MSU Linguistics Colloquium Fall 2020 series
After a hiatus, we have already had two talks, over Zoom, with the last being on October 16th, 2020 from Dr. Greta Gorsuch of Texas Tech University on “What theories do teachers use when they make classroom tests?”.
What Theories do Teachers use When They Make Classroom Tests?
Much attention is paid to standardized foreign language tests such as the TOCFL (Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language), the ACTFL OPI, and others. Such tests are important to accountability and may be held up as exemplars of what “proper” tests ought to look like. In contrast, classroom tests made by teachers receive less attention. Classroom tests are an everyday feature in the lives of secondary- and college-level foreign language teachers and learners. They are used to give learners feedback, to inform instruction, and to assign grades. Perhaps teacher-made tests are under-studied because they are considered “routine” and idiosyncratic. Or the tests are poor reflections of what testing professionals can do.
Yet teacher-made tests are theory-rich on multiple levels, informed by high- and domain-level theories, and “low” teacher theory, which is contextual, efficient, orderly, and adaptive. Using a test theory model, the presenter will explore the bases of four tests made by German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish teachers as expressed in their own words.
A little about Greta Gorsuch
Greta Gorsuch’s career in second and foreign language teaching and learning spans over thirty years. Currently, at Texas Tech University, she has taught applied linguistics, EFL, and ESL in Japan, the U.S., and Vietnam. She has co-authored and edited several books, including Second Language Course Evaluation (2016), Second Language Testing for Student Evaluation and Classroom Research (2018), and Tests that Second Teachers Make and Use (2019). She researches reading fluency, pronunciation, evaluation, and teachers and tests, and has published articles in many journals including Foreign Language Annals, Language Teaching, Language Teaching Research, Reading in a Foreign Language, and System.
Cohort 2 Update
Cohort 2 of the iELT-Ozarks Project includes twenty-nine K-12 in-service teachers from McDonald County R-1, Monett R-1, Neosho R-5, and Springfield R-XII public school districts. Here is a look at what the second cohort has been up to recently:
• The majority of the cohort has now completed the following core TESOL classes: Second Language Acquisition, Sociolinguistics, Grammatical Analysis, Linguistic Theory, Methods in TESOL, and Materials and Assessment in TESOL.
• 28 cohort 2 members have earned their Graduate Certificates in TESOL from MSU.
• Ten additional students are on track to graduate in fall 2020 and meet the requirements to earn the Missouri K-12 ELL Endorsement.
• Nine of the fall graduating students are also completing their Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (MSIS) program in English Language Teaching and Literacy Education. They will earn this in conjunction with the Missouri K-12 ELL Endorsement from DESE and the TESOL Graduate Certificate from MSU.*
We would Like to congratulate our cohort 2 upcoming fall 2020 graduates
• Taylor Bond, Neosho Junior High, Neosho R-5
• Alicia Dickinson, South Elementary, Neosho R-5
• Amanda Hedgpeth, Monett Intermediate, Monett R-1
• Gretchen Hughes, Neosho High, Neosho R-5
• Tiffany Neal, Mark Twain Elementary, Springfield R-XII
• Sara Pierce, McDonald County High, McDonald County R-1
• Tegan Rand, Monett Elementary, Monett R-1
• Jaime Rutherford, Monett Elementary, Monett R-1
• Kya Thomas, Noel Elementary, McDonald County R-1
• Samantha Whited, Noel Elementary, McDonald County R-1
Two New courses in the Spring of 2021
ENG 792: Linguistics in Rhetoric & Composition
This course will introduce students to the concept of translanguaging and unpack the several ways in which translingualism manifests itself ranging from online contexts to linguistic landscapes, and in the classroom. It will simultaneously ask students to ponder, “(1) What particular variety of English or whose English should we teach? (2) Who is entitled to define, teach, and practice writing that manifests diverse linguistic, cultural, rhetorical, and modal norms? (3) How do we productively, sensitively, and ethically treat language differences in writing classrooms? (4) And how do we, if possible, teach translingual practice?” (Wang & Silva, 2020, p. 1.). By the end of the course, students will develop an enriched understanding of translingualism and learn how to apply it pedagogically.
ENG 793: Corpus Linguistics
Corpus Linguistics introduces students to computer tools that help in analyzing any
form of digital “real-world” texts (corpora) and draw empirical conclusions about
discourse. This course will present an overview of the field as well as provide hands-on
experience in using corpora for research and linguistic analysis.
Want more information on either of these courses? Email: suneetathomas@missouristate.edu