ERIC Number: EJ1065016
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Sep
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1072-4303
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Regionally Specific Tasks of Non-Western English Language Use
Lanteigne, Betty
TESL-EJ, v10 n2 Sep 2006
Many English tests based on Western culture are inappropriate for regions where English use differs from that of Europe and North America. In these non-Western settings, it is desirable that English assessments be based on real-world English use. Therefore, identifying tasks of non-Western English language use is a beginning step in developing culturally appropriate English language tests. This cross-cultural sociolinguistic research is part of a larger project involving semi-structured interviews with twenty-nine English teachers from Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, the Arabian Gulf, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, India, Singapore, and the Philippines. In this report three task descriptions of non-Western English language use are identified, categorized by domain, setting, and language skill, based on Baine's (1988) ecological inventory. A confirmation survey was utilized to identify three tasks of non-Western English language use (in home, work, and community domains) that are culturally appropriate for assessment in some non-Western regions. Informants' comments from the interviews address reasons for considering these tasks as culturally inappropriate in other non-Western regions and thus give insight as to how they may be reworded to be appropriate in those regions. "Culturally inappropriate" in this research refers to offensiveness as well as being outside of established sociopragmatic use.
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Language Usage, Semi Structured Interviews, Culture Fair Tests, Test Construction, Language Teachers, Language Skills, Language Tests, Surveys, Pragmatics, Interpersonal Competence, Non Western Civilization, Student Placement, Second Language Instruction, Needs Assessment, Developing Nations, Foreign Countries, Teacher Attitudes, Sociolinguistics
TESL-EJ. e-mail: editor@tesl-ej.org; Web site: http://tesl-ej.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Tests/Questionnaires; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: India; Jordan; Kenya; Lebanon; Palestine; Philippines; Singapore; Sudan; Uganda
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A