Questões de Inglês - Interpretação de texto | Reading comprehension para Concurso

“Since computers started to be introduced in language learning (and in education in general) people have rightly asked whether the investment we are making in these technologies gives us value for money. As digital technologies have taken a hold in society in general, this particular question is not asked quite so often, but it is still important to make sure that the technologies that we have available are used effectively” (MOTTERAM, 2013, p. 7).

According to the latest research on the use of technology for second language learning and teaching, it is INCORRECT to state that:

“L2 learning strategies are specific behaviors or thought processes that students use to enhance their own L2 learning” (OXFORD, 2003, p. 8).

Considering the six main categories of L2 learning strategies identified by Oxford (1990, apud OXFORD, 2003), it is CORRECT to affirm that:

“The field of English for specific purposes (ESP), which addresses the communicative needs and practices of particular professional or occupational groups, has developed rapidly in the past forty years to become a major force in English language teaching and research. ESP draws its strength from an eclectic theoretical foundation and a commitment to research-based language education which seeks to reveal the constraints of social contexts on language use and the ways learners can gain control over these” (HYLAND, 2006, p.2).

Some of the major perspectives that currently influence ESP are:

1. Needs analysis

2. Ethnography

3. Critical approaches

4. Contrastive rhetoric

5. Social constructionism

6. Discourse analysis

Correlate each perspective with its general ideas about ESP.

( ) This perspective draws attention to the fact that we are members of several such cultures simultaneously and critically highlights the conflicts inherent in these multiple memberships. In particular it emphasizes the potential clashes between the discourse conventions of professional and ethnic cultures. The question of who establishes the linguistic conventions of professional communities and whose norms are used to judge them is a central issue in ESP, and researchers have questioned the traditional view that those familiar with other conventions need to conform to Anglo-American norms when engaging in professional and particularly academic genres.

( ) This perspective suggests that knowledge and social reality are created through daily interactions between people and particularly through their discourse. It takes a critical stance towards taken-for-granted knowledge and, in opposition to positivism and empiricism in traditional science, questions the idea of an objective reality. It says that everything we see and believe is actually filtered through our theories and our language, sustained by social processes, which are culturally and historically specific. Discourse is therefore central to relationships, knowledge, and scientific facts as all are rhetorically constructed by individuals acting as members of social communities. The goal of ESP is therefore to discover how people use discourse to create, sustain, and change these communities; how they signal their membership; how they persuade others to accept their ideas; and so on.

( ) This perspective says that the use of systematic means to define the specific sets of skills, texts, linguistic forms, and communicative practices that a particular group of learners must acquire is central to ESP, informing its curricula and materials and underlining its pragmatic engagement with occupational, academic, and professional realities. It is a crucial link between perception and practice, helping ESP to keep its feet on the ground by tempering any excesses of academic theory-building with practical applications.

( ) It is a sophisticated theory of language concerned with the relationship between language and the functions it uses to perform in social contexts. In this view, language consists of a set of systems from which users make choices to most effectively express their intended meanings, and this fits neatly with ESP’s aims to demystify the academic and professional genres that will enhance or determine learners’ career opportunities.

( ) This perspective has helped to develop a growing sense in ESP that a social-theoretical stance is needed to fully understand what happens in institutions to make discourses the way they are. Increasingly, studies have turned to examine the ideological impact of expert discourses, the social distribution of valued literacies, access to prestigious genres, and the ways control of specialized discourses are related to status and credibility.

( ) This perspective considers that the members of discourse communities and the physical settings in which they work (with detailed observations of behaviors together with interviews and the analysis of texts) are the two main focuses of study which may provide a fuller picture of what is happening.

Choose the alternative which CORRECTLY correlates each perspective with its general ideas about ESP from top to bottom.

Brown (2004, p.19) states five principles of language assessment: “practicality, reliability, validity, authenticity, and washback”.

Read the statements below about these principles and check if they are correct or incorrect.

I. A test is practical when it stays within appropriate time constraints, is relatively easy to administer, has a scoring/evaluation procedure that is specific and time-efficient, and is not excessively expensive.

II. A reliable test is consistent and dependable. If the teacher gives the same test to the same student or matched students on two different occasions, the test should yield similar result. There are a number of factors that may contribute to the unreliability of a test: fluctuations in the student, in scoring, in test administration, and in the test itself.

III. Face validity will likely be high if learners encounter: expected format with familiar tasks, clear directions, reasonable level of difficulty, etc.

IV. Authenticity may be presented in the following ways: the language in the test is as natural as possible; items are contextualized; topics are meaningful (for the students); etc.

V. Language testing washback is a kind of positive reinforcement; the teacher praises the students for their correct answers and “forgets” their mistakes.

In relation to the previous statements, choose the CORRECT alternative:

According to Richards; Rodgers (2001, p.16) “approaches and methods can be studied not as prescriptions for how to teach but as a source of well-used practices, which teachers can adapt or implement based on their own needs”.

Read the following statements about five current communicative approaches and check if they are TRUE (T) or FALSE (F).

( ) The Communicative Language Teaching approach states that learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error.

( ) According to the Natural Approach, a focus on comprehension and meaningful communication as well as the provision of the right kinds of comprehensible input provide the necessary and sufficient conditions for successful classroom second and foreign language acquisition.

( ) Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups through which students work together without accomplishing shared goals.

( ) Content-Based Instruction refers to an approach to second language teaching in which teaching is organized around the substance or subject matter that students learn or communicate through language rather than the language used to convey it.

( ) In the Task-based Language Teaching approach the activities and tasks can be either those that learners might need to achieve in real life or those that have a pedagogical purpose specific to the classroom.

Choose the alternative which CORRECTLY shows if the statements are TRUE or FALSE: