tasks and guidelines are outlined in the Certificate of Spoken and Written English (CSWE) and are used at the Adult Migrant English Service (AMES) throughout Australia. This chapter begins by outlining the theoretical background to second language assessment before discussing: (1) the use of IELTS at the University of Tasmania; and (2) the CSWE and migrant education in one regional centre. The discussion includes problems that are sometimes encountered together with recommendations on how to overcome such difficulties.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.251; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.252 to TD/TNC 69.261. Show less

This paper reports on research on power within adult literacy assessment. It is presented in six chapters: chapter one provides an introduction to the research topic; chapter two examines literature in the area of power, discourse, literacy and assessment; chapter three outlines the methodology that was used for the assessments; chapter four describes the data, grouping it around the main themes of institutional power, the client-assessor relationship and the assessment interview discourse; chapter five provides an analysis of the data; and chapter six contains the conclusion and recommendations.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.551; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.552 to TD/TNC 69.556. Show less

The culture of Bronston High School in Tasmania, Australia is characterised by rurality, socio-economic disadvantage, Aboriginality and entrenched underachievement as the main inhibitant of learning and of language acquisition. Many students at this school experience difficulties with those forms of literacy that are needed to succeed in school and more boys than girls are seen to have problems with school-based literacy. This chapter reports on research into the literacy difficulties experienced by boys. The objectives of this research were: (1) to determine the extent and nature of the problems which boys experience and monitor these on a longitudinal basis; and (2) the development and trialling of educational program to find a solution to this problem. The conclusions from the research indicate: (1) disturbing levels of underachievement on the part of boys in the senior years of English which appear to be entrenched within the school; (2) high numbers of boys being recorded in the least demanding syllabus and small numbers in the most demanding; (3) the level of achievement improves from grade nine into grade 10; (4) success at both ends of the educational spectrum and across both gender groupings as a result of the implementation of the basic skills literacy program.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.251; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.252 to TD/TNC 69.261. Show less

This chapter describes a comparative study of languages other than English (LOTE) in Australia with languages other than Chinese (LOTC) in China. It is based on research which was undertaken in 1997 focusing on the importance of learning a LOTE for communicative purposes in light of LOTE learning beginning to draw increased attention from government education policy-makers, educationalists and language teaching practitioners worldwide. It examines the similarities and differences in both groups between learners' motivation, attitudes, interest levels, teaching methods and learning strategies and the individual and socio-structural variables in relation to foreign language policies, curricula and their implementations.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.251; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.252 to TD/TNC 69.261. Show less

This paper describes a workplace literacy program in its embryonic stages in a hospital setting. This program was developed to address the issue of equity in the workplace between operational and professional workers. The paper begins by describing the organisation, its historical base and culture, and previous workplace training. This is followed by reviewing literature on literacy, workplace literacy, literacy skills audits and discourse and power in the worksite. Following on from this literature review, a literacy skills audit was conducted as a method of 'hearing other voices', identifying the literacy tasks embedded in the roles of the workers and isolating any areas of need for inclusion in training curriculums. This skills audit is described in the final section of the paper.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.551; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.552 to TD/TNC 69.556. Show less

This chapter reports on the results of a research project examining the complex relationships between 'integrated' numeracy and literacy skills, self-confidence, and the place of skills, knowledge and values in the learning process. As all agricultural products in the near future will need to be quality assured for the export market, this study examines the case of beef producers in Australia undertaking training in Quality Assurance (QA). The key questions are: (1) How can farmers become more effective learners?; and (2) How can their uptake of training, assumed to be a pathway to accreditation, be multiplied? The chapter examines the nature and role of 'self-confidence' in the learning process, shows how self-confidence relates to the need for suitable literacy and numeracy skills, and discusses the relative importance of self-confidence, numeracy and literacy skills, knowledge and values in the overall learning processes in this instance of vocational education and training.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.251; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.252 to TD/TNC 69.261. Show less

As societies worldwide embrace the advances of technology, new demands are being placed on students to be technologically and Internet literate. Texts are being produced online which are different from offline texts, and teachers, who have been conditioned to 'think like a book' are still arguably constrained and author directed. This chapter examines a range of textual practices which are required for the successful participation in literacies online with the aim of addressing the question, 'What is new about online literacies?'. The chapter discusses three 'virtual states' to categorise the technological range within which literacies occur: (1) those that are text dependent; (2) those that use multimedia texts; and (3) those that are mixed reality texts. The author concludes that teachers need to critically examine the issues of 'what's new?' in order to offer students the skills and opportunities required to participate successfully in the literacies of the new millennium.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.251; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.252 to TD/TNC 69.261. Show less

The Special Intervention Program (SIP) is the Australian Government's strategy for implementing its policy of training a workforce for the 21st century. While SIP has raised the profile of Adult Literacy and Basic Education (ALBE), it has also caused the tutors at ALBE to question their place and role. This study investigates what tutors see as differences and possible conflicts. The research, based on a dialogue with ALBE tutors, SIP referral officers from the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) and SIP students, looked at what the tutors' concerns were, what the students' concerns were, and what the Government's agenda was for setting up SIP.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 69.551; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 69.552 to TD/TNC 69.556. Show less