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ERIC Number: EJ1404010
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0033-6882
EISSN: EISSN-1745-526X
Available Date: N/A
When Inclusivity Means Playing Safe: Ideological Discourses and Representations in English Testing Materials
Ali Fuad Selvi; Elif Saracoglu; Eray Çaliskan
RELC Journal: A Journal of Language Teaching and Research, v54 n3 p773-787 2023
Over the years, we have been witnessing the burgeoning of interdisciplinary interest in the use of ideological discourses and enactment of representations through linguistic and semiotic choices in positioning, (re)constructing and expressing identities. In this picture, there is an evident paucity of research investigating the kinds of representations (e.g. discourses of identity and the notions of inclusivity and exclusivity) in domains other than academic writing and instructional materials (e.g. second language testing materials). Responding to this need, the current study investigates the representations of ideologies and discourses in the "Yabanci Dil Sinavi" (Foreign Language Exam, abbreviated as YDS) developed and administered by the "Ölçme, Seçme ve Yerlestirme Merkezi" (The Measuring, Selection, and Placement Centre, abbreviated as ÖSYM) in Turkey. The data set used in this study consists of a total of 880 multiple-choice questions that appeared in 11 YDS tests administered between 2014 and 2018. The analysis of our data set helped us acknowledge the complex and multi-layered nature of ideological discourses and representations of inclusivity/exclusivity embedded in language constructions and choices (the first-person plural pronoun we) and their manifestations (referents). Even though surface-level analyses indicated a seemingly artificial sense of inclusivity, deeper-level analyses portrayed a 'safe zone' demarcated by conceptual decisions (emotional topic effect) broader policy implications (tests as sociocultural artifacts). In conclusion, the findings indicated that informed by the ongoing sociocultural and sociopolitical context, the test and examination bodies (e.g. ÖSYM) have a defining role in establishing a local culture of testing.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A