Search results for "SME."
showing 10 items of 10794 documents
The development of a suite of computer-based diagnostic tests based on the Common European Framework
2005
DIALANG is an on-line language assessment system, which contains tests in 14 European languages and is based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). It is the first major testing system that is oriented towards diagnosing language skills and providing feedback to users rather than certifying their proficiency. This article describes the contents of Version 1 of DIALANG and the way in which the system works. This is followed by an account of the development of DIALANG tests and of the pilot testing and standard setting procedures. The results of the first analyses of items and self-assessment statements, and of the standard setting procedures, are reported. The article focuses…
Discursive construction of a high-stakes test: the many faces of a test-taker
2006
As part of a larger project, we studied how a foreign language test got discursively constructed in the talk of upper-secondary-school leavers. A group of students were asked to keep an oral diary to record their ideas, feelings and experiences of preparing for and taking the test over the last spring term of school, as part of a high-stakes national examination. In addition, they took part in discussions either in pairs or groups of three after having learned about the final test results. After transcribing the data, drawing on a form of discourse analysis originally launched by a group of social psychologists, we identified (at least) four interpretative repertoires in the students’ acco…
Acquisition of Generic Competencies Through Project Simulation in Translation Studies
2017
Motivated by the research in several international and interdisciplinary initiatives, for example, P21 Partnership for 21st Century Learning or the Collegiate Learning Assessment instruments, we seek for a scalable and measureable set of generic competencies for translation studies. Up to now, the acquisition of competencies in translation studies has primarily been operationalized by implementing authentic projects in higher education classes using socio-constructivist approaches. This results in a hybridization of subject-specific competencies and generic competencies in translator education. Because of the necessity to focus on the acquisition of generic competencies as a primary learnin…
Feedback practices in language classes in Finnish general upper secondary schools
2020
As feedback and formative assessment have a substantial effect on learning, the aim with this paper is to report on a study of the perceptions of Finnish general upper secondary school students of feedback in Swedish and English classes, and to compare how the perceptions differ at language proficiency (CEFR) levels. The data were collected by using a survey and were analysed quantitatively. The results show that several differences occur in Swedish: students with higher proficiency levels find feedback more useful, feel that they receive feedback from teachers, and are more willing to correct their own mistakes. There were no differences in perceptions according to language proficiency lev…
Perceived similarity between written Estonian and Finnish : Strings of letters or morphological units?
2017
The distance or similarity between two languages can be objective or actual, i.e. discoverable by the tools and methods of linguists, or perceived by users of the languages. In this article two methods, the Levenshtein Distance (LD), which purports to measure the objective distance, and the Index of Perceived Similarity (IPS), which quantifies language users’ perceptions, are compared. The data are the quantitative results of a test measuring conscious perceptions of similarity between Estonian and Finnish inflectional morphology by Finnish and Estonian native speakers (‘Finns’ and ‘Estonians’) with no knowledge of and exposure to the other (‘target’) language. The results show that Finns s…
Strategic Processing of Chinese Young English Language Learners in an International Standardized English Language Test
2018
Strategic competence is acknowledged to be able to explain variations in language test performance. Research with adult language test-takers has shown that strategic competence has dual components: strategic knowledge and strategic processing. Of the two components, strategic processing, which is state-like, unstable, and tends to fluctuate from contexts to contexts, is more closely related to language test performance. To date, none of the existing studies investigates strategic processing with children English language learners (ELLs) and explores the relationship between strategic processing in all the four skills of language learning and the test performance. Addressing these gaps, the …
Finländska svensklärares undervisningspraktiker och deras samband med elevers inlärningsresultat
2019
Lärarens val av undervisningspraktiker spelar en avgörande roll för elevers inlärningsresultat. I lärarkognitionen ingår förmågan att på adekvata sätt styra och handleda elevens inlärningsprocess och utvärdera dess utgång med livslångt lärande som huvudsyfte. I artikeln kartläggs och analyseras vilka samband som finns mellan undervisningspraktiker och elevers inlärningsresultat i svenskans långa lärokurs i slutet av den grundläggande utbildningen. Materialsamplet härstammar från den finländska nationella utvärderingen från 2013 och omfattar 1679 elever och 98 lärare, vars respons genomgick en fördjupad analys. Ur analysen framgick en tämligen traditionell bild av lärarnas arbetssätt. Vissa …
Using evaluation criteria and rubrics as learning tools in subtitling for the D/deaf and the hard of hearing
2018
This paper focuses on the use of evaluation criteria and rubrics as tools for training in an audiovisual translation mode: subtitling for the D/deaf and the hard of hearing (SDH). Following an introduction to the current conception of and research carried out on quality assurance and assessment both in the translation industry and academia, a brief overview of the assessment processes and instruments used in SDH university training and in the professional sector is provided. This is followed by a case study of SDH assessment practices in Spain. Two questionnaires were filled in by five service providers and 12 university trainers, and the data gathered has enabled a better understanding of …
Stability of Asymmetric Lipid Bilayers Assessed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations
2009
The asymmetric insertion of amphiphiles into biological membranes compromises the balance between the inner and outer monolayers. As a result, area expansion of the receiving leaflet and curvature strain may lead to membrane permeation, shape changes, or membrane fusion events. We have conducted both atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers to study the effect of an asymmetric distribution of lipids between the two monolayers on membrane stability. Highly asymmetric lipid bilayers were found to be surprisingly stable within the submicrosecond time span of the simulations. Even the limiting case of a monolayer immersed in …
Gadskārtu svētki - 1,5 – 3 gadu vecu bērnu sociālo prasmju veicinātāji pirmsskolas izglītības iestādē
2021
Kvalifikācijas darbā ,, Gadskārtu svētki - 1,5 – 3 gadu vecu bērnu sociālo prasmju veicinātāji pirmsskolas izglītības iestādē” tiek pētīta sociālo prasmju veicināšana gadskārtu svētkos 1,5 – 3 gadus veciem bērniem. Darba autore veic teorētisku literatūras analīzi par sociālo prasmju veicināšanu, 1,5 -3 gadus vecu bērnu attīstības raksturojumu, pēta sociālo prasmju veicināšanu gadskārtu svētkos pirmsskolā, veic empīrisko pētījumu, izmantojot pedagoģisko novērojumu un izmēģinājumdarbību. Kvalifikācijas darba pirmajā daļā tiek analizēta literatūra otrajā daļā tiek veikts empīriskais pētījums, kurš balstās uz praktisku izmēģinājumdarbību . Lai atbildētu uz pētāmo jautājumu ,,Kā veicināt sociālā…