30.803, FYI: Assessing Writing in MENA: Call for Chapters

Wed Feb 20 04:20:13 UTC 2019

LINGUIST List: Vol-30-803. Tue Feb 19 2019. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 30.803, FYI: Assessing Writing in MENA: Call for Chapters

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Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2019 23:15:55
From: Lee McCallum [lm489 at exeter.ac.uk]
Subject: Assessing Writing in MENA: Call for Chapters

The Assessment of L2 Written English across the MENA Region: A Synthesis of
Practice.

Editors: Lee McCallum and Christine Coombe

Intended publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Language of publication: English

The status, demand and use of English across the MENA region has continued to
grow as English takes on an increasingly important role in professional
contexts. In light of this increase, there has been a subsequent need to
ensure citizens in the MENA region have a recognisable and often
professionally accredited level of English language proficiency. In line with
this need, there has also been an increasing need for citizens to have a level
of written English proficiency that allows them to communicate in writing at
local, regional and international levels. This need for written proficiency in
English is also being considered through a more critical lens as the ability
to write well in English impacts on the academic and professional success of
MENA region citizens who seek out study opportunities where English is often
either the medium of instruction or English is a key part of the curriculum.
The assessment of written English proficiency therefore has a considerable
role to play in determining current levels of success and further continued
success in education and the opportunities it brings to citizens both
regionally and internationally.

The assessment of written English proficiency across the MENA region on the
surface may appear homogenous as the countries that make up the region by and
large share a common first language in Arabic and have historically similar
backgrounds. However, there remain several unfounded intricacies between the
countries in the region in terms of populations, wealth distribution, economic
activities and cultural beliefs, all which impact on the status of the English
language and the status, use and desire for written English proficiency. It is
our belief in presenting this book that these intricacies need to be
uncovered, better understood and most importantly illuminated on a platform
where the assessment of writing across the region can be firmly established.
In presenting a synthesis of the assessment practices across the region, we
endeavour to not only illuminate these differences but also focus on a range
of different educational settings, some of which do not currently receive
exposure to the same extent that tertiary level research and practice has done
previously.

We therefore invite chapter submissions that detail the practice of assessing
writing in contexts from across the MENA region. This includes the following
countries:

Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia,
United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.

In doing so, we also provide flexible guidance on topic coverage:

Part 1: Test design, administration and the connection to teaching curriculum

This part of the book offers contributors the opportunity to submit chapters
on the following topics: 

- Methods of assessing writing (e.g. directly and indirectly assessing
writing).
- Test design criteria and evaluation (e.g. adhering to reliability and
validity and considering test design criteria such as practicality, timeliness
and its connection to teaching curriculum learning outcomes).
- Contributions may also consider different types of test administration (e.g.
timed tasks, free writing and the provision of computer-based testing). 

Part 2: The reader and writer connection: Exploring grading criteria and
practices 

- Types of grading rubrics (e.g. holistic, analytical and primary trait) and
their respective advantages and disadvantages of use in a specific assessment
context.
- Grading practices (e.g. reliability of grading criteria and validity
connections to assessment tasks).
- Grading criteria that sets out clear standards of attainment (e.g. weighted
attention paid to different aspects of written language proficiency).

Part 3: The provision and negotiation of feedback: Student and teacher
responses 

- Types of feedback (written, oral, online, face-to-face) and teacher and
student preferences
- Variation in teacher and peer feedback comments and focus areas. 
- Student uptake of feedback. 

Part 4: Using test material, results and feedback from the assessment process:
Stakeholder interests 

- How test material and results are used for internal decision making.
- How test material and results are used for external decision making.
- The ethics and rationale of sharing test material and results with internal
and external parties who have different stakeholder objectives in the
assessment process.

Part 5: Research methods used to capture the assessment and development of
writing 

- Contributions may choose to capture the existing trends of writing
assessment research across a particular context or across a particular level
of assessment.
- Contributions may consider capturing how the research methods used to
capture writing proficiency and assessment may develop in the future.
- Contributions may consider how the practice of conducting assessment
research may be made more rigorous and how best practice can be applied. 

All chapter topics will be evaluated for suitability upon receipt. 

Conventions for chapter submission

Chapter length: 6,000-8,000 words including tables, figures, appendices and
references. Chapters should follow APA style, 6th edition as detailed at:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduct
ion.html
In addition, the following guidelines also set parameters for submitted
chapters:
- Title: 10-15 words 
- Abstract: 200 words 
- Keywords: 3-5 

The structure of an empirical chapter should include the following elements:

Introduction
Theoretical framework
Research problem
Research questions 
Methodology
Results and discussion 
Implications of the findings for the context
Conclusion 
Appendices (if relevant)
References 

The structure of theoretical chapters will be evaluated on an individual
basis.

Publication timeline:

Call for chapters: April 2019

Abstract submission by authors: July 2019

Notification of acceptance: 31st August 2019

Full chapter submission: 30th November 2019

Review process: December 2019 – January 2020

Revised chapter submission: 28th February 2020

Final acceptance: 30th March 2020

Expected publication release: December 2020

Interested authors should submit a short chapter title, abstract (150-200
words) and biography to lm489 at exeter.ac.uk before Friday 1st March 2019.

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
                     General Linguistics
                     Language Acquisition

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