NAMIBIA UNIVERSITYOF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF HUMAN SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

COURSE NAME:ENGLISH FOR ACADEMICCOURSE CODE: EAP5115S BURBOSES

DATE: JUNE 2018 MODE: FM

DURATION: 3 HOURS MARKS: 100

FIRST OPPORTUNITY EXAMINATION QUESTION PAPER

EXAMINERS: Mr T. Chunga

Mr A. Ndlovu

Ms E. /Ucham

Mr B. Kamwi

Ms J. Brandt

MsT. Kavihuha

Ms Y. Lyamine

Ms A. Mieze

Mr J. Lasso Rey

Mr M. Silume

Ms. J. Hunter

Ms N. Manyame

Ms R. Nekongo

Ms T. Kanime

Dr A. Straus MODERATOR: Dr T. Frans

INSTRUCTIONS 1. AnswerALL the questions.

2. Write clearly and neatly.

3. Number the answersclearly.

PERMISSIBLE MATERIALS1. Examination paper

2. Examination script

THIS QUESTION PAPER CONSISTS OF 12 PAGES (INCLUDING THIS FRONT PAGE)

SECTION A: READING [50]

Read thefollowing research article and answer the questions below.Thearticle has been

adapted for assessment purposes.

Akdeniz Language Studies Conference 2012

The impact oflistening strategy instruction on academic lecture comprehension: A case

of Iranian EFL learners

Khaled Moradi* Department of English, Takestan branch, Islamic Azad University,

Takestan, Iran

1. Introduction

A.With increasing numbers of students applying for admission into English-medium

universities and colleges, academiclistening skills in English are critical to their academic

success. Lecturing is the most common methodofinstruction in higher education (Scerbo,

Warm, Dember, &Grasha, 1992; Long & Richards, 1994; Morell, 2004). Griffin and Cashin

(1989) estimated that 75% of college courses include lectures as a methodofinstruction.

B.Research similarly suggests that these skills are what college students have to be

equipped with to complete their academic studies smoothly (Flowerdew, 1994, 2005).

Effective listening comprehension skills are essential for students’ academic success

(Benson, 1994; Dunkel, 1991; Flowerdew, 1994; Vandergrift, 2004). Various literatures

have highlighted the importanceof explicit training to improve students’ academiclistening

skills (O’Malley & Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 1996; Hyon, 1997; Swan, 2011). The purpose of

this study is to prepare such students for academic study. During lectures in English, EFL

students are faced with greater difficulties than native speakers because EFL students have

to comprehendsubject matter delivered in English as well as contend with other obstacles

that a lecture could create, such as understanding the lecturer’s accent, and speed of

delivery. EFL students also have to contend withthedifficulty of listening and taking notes

at the sametime, as well as processing visual aids such as presentation slides or textbooks.

This leads to comprehensiondifficulties when EFL studentslisten to academic lectures.

2. Literature review

C.The theoretical framework which underpins learning strategies is rooted in cognitive

psychology and information-processing theory (Anderson, 1980). More recent research on

language learning strategies has shownthat what makes a successful L2 learner and useris

more dependenton the learner’s choice of strategies for a given task or situation (Cohen,

1996b, 1996c; Chamot and El-Dinary, 1999; Khaldieh, 2000; Vandergrift, 2007) rather than

the actual strategy.

D.A numberof studies in listening research support this statement. For example, O’Malley,

Chamot and Kiipper (1989) used verbal protocol methods to compare thelistening

strategies of effective and ineffective high school ESL students, as well as to see whether

the strategies students used paralleled Anderson’s (1985) three theoretical phases of

listening comprehension. They found that effective and ineffective listeners varied as to

the strategies they chose to use during the various phasesoflistening comprehension.

E.Moreeffective listeners made greater use of both bottom-up and top-downprocesses,

while less effective learners becamefixated on individual word meanings. With regard to

listening strategies, O’Malley and Chamot’s (1990) taxonomy ofcognitive, metacognitive

and social-affective strategies and Vandergrift’s (1996; 1997) refined version have to date

gained widest acceptance among researchers. Numerous studies have examined more-

proficient and less-proficient listeners, and findings indicate that more-proficientlisteners

use a wider variety of strategies with greater flexibility, frequency, sophistication, and

appropriateness to meet task demands (Chien and Wei, 1998; Goh, 2002; Smidt and

Hegelheimer, 2004), and employ superior configurations of strategies compared to less

proficient listeners (e.g. Vandergrift, 1997; 1998; 2003). In asimilar vein, Vandergrift (2003)

comparedlistening comprehension strategies of seventh-grade, Canadian French students

ranging from moreto less skilled. Students were instructed to think aloud while listening

to several French texts. Vandergrift found that the more skilled listeners used more

metacognitive strategies, such as comprehension monitoring, than the less skilled

students. The less skilled students were found to use moretranslation as they listened.

Chamot (2005) states that descriptive studies have "confirmed that the good language

learners are skilled at matching strategies to the task they were working on, whereasless

successful language learners apparently do not have the metacognitive knowledge about

task requirements needed to select appropriate strategies” (p. 116).

F.The premise that promoting the use and developmentoflistening strategies through

explicit instruction is conducive to helping learners become moreefficient, effective and

autonomous listeners is evident in recent literature on L2 listening pedagogy (e.g.

Flowerdewand Miller, 2005; Lynch and Mendelsohn, 2002; Rost, 2002; Vandergrift, 2004).

Nevertheless, there are a numberof concernsrelated to listening strategy instruction. For

example, Ridgway (2000) has argued that learners do not have the cognitive capacity to

consciously activate taught strategies and listen simultaneously, and isolating individual

listening strategies for explicit instruction and determining if they are being utilized by

listeners is unrealistic. In addition, Field (1998; 2000) has pointed out that proclivity toward

listening strategy instruction and strategy use depends onan individual’s temperament;

targeting individual listening strategies for instruction may promote the use of those

strategies but may not necessarily lead to improved listening performance; and he

questions whether, following instruction, strategies can be utilized in combination and

appropriately by listeners.

G.More recently, Chen (2005) found learners reported a range of barriers encountered

during a program ofinstruction classified as affective, habitudinal, information processing,

English proficiency, strategic, belief and material, which mayinhibit the learning of listening

strategies. Despite the pedagogical and theoretical arguments, there has been little

associated empirical research conducted, and the few studies thus far have not produced

tangible and consistent findings to convincingly support or refute the efficacy of listening

strategy instruction. For example, studies reported improvementsin the use of someof the

listening strategies taught but not others (e.g. McGruddy, 1995; Rost and Ross, 1991),

listening comprehension posttest results have been mixed (e.g. Ozeki, 2000; Paulauskas,

1994; Thompsonand Rubin, 1996), or methodological concernslimit the weight of positive

findings (e.g. Carrier, 2003).

H.Such a small body of existing research on classroom-based investigations into the

development and implementation of strategy instruction to promote listening

comprehensionin general and of this genre in particular underlines that there is clearly a

need for further research to inform pedagogical practice.

3. Method

3.1. Participants

l.The participants of the study comprised 58 students, both males and females,

participating in two intact classes, which were randomly assigned to a control groups

(N=31) and an experimental groups (N=27). They wereall freshman students ranging in age

from 20 to 26, studying English as a foreign language at the department of foreign

languagesandlinguistic of Takestan University. The two groups were chosen mainly due to

their availability. The participants had studied English at school and institutes for about 8

years.

3.2. Materials

J.Six tests were used as the instruments of the study. A test of TOEFL was administered to

make sure that the participants were of the samelevel of proficiency. The test consisted

140 items in four sections: structure, written expressions, reading comprehension and

listening comprehension. Thereliability of test was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha and

was 0.81. In order to see whether the two groups were of the same levelof listening

comprehensionability, the listening sub-sections of a TOEFLpractice test (different from

the TOEFL test already mentioned above) were given to the students. The listening

comprehensiontest (general listening test) was 50-item tests, followed by some multiple

choice items. The reliability indices of the listening tests, determined by Cronbach’s alpha

were 0.75. The listening comprehension tests were taken from part C of the listening

comprehension section of TOEFL test, which is mainly composed of some monologues

followed by a number of multiple-choice items, with a pause of 12s for each item to be

answered. The listening passages ranged in length from 200 to 250 words. Strategy

instruction requires careful planning and should progress from a stage where the teacher

is explicitly and directly involved in providing input, to a stage in which the teacher has a

minimal role and the learners autonomously implement strategies (Mendelsohn, 1994).

The following strategy instruction model — based on examples outlined by Mendelsohn

(1994, pp. 41-42) — wasutilized to provide a procedural frameworkfor promotinglistening

comprehension of academic lectures. First, a background questionnaire was administered

prior to commencing the study in orderto identify and analyze factors that may influence

the extent of comprehension of academic listening. Second throughreferral to O’Malley

and Chamot’s (1990) and Vandergrift’s (1996; 1997) taxonomies of cognitive,

metacognitive and socialaffective listening strategies, the questionnaire responses, and

four metacognitive ( selective attention, self management, planning, self- evaluation), five

cognitive (Summarization, inference, elaboration, , note-taking, deduction) and three

social-affective (cooperation, question for clarification, self-motivation) strategies for

instruction were determined, and appropriate activities were developed through whichto

teach the strategies (see examples in Appendix 1). Fourth, pre-listening, while-listening and

postlistening material was prepared for the strategy instruction exercises. Fifth, integrated

and informed strategy instruction incorporating presentation, practice and review of

strategies was provided, though from week 7 most of the instruction centred on review

and practice. Sixth, the strategy instruction was evaluated through continuous classroom

monitoring and observation, and instruction varied accordingly. Lastly, at the completion

of the study, results were shared and discussed with participants in the EG in order to

further encourage the autonomoususeoflistening strategies.

4.3. Procedures

K.To begin the study, in order to ensure that four groups were similar in terms of their

general proficiency level, they took the TOEFLtest. The result of this test indicated that

there was no significant difference between the four groups, with respect to their level of

proficiency. Students attended one of two simultaneous 10-week courses for 3 hours each

week. Each lesson in week 2 to week 9 of the course was based on material drawn from

the TOEFL and the topic and academic lectures varied each week. Following a 30-minute

pre-listening stage using website material, the EG completed 90 minutes of strategy

instruction (a total of 14 hours instruction across the study) encompassing the

presentation, practice and review of strategies appropriate to the givenlistening task. This

wasfollowed by a 30-minute post-listening task. The CG did not receive explicit strategy

instruction but completed a 60-minute listening task with the samelectures, and also did

the same 30-minutepre-listening and post-listening tasks as the EG with the same material.

To measure listening comprehension gains across the study an academiclecture pre-test

and post-test were administered to both groupsin the first and last week of the study. A

pedagogical cycle encompassing three stagesreflecting real-life listening was utilized with

the EG and CG: 1) Pre-listening preparation; 2) Monitoring of comprehension; and 3)

Evaluation of performance (Field, 2000; Vandergrift, 2003a; 2003b). The CG and EG

completed the following pedagogical cycle each week, but the EG received strategy input

prior to practicing the application of strategies, feedback on strategy use and review of

strategies, whereas the CG did not receive any explicit strategy instruction, merely

completing the listening task.

QUESTION 1: READING COMPREHENSION [20]

Use your skimming and scanningskills in reading to answerall the questions.

1.1. Why should universities regard explicit training in listening skills in English as critical? (4)

1.2. Mention twodifficulties that non-native speakers of English have to contend with (para

B) that make following lectures moredifficult for them than native speakers. (2)

1.3. To what doesthe pronoun this in this statement (para D) refer? Quotefrom the

passage. (2)

1.4. Paraphrase the following sentence:

Theyfoundthat effective and ineffective listeners varied as to the strategies they chose to

use during the various phasesoflistening comprehension. (3)

1.5. Identify three listening strategies that effective listeners employ. (3)

1.6. What evidenceis there to showthat there is a need for researchin the area oflistening

strategy instruction? (2)

1.7. Choose the most appropriate meaning of each of the words below:

1.7.1 Premise (para F) (1)

(a) argument

(b) strategy

(c) research

1.7.2 Temperament(paraF) (1)

(a) physique

(b) humour

(c) personality

1.8. List 2 signal words found in paragraph K that signal a sequence pattern of text

organisation. (2)

QUESTION 2: LANGUAGE USE [10]

Read the abstract below and answerthe questionsthat follow:

Abstract

A.Non-native speakers have long been known to have trouble understanding academic

lectures. Listening to lectures is difficult, especially for students who have just entered

university. The present study was carried out to determine the effect of listening strategy

instruction on a group of Iranian EFL (English Foreign Language) learners’ listening

comprehension of academic lectures. Two groups of male and female English majors (N = 58)

participated in the study. In one group (the treatment group) the participants received 14

hoursoflistening strategy instruction consisting of the presentation, practice, and review of

listening strategies. In the other group (the control group), the students did not receive any

explicit strategy instruction. The analysis of the data revealed that the students in the

treatment group significantly outperformed those in the control group in listening

comprehension tests. The results of the present study shed more light on the influence of

listening strategy instruction on listening comprehension.

2.1. Add suffixes to the following words to change theminto adjectives. (3)

(a) Instruction

(b) Strategies

(c) Influence

2.2. Indicate whether the morphemesin brackets are inflectional or derivational morphemes

by writing either inflectional or derivational next to the word. (4)

(a) Participant(s)

(b) Present(ation)

(c) Significant(ly)

(d) Reveal(ed)

2.4. Rewrite the word treatmentand underline the free morphemein it. (2)

2.5. What is the meaning of the morphemenonas used in ‘Non-native’ in the abstract. (1)

QUESTION 3: RESEARCH ANALYSIS [20]

3.1. Which groupis the main focusof this study? (2)

3.2. What is the purposeofthis study? (1)

3.3. Describe the participants of this study. (5)

3.4. What criterion was used in choosing the participants? (1)

3.5. Explain why it was necessary to give the following tests in the procedure section. (4)

(a) TOEFL test

(b) Pre-test and post-testin listening

3.6. What languageskills were covered in the TOEFLtest? (3)

3.7. What werethedifferences between the control groups (CG) and the experimental

groups (EG)as far as the preparation for the tests was concerned? (4)

SECTION B: WRITING [50]

QUESTION 1: REPORT WRITING [15]

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) ranked Namibia first on the list of countries

with the deadliest roads in the world. Many reports on the causesof road accidents seem to

agree that Namibia has some of the best road infrastructure, thereby removing anypossible

blame of these accidents on the quality of the roads within the country. This means that the

road users themselves cause most road accidents in the country.

With the above information in mind, students doing Contemporary Issues at the Namibia

University of Science and Technology were asked to write a recommendation report outlining

two main causes that they think cause roads accidents in Namibia. Imagine you are one of

those students, and the report below belongs to you. However,it is incomplete. Complete it

by doing the following things:

a) Write the second body paragraph of this report numbered 2.2 (5)

b) Write the conclusion paragraph of this report (5)

c) Write the recommendation section of this report, by giving two to three well-

constructed recommendations. (5)

A report on the causes of road accidents in Namibia

1. Background

Namibia has one of the best road infrastructures in Africa. The increasing number of road

accidents is however a major concern to the nation. The World Health Organization has

ranked Namibia top ofall countries with the highest road deaths per annum (Brandt, 2014).

The National Road Safety Council recorded that Khomas region was amongst one of the

regions with the highest road accidents involving pedestriansin its statistical reports (Road

Accidents in Namibia: Statistical Reports, 2010). This report will look at the causes of these

increasing road accidents by focusing on two main causes namely; driving underthe influence

of alcohol and lack of respect for road signs. The report will also provide some

recommendations deemed necessary in reducing road accidents.

2. Causes of road accidents

2.1 Driving underthe influence of alcohol

According to Angombe (2017) drinking alcohol and driving is one of the leading causes of road

accidents in Namibia. It is a well-known fact that excessive alcohol consumption may lead to

drowsiness, impaired vision and reaction as well as poor judgment on distance and objects.If

drivers are unable to judge the distance of objects, and react quickly to oncoming hazards

accidents can happen. The National Road Council of Namibia’s report confirmed this whenit

found that 60 % of drivers that were involved in car crashes in 2016 were found to have been

driving under the influence of alcohol. One can therefore safely infer that alcohol

consumptionwhile driving is a serious threat to road users.

2.2 Lack of respect for road signs

3. Conclusion

4. Recommendations

QUESTION 2: ACADEMIC WRITING [10]

2. Write whether each of the following sentences exemplifies tentativeness,

acknowledgement, objectivity, formality or clarity.

2.1. The less skilled students were found to use moretranslation as theylistened.

2.2. Targeting individual listening strategies for instruction may promote the use of those

strategies.

2.3. The theoretical framework which underpins learning strategies is rooted in cognitive

psychology and information-processing theory (Anderson, 1980)

2.4. Successful language learners apparently do not have the metacognitive knowledge about

task requirements needed to select appropriate strategies

2.5. Research similarly suggests that these skills are what college students have to be

equipped with to complete their academic studies smoothly (Flowerdew, 1994, 2005).

QUESTION 3: PROOF READING ANDEDITING [10]

The paragraph below contains 10 errors. Identify the errors and correct them. In your answer

write the incorrect word/phrase followed by the correct word.

The harambeeprosperity plan (HPP) is a targeted Action Plan to accelerate developmentin

clearly defined priority areas, which lie the basis for attaining prosperity in namibia. The Plan

doesn’t replace, but complement the longterm goal of the National DevelopmentPlans (ndps)

and vision 2030. hpp introduces an elementofflexibility in the Namibian planning system by

fast tracking developmentin areas whoprogressis insufficient.

Adaptedfrom The HarambeeProsperity Plan 2016/17 — 2018/19 (2016, p. 6)

QUESTION 4: REFERENCING [15]

4.1. In-text citation (10)

Use the reference sources provided below to complete the in-text citation in the given text.

Spaces for reference sources are numbered within the paragraphs. In your answerwrite the

in-text citation ONLY including brackets where applicable.

A. Cameron,D. (1995). Verbal hygiene. London, England: Routledge.

10

B. Khumalo, L. (2000). Turn-taking in Ndebele: an application of conversation analysis.

Unpublished paper submitted to the Departmentof Linguistics,

Cambridge University.

G Moraru, C. (2005). Naming: memorious discourse: Reprise and representation in post

modernism. Cranbury, NJ: Rosemont Publishing.

D. Nofsinger, R.E. (1991). Everyday conversation. NewburyPark, CA: Sage.

E. Sacks, H. (1987). On the preference for agreement and contiguity in sequencesin

conversation.In: G. Button and J.R.E. Lee eds. Talk and social

organisation. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 54-69.

F, Sidnell, J. (Ed.), 2009. Conversation analysis: Comparative perspectives. Cambridge,

Enagland: Cambridge University Press.

G. Thurlow,C. (2003). Profiling ‘new’ communication technologies in adolescence.

Journal of LanguageandSocial Psychology, 22 (1), 94-103.

H. Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the internet. New York, NY:

Simon & Schuster.

Conversation analysis

It is our hypothesis that the advent of the mobile phone has had an effect on the structure

and pattern of conversation in the Ndebele language.It can be argued that, as an instrument

that is more widely used in modern communication, an analysis of its effects on everyday

conversation is appropriate *(Source A). An analysis of turn-taking in normal everyday mobile

phone conversation is taken against the backdrop of previous analysis of turn-taking in

Ndebele using CA 2(Source B; Source D). CA is an empirical approach to naturally occurring

conversations. "Source D observes that in our everyday lives we notice how various

participants in oral communication become speakers. That is, how one ‘gets the floor’ as a

speakerto producethefirst ‘pair part of an adjacencypair’, or the required secondpart or to

make some other contribution. CA therefore is the analysis of the systematic properties of

the sequential organisation of the talk 4(Source C; Source H).

In analysing turn-taking in Ndebele, Knumalo (2000) applied °Source E’s modelof CA in the

discussion of the freedom of turn-taking in Ndebele. Khumalo (2000) cameto the conclusion

that turn-taking in Ndebele is to a great degree fixed. He noted that while in greetings young

people seem to have an exclusive right to the first turn, elderly people or people in

superior/authoritative positions largely dominate turn-taking. This according to °SourceF is

11

because age andsocial position licence these participants in conversation to dominate turn-

taking. Turns in Ndebele seem to be pre-allocated according to seniority. Overlaps in Ndebele

conversation are a commonoccurrence that seem to conform to CA principles. However,

according to’ Source B, p.234,silence and interruptions have their peculiarities in Ndebele.

Silence in Ndebele is viewed as a respectable phenomenonandis motivated by the belief that

once an utterance has been madeit is binding, while interruption seems to be a phenomenon

that projects control in conversation that pits elderly people against younger people. The

elderly people dominate turns and easily interrupt the younger participants in everyday

conversation °(Source G).

4.2. Reference List (5)

In the referencelist below, indicate whether each referenceis for a book, journal article,

newspaperarticle or internetarticle.

A. Thurlow,C. (2003). Profiling ‘new’ communication technologies in adolescence.

Journal of LanguageandSocial Psychology, 22 (1), 94-103.

B. Cameron,D. (1995). Verbal hygiene. London, England: Routledge.

C. Hulton, G. (2018, March 14). Piggiback- bringing a new meaning to the word. The

Namibian., p.19.

D. Sidnell, J. (Ed.). (2009). Conversation analysis: comparative perspectives. Cambridge,

England: Cambridge University Press.

E. Moraru, C. (2005). Naming: memorious discourse: reprise and representation in post

modernism. Cranbury, NJ: Rosemont Publishing.

END OF QUESTION PAPER

12