3. Assessing English Communication skills of UG students through Mobile Assisted Language Testing tool STEP - B. Velangini Kumari
JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FOR ELT
Volume 7 - Number 2 (April - June 2017)
ISSN (Online): 2231-4431
Assessing English Communication skills of UG students through Mobile Assisted Language Testing tool STEP (Standard Test for English Proficiency)
B. Velangini Kumari
Research Scholar, Rayalaseema University, Karnool, A.P.,
Email: velanginikumari@yahoo.co.in
Abstract
Today’s students are tech-savvies. Smart phones in the hands of every college student have become an integral part of their life, without which the present generation students cannot imagine life. Parents and teachers oppose them carrying mobile phone in to the class rooms for the reason that such devices cause distractions and however, are the means for deviation from paying attention to the teaching. There are a few possibilities to turn this obsession of using the mobile phones into an eagerness for learning language and test their communication skills. One such possibility is exposing them to different tools available for learning English through application based on tests. This study is attempted to assess English communication skills of undergraduate students using STEP which is an online tool for testing English proficiency of students and encourage the learners to improve their language through mobile assisted language learning. This paper demonstrated the benefits of using mobile phones for learning purposes, mainly in improving the UG students’ English communication skills. Results of STEP test was analyzed in this paper. The paper concludes with finding of the test and with some recommendations for improvement. The most important one is that students must be exposed to available online tools to improve their communication skills.
Keywords:
Mobile assisted language learning (MALL), standard test for English proficiency (STEP), Communication skills.
Introduction
Smart phone is a mobile phone that performs many functions of a computer with a touch screen interface which has internet access with large storage. Today’s students are tech-savvies. According to Marc Prensky (2009) they are “digital natives” and he continues to say that “Digital wisdom is a twofold concept, referring both to wisdom arising from the use of digital technology to access cognitive power beyond our innate capacity and to wisdom in the prudent use of technology to enhance our capabilities.” Students can easily access digital technology in this context with the help of mobile phones while travelling or waiting. They can take the advantage of learning opportunities not fixing themselves with a location but need to be motivated to use it wisely to enhance their capabilities. Mobile phone technology brought a great change in education. Kusulska – Hulme and Traxler (2005) opines that “Mobile learning is both a new concept and on that has some familiar connotations. It is certainly concerned with learner mobility, in the sense that learners should be able to engage in educational activities with the constraint of having to do so in a tightly delimited physical location”.
The stage of undergraduate study plays a crucial role which determines the student’s further education and career. The students need to assess themselves and be assessed by teachers to realize their level of language and to improve further. “Assessment is an activity that engages both students and teachers in judgment about the quality of student achievement or performance, and inferences about the learning that has taken place” (David Boud & Falchikov, 2006: Sadler, 2005). “The nature of the assessment determines the learning behavior of the students as well as the teaching behavior of teachers. Strong impact of assessment on the language learning process has been noted by a large number of researchers” (Crooks, 1988: Heywood, 1989: Newble & Jaeger, 1986).
English is a global language. 21st century is the era of global communication where English is used extensively. Globalization has created a demand for learning the English language professionally. There is a need for every learner to evolve themselves as independent and competent users of English. Employment opportunities for the younger generation are linked with globalization. Many multinational companies look for people with good communication skills in English. English has become a very important language for every student apart from their other subjects. Mastering communication skills in English is not only important for their academic life but also for their future prospective career. The students need to be trained to master English language to qualify English proficiency tests like TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB etc., with confidence for gaining a position in the global front.
Importance of communication skills
Communication is very essential to human life be it oral, written, verbal or non-verbal. Communication is a systematic key to a dynamic process, in order to excel in one’s career, or build good and healthy interpersonal relationship in family and society. Without communication life becomes isolated. Present advances in information technology and multinational companies demand us to work in teams and look for employees with good communication skills who can communicate ideas, manage the entire team of subordinates and relate to seniors and colleagues. Very soon the UG students have to step into such careers where they need to be aware of this fact and equip themselves be able to communicate well.
Role of Mobile phones in learning language
Smart phone is a mobile phone that performs many functions of a computer with a touch screen interface which has internet access with large storage. They are effective means of communication either oral or written. Oral by conversing with people, written by sending emails, short messages, chatting on whatsapp and posting their views on facebook and twitters. In order to be active users of all these the learners need to be good at their language and communication skills. There are several ways a student can make this a best practice using mobile phones for learning language. To mention a few ways:
By downloading useful apps like Duolingo, Memrise, Lingua.ly, LearnEnglish Grammar, MyWordBook 2, Busuu, Fun Easy Learn English, Phrasalstein, Babbel and ReadLang which gives new vocabulary, dialogues, grammar instructions and reviews. These apps include free version and paid versions, some can be used offline and some online.
By listening to language learning podcasts which are freely available.
By watching and listening to several YouTube tutorial channels.
By reading news, e-Books, e-Journals.
By taking up online and offline tests to assess ones language
Sample
About hundred students from B.A, B.Com, B. Sc were selected to assess their listening, reading and writing skills in English language.
Data Collection tool
The Standardized Test of English Proficiency (STEP) from THE HINDU GROUP which is an English language exam for students and job seekers was used to conduct the test and collect data. Thanks to the Hindu group for free access to the STEP app to take up three tests by every student.
Data collection
About hundred UG students were randomly selected for the Standardized Test of English Proficiency. The selected students were given detailed explanation about the test by the researcher. Having downloaded the STEP app on their mobiles all the selected students took the test following the instructions given on the app and recorded their score and the analysis given by the app. The researcher noted the score and analyzed for further assistance to improvement.
Results, Analysis and interpretation of data
The student’s Communication skills were tested through the smart phones using STEP tool and the score was recorded indicated by the tool. The score was as follows
Graphical diagram showing the result of Standard Test for English Proficiency
The above score was given by STEP basing on the performance of the learners. Students from B.A, B.Com, B. Sc were given Standard test for English Proficiency using smart phones. Number of learners with basic result were 33 out of 100, number of learners with intermediate results were 49 out of 100 and no of learners with proficient results were 18 out of 100. There is a negligible variation between B.A, B.Com and B. Sc in the scores found. The basic scorers have some English; they have trouble in speaking and understanding written English. The intermediate scorers have to improve their English to be considered proficient. The proficient scorers need to check spelling and grammar for occasional errors. They have to have intensive practice to qualify themselves for international eligibility tests to study or work in abroad. The learners are expected to concentrate on their improving LSRW skills. The students showed lot of enthusiasm in taking up this test and later tried to make use of mobiles for learning language.
Findings of the study:
Findings related to the status of English communication skills of students at UG level are as follows.
The learners with Basic English are 33 % who come under poor category, with Intermediate English are 49 % who come under below average category and with Proficiency in English are 18 % who come under above average category.
The learners come from background where, in the families English language is not the language used for communication and most of the parents do not speak or read English.
English is considered as knowledge subject but not as a skill subject from the primary education.
Difficulty to give due attention to individuals in large class rooms.
Inadequate provision for language labs: Language labs need to be updated time and again and use them appropriately in schools and colleges.
Mechanical classroom teaching and learning with no view of objectives.
Theoretical teaching and learning where the learners are not equipped to face situations in life.
Inappropriate approach to teaching-learning process.
Inadequacy of vocabulary knowledge is a stumbling block in poor performance in the test.
Suggestions to improve Communication skills for teachers and students:
1. Spending quality time on improving English language proficiency on daily basis.
2. Exposing to online testing and learning tools of communication skills.
3. Emphasis on language learning skill than concentrating only on completion of syllabus.
4. Self motivation to speak English with everyone who can understand and communicate in English.
5. Learners can maintain a book and write in a journal everyday in English trying to add new phrases, new words that they come across in a day.
6. Familiarizing oneself with IPA sounds, stress, tone, pitch etc., by listening to Native speakers of English as imitation plays significant role in effective communication.
7. Updating oneself with current affairs by listening to news and reading news to get acquainted and build new vocabulary.
8. Get exposed to conversation to acquire skill of speaking.
9. Involving in group work or group learning as it lowers anxiety and increases student’s participation in discussions and enhances learning and vocabulary. This also helps to overcome the problems faced with the large size class rooms.
10. Watching English movies to improve Communication skills which improve listening while watching and reading, writing and speaking after it is watched by writing reviews, sharing the gist or story line with friends and family members etc.,
Conclusion
The aim of this study was to make the students become aware of their ability level of effective communication in English and help them to get exposed to technology based learning language. The tool used for testing their level of communication was useful to know their difficulties in LSRW skills and improve them further. The students were very enthusiastic to take up the test and know their level of English. They became aware of their inadequate vocabulary, poor reading comprehension, poor listening skill and lack of proper grammar knowledge.
Thus the study proposes application based English learning/teaching for UG students. The students need to be trained to master English language to qualify English proficiency tests like TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB etc., with confidence for gaining a position in the global front. There is always a challenge to acquire and master communication skills in English with the new vocabulary added every day with new inventions and new technology.
References
1. Kukulska-Hulme, A.,Traxler, J. (2005). Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers, Routledge, London.
2. Boud, D, & Falchikov, N. (2006). Aligning assessment with long-term learning. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(4), 399-413.
3. Crooks, T. (1988). The impact of classroom evaluation practices on students. Review of Educational Research, 58(4), 438-481.
4. Sadler, DR. (2005). Interpretations of criteria-based assessment & grading in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(2), 175-194.
5. Prensky Marc (2009) “H.Sapiens Digital: From Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom,” Innovate: Journal of online Education: Vol 5: Iss. 3, Article 1 Available at: http://nsuworks.novate/vol5/iss9/1