An Analysis of Sentence-Like Utterances of IELTS Mock Speaking Test Scripts
Keywords:
sentence structures, IELTS, speaking, test
Abstract
The present study examines non-Malaysian candidates’ performance in an IELTS mock speaking test with regards to their use of different types of sentence structure utterances. Audio recorded data was obtained from eight students of three different levels of proficiency, namely; foundation, intermediate and advanced, in which thereafter an analysis was carried out using Radford (1990; 1997) sentence types. A semi-structured interview was also employed to gauge the candidates’ opinions on answering the test questions as well the interlocutor’s views on the candidates’ performance. The test was conducted by an IELTS trained interlocutor. It was found that most candidates were able to understand the questions, their responses were mainly simple sentence utterances indicated by many disjointed and choppy ideas. The semi-structured interview answers show that most candidates’ high level of nervousness and anxiety caused them not to be able to speak fluently, and as a result, their ideas were expressed in simple sentence structures that lacked logical coordination. It is hoped that the findings of the present study would help the current IETLS course module developers to integrate lessons on the different types of sentence structures in training test candidates to express complete and complex structured responses.
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References
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Shohamy, E. (1994) The validity of direct versus semi- direct oral tests. Language Testing, 11(2), 99-123.
Shkelqim, M. (2017). Function of Albanian and English sentence, European Journal of English Language Teaching, 2 (3), 83-98.
Sundari, H. (2013). Mastery of Simple Sentence Patterns in Writing Class (A Case Study of Third Semester College-Students). English Education, Journal Pendidical Bahasa Inggeris, 2(2), 1-11.
Steffani, S. A. (2007). Identifying Embedded and Conjoined Complex Sentences: Making it Simple. Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders, 34,44-54.
Swain, M., Huang, L. S., Barkaoui, K., Brooks, L., & Lapkin, S. (2009), The speaking section of the TOEFL iBT (SSTiBT): test-takers’strategic behaviours, TOEFLiBT Research Report, 10. Princeton: Educational Testing Service.
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Yoshida-Morise, Y. (1998). The use of communication strategies in LPIs. In R. Young & W. He (Eds.), Talking and testing: discourse approaches to the assessment of oral proficiency (pp. 205-238). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Yu, Q. (2014). Various Items Causing IELTS Test-Taker’s Low Performance in Mainland China: An International Joint Education Program Solution, International Conference on Global Economy, Finance and Humanities Research, 2(2). 112-122.
Wodak, R. (2013). Critical discourse analysis. London, UK; Sage.
Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. (2010). Language assessment in practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Baker, S.E., & Edwards, R. (2012). How many qualitative interview is enough? National Center or Research Methods. Retrieved 28 May, 2019 from, http://eprints.nerm.ac.uk/2273/.
Barkaoui, K., Brooks, L., Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2013). Test-takers’ strategic behaviors in independent and integrated speaking tasks. Applied Linguistics, 34(3), 304-324.
Bunge, N. (1985). Finding the words: Conversations with writers who teach. Athens: Swallow Press, Ohio University Press.
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1-47.
Canale, M. (1983). On some dimensions of language proficiency. In J. Oller (Ed.), Issues in language testing research (pp. 333-342). Rowley: Newsbury House.
Celce-Murcia, M., & E. Olshtain. (2000). Discourse and Context in Language Teaching.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chris,P. (2015). Ten don'ts for the IELTS speaking test, Retrieved May 27, 2019, from https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/ten-donts-ielts-speaking-test
Cohen, A. D. (2014). Using test-wiseness strategy research in task development. In A. J. Kunnan (Ed.), The Companion to Language Assessment (Vol. II, pp. 893-905). Hoboken: Wiley/Blackwell.
Collins, C. & Radford, A., (2015). Gaps, ghosts and gapless relatives in spoken English. Studia Linguistica, 69 (2), 191-235.
Creswell, J. W. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Demirezen, P. (2012). An analysis of the problem-causing structures of simple sentences for Turkish University Students. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2 (3),136-146.
Gan.Z. (2013). Understanding English speaking difficulties: an investigation of two Chinese populations, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(3), 231-248.
Hart, D., Grigal, M., & Weir, C. (2010). Promising utterances: A snapshot of postsecondary education for students with intellectual disabilities across the United States, Think College Fast Facts, 1(2), 4-17.
Horwitz, E. K. (2008). Becoming a language teacher: a practical guide to second language learning and teaching. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Huang, L. S. (2013). Cognitive processes involved in performing the IELTS speaking test: respondents’ strategic behaviours in simulated testing and non-testing contexts. IELTS Research Reports Online Series, 1, 1-51.
Gallois, Cindy & Giles, H. (2015). ‘Communication accommodation theory’. The International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction. Wiley Online Library.
Huang, H. D. (2016). Test taking strategies in L2 assessment: the test of English for international communication speaking test. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 123(1), 64-90.
James, P. G. Ika, D.S., Hermawati,S.& Zul,A. (2018). An analysis of compound sentences in students’ writing, Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 30 (1),341-348.
James, P. G (2019). An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method (4th Ed.) https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794116683992
Kawai, Y. (2008). Speaking and good language learners. In Lessons from Good Language Learners, Edited by C. Griffiths, 218-230. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Li, D. F. (1998). It’s always more difficult than you plan and imagine: Teachers’ perceived difficulties in introducing the communicative approach in South Korea. TESOL Quarterly, 3(2), 677-703. doi:10.2307/3588000
Littlewood, W. (2007). Communicative and task-based language teaching in East Asian Classrooms. Language Teaching, 40, (1), 243-249.
Li. W. (2002).What do You Want Me to Say?’ On the Conversation Analysis Approach to Bilingual Interaction. Language in Society, 31, 02-28.
Magoosh IELTS Blog (2018, May 27). Commons mistakes in IELTS speaking. [Msg 26]. Message posted to https://magoosh.com/ielts/ielts-speaking/common-mistakes-ielts-speaking.
Pawlak, M., E. Waniek-Klimczak, & J. Majer. (2011). Speaking and Instructed Foreign Language Acquisition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Phaiboonnugulkij, M., & Prapphal, K. (2013). Online speaking strategy assessment for improving speaking ability in the area of language for specific purposes: the care of tourism. English Language Teaching, 6(9), 19-29.
Mason,M.(2010). Sample size and saturation in PhD studies using qualitative interviews. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3), 23-36.
Miles, M.B., Huberman,A.M. & Saldana,J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A method sourcebook, (3rd ed.) Washington, DC: Sage Publications.
Radford, A., Felser, C. & Boxell, O. (2012). Preposition copying and pruning in present-day English. English Language and Linguistics, 16 (03), 403-426.
Radford, A. (1990). Transformational grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Radford, A. (1997). Syntactic theory and the structure of English: A minimalist approach (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C., &W. A. Renandya. (2002). Methodology in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sarangi, S. & Candlin, C. N. (2011). Professional and organisational practice: A discourse/communication perspective, 3-60. In C. N. Candlin and S. Sarangi eds., Handbook of Communication in Organisations and Professions. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Seedhouse, P., & Harris, A. (2011). Topic development in the IELTS Speaking Test. IELTS Research Reports, i, 55-110.
Seedhouse, P. & Nakatsuhara, F. (2018). The discourse of the IELTS speaking test: interactional design and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shohamy, E. (1994) The validity of direct versus semi- direct oral tests. Language Testing, 11(2), 99-123.
Shkelqim, M. (2017). Function of Albanian and English sentence, European Journal of English Language Teaching, 2 (3), 83-98.
Sundari, H. (2013). Mastery of Simple Sentence Patterns in Writing Class (A Case Study of Third Semester College-Students). English Education, Journal Pendidical Bahasa Inggeris, 2(2), 1-11.
Steffani, S. A. (2007). Identifying Embedded and Conjoined Complex Sentences: Making it Simple. Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders, 34,44-54.
Swain, M., Huang, L. S., Barkaoui, K., Brooks, L., & Lapkin, S. (2009), The speaking section of the TOEFL iBT (SSTiBT): test-takers’strategic behaviours, TOEFLiBT Research Report, 10. Princeton: Educational Testing Service.
Verspoor, M. & Sauter, K. (2000). English Sentence Analysis. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Yoshida-Morise, Y. (1998). The use of communication strategies in LPIs. In R. Young & W. He (Eds.), Talking and testing: discourse approaches to the assessment of oral proficiency (pp. 205-238). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Yu, Q. (2014). Various Items Causing IELTS Test-Taker’s Low Performance in Mainland China: An International Joint Education Program Solution, International Conference on Global Economy, Finance and Humanities Research, 2(2). 112-122.
Wodak, R. (2013). Critical discourse analysis. London, UK; Sage.
