Kiren Kaur - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Kiren Kaur

This article explores formative assessment enactment practices of six lower primary teachers with... more This article explores formative assessment enactment practices of six lower primary teachers within three primary schools in Singapore. Using a case study approach, data from interviews and lesson observations were examined to determine teachers' formative assessment enactment practices and the influences to their enactment attempts. Findings from the study suggest formative assessment implementation to be complex when the teachers conceptualized and then enacted their practice. The teachers were found to play out processes and practices related to formative assessment based on interpretations they held. The teachers' institutional, social and cultural settings were also found to influence their enactment practices. The study discusses evidences drawn before outlining implications for formative assessment implementation in schools.

Listening is an important language and literacy skill yet it remains a somewhat neglected and poo... more Listening is an important language and literacy skill yet it remains a somewhat neglected and poorly taught aspect in many of our primary school classrooms. Teaching listening is almost non-existent usually taking the form of exposure to listening comprehension practice in the hope that young learners will somehow get better at it. Although in some instances methods to aid listening development are taught, these tend to involve instructional approaches or techniques to deal with the complexities of the listening tasks rather than focusing on the listening processes involved. This article uses introspections gathered in listening diaries from a group of young learners to reveal metacognitive knowledge they had. Knowledge they possessed mostly revolved around the listening tasks that they were dealing with and how to cope with the challenges of those listening tasks. This article argues for the development of metacognitive knowledge (person, task and strategic knowledge) as part of the processes of teaching listening in order for listening growth to take place. Implications drawn highlight how listening should be taught to young learners rather than just tested with suggestions given on activities that can be incorporated into the classrooms to allow for metacognitive knowledge enhancement to take place.

Listening is an important skill for communication and for learning yet it is a literacy area that... more Listening is an important skill for communication and for learning yet it is a literacy area that is least taught in the Singapore classrooms. In order to prepare young learners for the demands of learning and communication, ways to teach listening, and not just test it, should be found. This paper focuses on a small scale study from an elementary school in Singapore where learners reported on their strategy use in diaries after listening to various types of English texts. The paper will report on strategy use by examining young learners' responses. The paper will then discuss implications in terms of teaching listening to young learners of different proficiencies and explore how we can help prepare them for the demands of the real world in which a mastery of English and effective communication skills are perceived to be important assets.

Chapter 12 ♦ Teaching Oral Communication: Speaking 169 Statements Agree Disagree Unsure 1. Pupils... more Chapter 12 ♦ Teaching Oral Communication: Speaking 169 Statements Agree Disagree Unsure 1. Pupils naturally learn to talk at home, and as they continue to develop their oral communication competence, there is no need for schools to provide formal instruction for oral language. 2. Teachers consciously create opportunities for the teaching of listening and speaking in the classroom. 3. It is possible for teachers to scaffold routines and activities in the classroom for natural oral language development. 4. Many teachers lack the knowhow and confidence to teach oral communication, and need support, guidance and training. 5. The teaching of oral communication skills is best taught in isolation, independent of the other language skills. ANTICIPATION GUIDE Activity 12.1: Anticipation guide Won36472_Ch12.indd 169 12/7/2019 3:45:41 PM PART 4: TEACHING ORAL COMMUNICATION Fortunately, the language classroom today has given the teaching of oral communication a higher profile as teachers become increasingly aware that successful literacy instructional programmes cannot marginalise speaking and listening in the primary curriculum (see Figure 12.1). Figure 12.1: Amount of a classroom day spent on the various language modes Reading 16% Writing 9% Speaking 30% Listening 45% >> THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING ORAL LANGUAGE The development of oral language skills is of prime importance, as "... oral language interactions account for the bulk of our day-today communications, remaining the primary mode of discourse throughout the world" (Peregoy & Boyle, 2005, p. 119). According to McClure (1995), without oral language instruction, pupils may refrain from speaking, and may grow up reluctant or afraid to share their ideas, in comparison with orally proficient pupils who are less self-conscious and who are able to interact well with others. Indeed, research findings confirm a strong connection between literacy and oral language. Oral language supports children's reading and writing development (Lipson, Valencia, Wixson, & Peters, 1993), and pupils with well-developed oral abilities are likely to perform better in reading and writing (Cazden, 1998; Ruddell & Ruddell, 1995; Sticht & James, 1984). Pupils who are proficient in oral language also score higher grades in vocabulary and intelligence tests (Loban, 1976). These studies indicate that oral language, reading and writing developments are interrelated. >> INTEGRATION OF FOUR LANGUAGE SKILLS Language learners cannot neglect the need to acquire oral language proficiency in school while they focus on attaining reading and writing proficiency. Oral

This study investigated a group of young learners' metacognitive awareness about listening. The c... more This study investigated a group of young learners' metacognitive awareness about listening. The children reflected on their listening after completing a number of activities based on three types of listening textsnarratives, news reports and dialogues. They also completed a questionnaire which elicited their knowledge of strategy use and sense of self-efficacy concerning listening. Results showed that the children mainly used problem-solving strategies and found news reports to be the most difficult type of text to listen to. The paper also discusses implications for researching young learners' metacognitive awareness and teaching children to listen in another language.