-PDF Download- Cultural Bias In University Entrance Examinations In The Uae EBOOK

Cultural Bias in University Entrance Examinations in the UAE

Author: Hilda Freimuth

Publisher: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research

Published: 2014-04-02

Total Pages: 16

ISBN-13: 9948230124

This study discusses whether the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) should continue to be used as the benchmark for entry into higher academic studies in the UAE. With students expressing concerns that the exam is culturally biased, the author looks into the reasons behind this perception.

Factors Influencing Student Choice of Engineering Majors in the United Arab Emirates

Author: Hilda Freimuth

Publisher: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research

Published: 2018-02-28

Total Pages: 27

ISBN-13: 9948391446

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With a current lack of Emirati engineers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this study investigates what motivates Emirati students in their choice of majors. The study grew out of the researcher's personal experiences participating in Khalifa University of Science and Technology's entrance interviews. These interviews revealed that a significant number of students chose engineering for reasons not typically found in the West. To further investigate this phenomenon, a campus survey was conducted along with group interviews. This paper explores the development of education in the UAE, the reasons why students choose certain majors in the West, as well as examining student motivation in choosing engineering majors both in the West and in the UAE. A detailed discussion of the findings and their implications then follows. The paper finds that, in contrast to the West, one's duty to nation and family was the most important factor in student choice. To increase the number of Emirati engineers, university campaigns might consider redirecting their focus to the wants, needs, and desires of the leadership of the nation. Emirati youth listen to, respect, and honor the leadership of their country and families, and harbor a sincere desire to help the nation in any way possible.

Perspectives on Language Assessment Literacy

Author: Sahbi Hidri

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-06-08

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 1000075796

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Perspectives on Language Assessment Literacy describes how the elements of language assessment literacy can help teachers gather information about when and how to assess learners, and about using the appropriate assessment tools to interpret results in a fair way. It provides highlights from past and current research, descriptions of assessment processes that enhance LAL, case studies from classrooms, and suggestions for professional dialogue and collaboration. This book will help to foster continuous learning, empower learners and teachers and make them more confident in their assessment tasks, and reassure decision makers that what is going on in assessment meets international benchmarks and standards. It addresses issues like concepts and challenges of assessment, the impacts of reflective feedback on assessment, the ontogenetic nature of assessment literacy, the reliability of classroom-based assessment, and interfaces between teaching and assessment. It fills this gap in the literature by addressing the current status and future challenges of language assessment literacy. This book will be of great interest for academics, researchers, and post-graduate students in the fields of language assessment literacy and English language teaching.

Linguistic Identities in the Arab Gulf States

Author: Sarah Hopkyns

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-06-03

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 1000595897

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Combining empirical and theoretical approaches from a range of disciplines, Linguistic Identities in the Arab Gulf States examines current issues surrounding language and identity in the Arab Gulf states. Organized in four parts, the book addresses the overarching theme of ‘waves of change’ in relation to language and power, linguistic identities in the media, identities in transition, and language in education. The authors of each chapter are renowned experts in their field and contribute to furthering our understanding of the dynamic, changeable, and socially constructed nature of identities and how identities are often intricately woven into and impacted by local and global developments. Although the book geographically covers Gulf region contexts, many of the concepts and dilemmas discussed are relevant to other highly diverse nations globally. For example, debates surrounding tolerance, diversity, neoliberal ideologies in English-medium instruction (EMI), media representation of language varieties, and sociolinguistic inequalities during coronavirus communication are pertinent to regions outside the Gulf, too. This volume will particularly appeal to students and scholars interested in issues around language and identity, gender, language policy and planning, multilingualism, translingual practice, language in education, and language ideologies.

English as a Medium of Instruction on the Arabian Peninsula

Author: Mark Wyatt

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-03-15

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1000868001

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Focusing on English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in the Arab Gulf states, the authors consider both sociolinguistic and pedagogical perspectives, and explore practical implications. This edited volume features chapters covering how teachers are negotiating the linguistic challenges posed by EMI; issues of ownership, choice and agency; the scaffolding of academic literacies; how to support the development of content teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge in EMI settings as well as the benefits of a bilingual education. Chapter authors all have extensive local experience that they draw upon reflectively in their writing. Policy-makers, teachers and teacher educators wondering how they can best balance the need to develop competence in English in students of all ages on the Arabian Peninsula in a globalizing world, together with the concern to nurture Arabic language, culture and identity, will gain rich insights from this book. Postgraduates and researchers exploring issues surrounding EMI, both locally and internationally, will benefit from the arguments presented in this volume.

Language, Identity and Education on the Arabian Peninsula

Author: Louisa Buckingham

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 2016-11-29

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1783096616

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This collection examines the urban multilingual realities of inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula in the early 21st century from the perspectives of learners, teachers and researchers. Focusing on both public and private spheres, it considers the importance of both English and immigrants’ languages in a context of rapid socioeconomic development. Extending beyond English–Arabic societal bilingualism, the language practices of the Peninsula’s citizens and residents serve multiple purposes in their daily lived realities. Chapters on home and heritage languages, identity, ELT, commercial signage and academic publishing contribute to a deepening understanding of the inherent linguistic diversity in these dynamic societies.

The Impact of Global English on Cultural Identities in the United Arab Emirates

Author: Sarah Hopkyns

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-03-18

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1000059618

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This book provides a nuanced portrait of the complexities found within the cultural and linguistic landscape of the United Arab Emirates, unpacking the ever-shifting dynamics between English and Arabic in today’s era of superdiversity. Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach which draws on a rich set of data from questionnaires to focus groups with Emirati students, Emirati schoolteachers, and expatriate university teachers, Hopkyns problematizes the common binary East-West paradigm focused on the tension between the use of English and Arabic in the UAE. Key issues emerging from the resulting analysis include the differing attitudes towards English and in particular, English Medium Instruction, the impact of this tension on identities, and the ways in which the two languages are employed in distinct ways on an everyday scale. The volume will particularly appeal to students and scholars interested in issues around language and identity, language policy and planning, multilingualism, translanguaging, and language in education.

Revisiting EFL Assessment

Author: Rahma Al-Mahrooqi

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-01-10

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 3319326015

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This book examines acknowledged practices and demonstrates to teachers how to make the most out of their assessment practices. It also explores different assessment methods for skills such as reading, writing, listening and speaking. Forecasting the future of assessment and where concepts like alternative assessment and dynamic assessment are heading, it also shows how relatively new teaching methods such as communicative methodologies and problem-based learning are reflected in assessment. This book represents a forum where contributors have presented their research and innovative ideas and practices on the important topic of assessment and opened a fresh debate on it. It offers an excellent reference guide for EFL teachers, practitioners, researchers and testing and assessment specialists. Each chapter examines central issues in assessment and their connection with teaching and learning in EFL contexts.

‏تعليم و التدريب في الشرق الأوسط

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13:

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Language Assessment

Author: H. Douglas Brown

Publisher: Pearson Education ESL

Published: 2018-03-16

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 9780134860220

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Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices is designed to offer a comprehensive survey of essential principles and tools for second language assessment. Its first and second editions have been successfully used in teacher-training courses, teacher certification curricula, and TESOL master of arts programs. As the third in a trilogy of teacher education textbooks, it is designed to follow H. Douglas Brown's other two books, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (sixth edition, Pearson Education, 2014) and Teaching by Principles(fourth edition, Pearson Education, 2015). References to those two books are made throughout the current book. Language Assessment features uncomplicated prose and a systematic, spiraling organization. Concepts are introduced with practical examples, understandable explanations, and succinct references to supportive research. The research literature on language assessment can be quite complex and assume that readers have technical knowledge and experience in testing. By the end of Language Assessment, however, readers will have gained access to this not-so-frightening field. They will have a working knowledge of a number of useful, fundamental principles of assessment and will have applied those principles to practical classroom contexts. They will also have acquired a storehouse of useful tools for evaluating and designing practical, effective assessment techniques for their classrooms.