An EFL Grammar Curriculum Alignment Cu cu u g e

Process

Campus MonterreyCampus Monterrey• History of our English Programy g g

– 1990 English became curricular again• Departmental placement exam, based on textbook series

– 1995 TOEFL workbook exams used for placement1995 TOEFL workbook exams used for placement– 2003 Language Lab opened for English and other

language students– 1995-2003 TOEFL exams taken for statistical1995 2003 TOEFL exams taken for statistical

purposes at end of some English courses and at graduation

– 2003: Graduate requirement of a score of 550 on the2003: Graduate requirement of a score of 550 on the Institutional TOEFL

F i th h ll• Facing the challenge…

70.00%

Success on Institutional TOEFL according to where students start in our English Program

50 00%

60.00%

40.00%

50.00%

20.00%

30.00%

0.00%

10.00%

0.00%

Spring 05 4.88% 5.26% 3.28% 9.20% 15.53% 41.99%

Fall 05 0.00% 0.00% 6.67% 8.16% 7.23% 40.37%

Remedial 1 Remedial 2 Remedial 3 Remedial 4 Remedial 5Academic

English IA/IAA

ADVANCED ACADEMIC ENGLISH

Spring 06 0.00% 8.89% 7.04% 11.84% 27.04% 53.01%

Fall 06 0.00% 5.56% 2.08% 0.00% 13.39% 35.16% 37.61%

Spring 07 0.00% 0.00% 2.80% 9.20% 12.40% 51.10% 56.00%

Fall 07 3.70% 6.06% 6.00% 9.86% 17.98% 44.62% 68.00%

Quantitative Analysis on the TOEFL PBT contents for Section 2:

Structure and Written Expression

TOEFL P ti B k• TOEFL Preparation Books• ETS TOEFL practice tests (nine)

Summary S=subject; O = object ; V= verb;Adv. C. = adverb clause; Adj. C. = adjective clause; N.C. =Noun clause; PPP =Present perfect progressive; Con. = Conjunction; Prep. = Preposition . An item in bold letters implies that it is testing 2diff t itdifferent items.

ETS TESTS Practice Test A Volume 1(1999)

Practice Test B Volume 1 (1999)

Practice Test A Volume 2 (1998 )

Practice Test B Volume 2(1998 )

Practice Test C Volume 2(1998 )

Practice Test D Volume 2 (1998 )

TOEFL Test Exercise book1995

TOEFL Test Preparation Kit (1995)pp. 46-50

TOEFL Test Preparation Kit (1995)pp. 92-98

Independent or main

47 1(O), 4(S V)

1(s)3 (v)

1(S. present

4(V), 6(Adj s

6. (Expletive

1. (prep Phr )

2. all (missing)

3.( appo.)4

2.4or main

clauses4(S.V.),6 (V), 7(V), 8(S there are ),12(O),

3 (v)13 (S+V)Compound sentences

23. un necessary connector

28 ( b)

participle)2(V. O.) 3(O) 4(S:V)

6(Adj.s for O), 14 (S. present participle),

( pit)9. adj. for linking verb is missing15. (Subject

Phr.)5. (V+O)8. (Subject present participle)10.(incomplete object)

(missing)5. (S+V)12. (s+v)

4.5.(main clause)13. (app.)15.(it)21. main c.

4.6.15.

31(O),40 (S is

repeated in a

pronoun)

28 (verb)31 un necessary connector

4(S:V)5(O)8(O) 11(prep. phr.)

present participle)

ete object)20. (rep of subj)

32. 33.

Section 2: Structure and Written Expression Topics (9 ETS Practice Exams, 360 items)

2

2

Irregular Nouns

Conjunctions

5

5

4

3

3

2

Negative Words

Gerunds

Quantifiers

Noun Clauses

Present vs. Past participle

Irregular Nouns

7

6

5

5

5

5

I fi iti

Verb form/tense

Reduced Adverb Clauses

Modal Auxiliaries

Superlatives

Negative Words

12

11

9

9

9

7

C ti

Reduced Adjective Clauses

Adverb Clauses

Modifying Phrases

Subject-Verb Agreement

Infinitives

17

17

14

12

12

A i l

Word Order

Pronouns

Word Choice

Passive Voice

Comparatives

29

28

24

20

20

Adjective Clauses

Prepositions

Parallelism

Singular or Plural Nouns

Articles

60

47

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Word Form or Function

Independent Clauses

Frequency of Grammar Topics

Definition of Backloading Ali tAlignment

• Curriculum strategy: Backloading alignment gy g gprocess

• According to Rappaport, Cheryl (1997) backloading involves “the alignment of writtenbackloading involves the alignment of written curriculum learning goals with the tested curriculum’s content”. English, Fenwick (2000) describes backloading as “the use of the testeddescribes backloading as the use of the tested curriculum as the written curriculum, because the content of the test becomes the content of the written curriculum; that is decisionsthe written curriculum; that is, decisions regarding objectives of the written curriculum are made on the basis of test objectives.”

Curriculum Content FrameworkCurriculum Content Framework• The Curriculum Content Framework (CCF) will be our

reference on what to teach and how to teach for each of thereference on what to teach and how to teach for each of the 28 grammar topics. The purpose of the CCF is to guide teachers through the different ways in which these topics are testedare tested.

• Each framework provides:– sample items from the ETS TOEFL practice tests of the

28 grammar topics – target contents to include in our programs– target contents to include in our programs.

• After each CCF, teachers are given a set of sample exercises (based on the sentence analysis methodology and grammar awareness) that are models to follow when teaching each topic.

CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR INDEPENDENT AND MAIN CLAUSESSENTENCE COMPLETION (SC) ITEMS

Missing subject and object of is helping to break new ground in drug research. ETS Practice Test A Vol. 2Missing subject and object of preposition

_____ p g g gA.Computers are being used more if B.The increasing use of the computerC.If an increase use of the computer D.Computers are being used more

Missing subject and verb in 1968 as a non profit agency to finance the growth of noncommercial radio andMissing subject and verb Testing also Active vs. passive voice.

______ in 1968 as a non profit agency to finance the growth of noncommercial radio and television in the United States. ETS Practice Test A Vol. 2

A.The corporation for Public Broadcasting establishedB.The corporation for Public Broadcasting was establishedC.When the corporation for Public Broadcasting was establishedD.Even though the corporation for Public Broadcasting was established

Missing verb from principal sentence

Although Emily Dickenson is now a well-known American poet, only seven of her poems _____ while she was alive. ETS Practice Test A Vol. 2

A. publishingB. to publishedC. have publishedD. were published

Missing objects Cold temperatures, short growing seasons, and heavy snows prevent _____ at high elevations. ETS Practice Test A Vol. 2

A. grow tressB. the growth of treesC. trees are growingD. and growth of tress

Missing Verb and object An elephant _____ vigorously when it is overheated. ETS Practice Test A Vol. 2

A.flapping its earsB.its ears flapC.flaps its earsD.ears flap it

Expletive :it: . _____ that Rachel Carsons 1962 book Silent Spring was one of the chief sources of inspiration for the development of nontoxic pesticides. Practice Test C Vol. 2

A. There is likelyB. Likely to beC. It is likelyD. Likely

Expletive :there: _____ fish in Great Salt Lake, but its waters still contain small brine shrimp. ETS Practice Test A Vol. 1

A.Why noB.NoC.Not onlyD.There are no

Objects of prepositions are 1 Flower oils are of the ingredients used in making perfumes ETS Practice Test AObjects of prepositions are phrases surrounding the subject and the verb.

1. Flower oils are _____ of the ingredients used in making perfumes. ETS Practice Test A Vol. 2

A.among expensiveB.among the most expensiveC.being most expensiveD expensiveD.expensive

Present Participles can be confused as verbs

The companies offering _____ the most customers. Practice Test C Vol. 2A.prices withB.the lowest pricesC.the lowest prices will haveD.will have the lowest prices for

Past Participle can be confused as verbs

The money _____ was not accepted. Practice Test C Vol. 2 1999A.was offered by the clientyB.offered by the clientC.to offer the clientD.which offered

Appositives Oliver Ellsworth, _____ of the United States Supreme Court, was the author of the bill that established the federal court system. Practice Test B Vol. 1 1998bill that established the federal court system. Practice Test B Vol. 1 1998

A.he was third chief justiceB.the third chief justice C.who the third chief justiceD.the third chief justiceD.the third chief justice

Target Content 1. Definition and identification of Phrases and Clauses, 2. Identification of: subject, verb, object, and frequency adverbs and prepositional phrases in a sentence.p epos o p ses se e ce.3. Identification of multiple clauses in a sentence:3.1. Compound sentences with conjunctions: and, or, but, so, yet.3.2. Complex sentences: principal clause and subordinate clause.3.3. Identification of connectors that unite multiple clausesp4. The use of Expletive there is and there are, there was, etc.5. The use of Expletive it is, it was, etc.6. Prepositional phrases. Careful with prepositional phrases, don’t confuse them with subjects or objects of a clause.j j7. Present and past participles. Careful with present participles and past participles, don’t confuse them with the principal verb of a clause.8. Appositives. Careful don’t confuse an appositive with the subject of a sentence.

Teaching Methodology: Sentence Analysis and Grammar awarenessSentence Analysis and Grammar awareness

A. Explicit knowledge and identification of grammar terms

B. Identification of the grammar function of words in a sentence

C. A written discourse analysis technique, analyzing words, phrases, clauses, sentences and then analyzing completephrases, clauses, sentences and then analyzing complete paragraphs

D K l d f i i l i dj ti d bD. Knowledge of grammar minimal pairs as adjective-adverb; noun person-noun thing, etc.

E. Error Identification and sentence completion

A sample exercise for teaching Independent Clauses based on Teaching Methodology:Clauses based on Teaching Methodology:

Sentence analysis and grammar awareness

Careful with prepositional phrases: Students must be careful with prepositional phrases that can be confused as subjects. In the following sentences students must circle the prepositional phrases and

underline the main clause subject and verb and object (if there is one).

ExampleThe major cause of ocean tides is the pull of the moon on the Earth.

subject V object

Write under each prepositional phrase it’s meaning

where: place when: time pwhy : reason or purpose how: manner

how much/how many: quantity what: object who, whom, what, which, what kind, etc.

The major cause of ocean tides is the pull of the moon on the Earth. Longman 2003

Object of prep. Obj. of prep. place

Aligning the Grammar Contents to the English Program

What to teachCurriculum Content

Framework: 28 grammar topics

How to teach:Methodology and

Modeling exercisesg p

When to teach: 28 grammar topicsaccording to level

Teacher Training on grammar topics and

methodology

When and How to testWhen and How to testthese 28 topics

according to level

• Hands on: the redesigning process begins…

Wh did d id t R d i ?Why did we decide to Redesign?

The st dents in the Academic English co rse ith•The students in the Academic English course with the lowest scores on the TOEFL PBT were those who began studying English in our remedial coursesbegan studying English in our remedial courses.

The lower the remedial course in which they began• The lower the remedial course in which they began their English studies, the lower their TOEFL score.

•Since these less successful students came from our own Remedial English Program, we decided to take aown Remedial English Program, we decided to take a closer look at it.

Findings in our English Programg g g•Our program was not aligned with the TOEFL PBT Section 2 contents.

• All five Remedial English courses had been designed by different teachers, in different ways, under different , y ,circumstances.

• The course programs were mostly based on textbooksThe course programs were mostly based on textbooks based on a communicative approach.

•The communicative teaching approach did not target the grammar students would need for a score of 550 on the TOEFLTOEFL.

Implementing the alignmentprocess meant redesigning the

whole programwhole program.

RedesigningProcess

AdministrativeAdministrativeAcademic

Authorizationof Project

New PlacementPolicy

Curriculum Redisign

Teacher Trainning Teaching Evaluation

Alignment of Grammar

28 GrammarcontentsGrammar

Contentscontents

of TOEFL PBT

Sentence analysisSentence analysis and grammar

awareness methodology

Redesigning Stages of our Programg g g g

• August 2007gAll five Remedial English courses werecompletely redesigned based on thep y goutcomes of the research projects:

• Students’ performancep• TOEFL PBT contents

Academic ProceduresPre-test:Application of Section 2 “Structure and Written Expression” of an ETS TOEFL practice test at the beginning of the semester for p g gRemedial 4 and 5.

Continuous:Continuous:Sentence Analysis exercises included in each monthly exam.

P t t tPost-test: Application of Section 2 “Structure and Written Expression” of an ETS practice exam at the end of the semester.Creation of TOEFL-like items: These will be written for each remedial course during January - May 2008.

• Developing TOEFL Alignment E iExercises…

Criteria for designing exercisesCriteria for designing exercises• For each TOEFL Alignment topic, 3 or more

exercises should be designedexercises should be designed.– Each exercise must:

• be based on the Content Curriculum Frameworkbe based on the Content Curriculum Framework included in the TOEFL Alignment manuals

• require sentence analysis• encourage grammar awareness• include 10 or more items• provide clear instructionsp o de c ea s uc o s• include an example.

Criteria for designing exercisesCriteria for designing exercises

• Exercises must be written by the academicExercises must be written by the academic coordinator (not copied from any other source).

• Grammar information on each topic must be pprovided, and if taken from a book or the Internet, must include bibliographical reference.

• The academic coordinator can design more than 3 exercises for each topic, subsequently

d i h b f i f hreducing the number of exercises for another topic.

Teacher reactions

• Most of our staff has taught English through theMost of our staff has taught English through the Communicative Approach, and believe that grammar should be acquired inductively.

• Asking them to change their whole methodology and teach explicit grammar has understandably met with resistance.

• Other teachers are enthusiastically using the li i b f k dalignment exercises because of marked

progress in their students’ grammar abilities.

Student reactionsStudent reactions• With the mandatory 550 score on the TOEFL, y ,

most students have been receptive to this methodology and the exercises we have prepared for themprepared for them.

• A few have even complained that their textbook does not include exercises of the TOEFLdoes not include exercises of the TOEFL Alignment type and have requested more.

• Some students, however, object because English class is not fun anymore and would prefer to watch a movie or play a game.

Future plansFuture plans• To verify that teachers are including the TOEFL alignment

topics, using the suggested methodology.

• To have staff meetings for each Remedial level to:– determine which chapters of the textbook could bedetermine which chapters of the textbook could be

adapted to the new methodology.– to decide whether the number of TOEFL alignment topics

taught in each level and the number of exercises hastaught in each level and the number of exercises has been convenient for each level.

• To offer more training courses for teachers from other campuses.

ConclusionsConclusions

• The data from our research alerted us toThe data from our research alerted us to an emergency: students were not being prepared to reach the required TOEFL exitprepared to reach the required TOEFL exit score for graduation.

• We needed curricular redesign of the• We needed curricular redesign of the entire English program.

Conclusions

• The Alignment process would require the use of backloading, so that our English classes not only taught English based on a communicative approach, but also specifically prepared students for the type of evaluation the Institutional TOEFL required.

• This alignment process has taken years, it g p yhas included many steps and is still in process...p

Undergraduate English Program (*2006)

Course Level Placement Exam Score

Remedial 1 Beginners Text Book

Remedial 2 Beginners Te t BookRemedial 2 Beginners Text Book

Remedial 3 Low Intermediate

Text Booke ed a e

Remedial 4 Intermediate Institutional TOEFL 440-470

R di l 5 Hi h I tit ti l TOEFL 473 507Remedial 5 High Intermediate

Institutional TOEFL 473-507

Academic English Low Advanced Institutional TOEFL 510-527

*Advanced Academic English

Advanced Institutional TOEFL 530-547