Hello everyone!
OK, information is trickling in about the December comprehensive exam! Please keep an eye out on this blog post as I am going to be updating it periodically with more information!
If at any point you have questions,please post questions in the comprehensive exam forum which is located here. I will be addressing your questions both in the forum, and by updating this blog post.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
In order to take the comprehensive exam you need to do two things:
- Please complete the Comprehensive Exam Permission Form (PDF) and return it to the department by email (aplingonline@umb.edu), by fax (+1 617-287-5403) or in person (W-6-98).
- This form is due by October 15
- Please complete your graduation request paperwork. You should have received a letter from the registrar's office in late September if you are potentially eligible to graduate.
As soon as we have processed your paperwork, you will be given access to a Blackboard course (http://boston.umassonline.net) where the information session will take place, and where you will be taking your exam.
EXIT EVALUATION FORM
Both online and on-campus students will be emailed an online survey by, or on, November 29, 2012.
You will have until December 7, 2012 to complete this survey.You must complete the survey before taking the comprehensive exam. Please follow the link to the survey as you will be unable to take the exam until it is completed. This survey is anonymous and evaluations will be opened and analyzed only after comprehensive exam results are in and grades submitted.
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM INFORMATION SESSION
Online
There will be a WIMBA session on November 5th (Monday) from 5:30 to 6:45 EST (see Calendar for event, please RSVP if you plan on attending live). The session will be lead by Professor Corinne Etienne and it will be recorded for people who cannot attend live :-). Here is the Handout for the Preparation session (Word Document) which mostly recaps most of the information here.
On-Campus
More information will be posted as soon as it is available!
PROCTORING
Online students: In years past we had asked students to find their own proctors, and this wasn't always easy. We will be working with a company called ProctorU to make sure that each and every one of you has a proctor. It is really important to work out the time zone information correctly; all times are referenced in Eastern Standard Time (Boston time). Online students can choose to take the exam online, or on-campus.
Please see this Student Handout (PDF file) to see what the system requirements are for proctoring the exam remotely.
On-campus students: Faculty members from the department of Applied Linguistics will be proctoring the exam on December 17th. On-campus students cannot take the exam online. The only option for on-campus students is on-campus.
DAY OF EXAM
more tips and information coming soon
Exam Material
Students are examined on material from their FIVE core and TWO required courses in their concentration (ESL or Foreign Language). Questions which appear on the exam are taken from exams, paper topics, and assignments in core and required courses and are periodically updated by faculty to reflect new course materials. Questions may also be submitted to the Comprehensive Exam Committee by students and will be considered for inclusion on the exam. If you are interested to do so, please email your questions to the coordinator of the Comprehensive Exam, Prof. Corinne Etienne at Corinne.etienne@umb.edu
Exam Structure
Questions on the exam are arranged into FOUR areas of study. Two of the areas (Linguistic factors and Socio-Cultural factors) are the same for all students. Two of the areas (Theories and Principles of language instruction and Methodology) examine material from the student’s chosen concentration (ESL or FL).
Two or three questions are asked in each of the four areas. Students must answer ONE question from EACH of the FOUR areas. When a question is added in an area as a third choice, the question is usually taken from material covered in an elective course with the understanding that not all students taking the test will have had the opportunity to take the course, and thus will be prepared to answer the question. The following categories in parentheses represent possible themes that questions might address. However, they do not reflect all possible areas a category might cover.
ESL: The Four Areas
- Theories and Principles of Language Instruction (foundations of language teaching, theories and foundations of bilingualism, theories of language acquisition, development of communicative competence, literacy, etc.).
- ESL Methodology (methods and materials, curriculum development, assessment, etc.).
- Linguistic Factors (psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic factors in language learning, general linguistic theory, first and second language acquisition issues and theories, etc.)
- Socio-Cultural Factors (assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication, culture shock, socio-cultural factors in language learning, literacy and culture, etc.)
Foreign Language Pedagogy: The Four Areas
- Theories and Principles of Language Instruction (foundations of language teaching, theories of language acquisition, development of communicative competence, literacy, etc.).
- Foreign Language Methodology (methods and materials, curriculum development, assessment, integration of the teaching of culture and language, etc.).
- Linguistic Factors (psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic factors in language learning, general linguistic theory, first and second language acquisition issues and theories, etc.)
- Socio-Cultural Factors (assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication, culture shock, socio-cultural factors in language learning, literacy and culture, etc.)
Please note that the exams in Foreign Language Pedagogy and ESL differ in areas 1 and 2 only:
- Questions for the area 1 of the ESL concentration will focus on materials from APLING 605 and APLING 614, whereas questions for the area 1 of the Foreign Language Pedagogy concentration will focus on materials from APLING 605 only.
- Questions for the area 2 of the Foreign Language Pedagogy concentration will focus on materials from APLING 611 and APLING 612. Questions for the area 2 of the ESL concentration will focus on materials from APLING 618 only.
Grading
The exams are graded by a committee of Applied Linguistics faculty. Exams are graded “blind;” no names are recorded on the printouts of the exams. Students are assigned a letter code and the list which identifies letters with student names is sealed until grading is completed.
Each exam is read by at least two faculty members. If the first reader and the second reader agree that the exam is a “Pass,” then the student is passed. If the first and second reader disagree, or if there is any uncertainty in their evaluation, then a third reader is enlisted.
Each answer is assigned a grade of High Pass, Pass, or Fail. No exam can be deemed as a Pass if one of the four required questions is not answered or has been assigned a failing grade.
Given the high number of students taking the exam, it may take up to two weeks for results to be sent out. Exam results are emailed when all grading has been completed. Students should not email or call the office about results. Faculty always complete evaluations by graduation date. Students who pass the exam don’t have access to their exam answers.
Readers use the same comprehensive exam evaluation rubric to evaluate exams. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with this rubric before the exam. It is available online in APLING Comprehensive Exam Preparation Session in Blackboard and at http://umasslinguistics.com/. The rubric includes the following criteria:
- Does student answer the question asked?
- Are all parts of the question answered?
- Does the student answer the question in sufficient depth? Are there important issues not covered?
- Does the student make repeated or gross misstatements that would lead you to believe that they do not understand the relevant material?
- Is the material presented coherently organized? Can you follow the student’s argument without having to do a lot of “interpreting” or “filling in the blanks”?
- Are technical terms used clearly and appropriately? Are terms defined where necessary?
- Are references made to course content and material where obvious/necessary? (If, for example, you teach a course which addresses the question posed, does the student mention those aspects of the issue covered in your course?)
- Does the student cite relevant sources? Does the student link theories or methods to particular individuals? (In other words, if s/he is clearly referring to a particular author’s work, does s/he cite the author?)
- If the student draws on personal experiences to answer a question, is that experience linked in some way to theoretical issues, relevant literature, or coursework?
- Does the student merely repeat the same material, references, and arguments in one or more of his or her responses or does s/he demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the field?
Strategies for preparing for and taking the exam:
Preparing:
- Carefully review your course syllabi paying attention to the course objectives and the main headings of weekly sessions. These headings outline important topics and issues; you should know the literature related to these themes and topics. You should be able to formulate basic questions about these themes and issues that could be exam questions.
- In general, exam questions ask you to define and discuss an issue, its context and origins; to support your discussion referring to scholars who contributed to the discussion of the issue, and to draw some classroom implications.
- Knowing the literature means being able to summarize the main ideas of a given scholar and assess her/his contribution to the field of applied linguistics. You are not expected to quote in the exam but you should spell scholars’ names properly, know the decade in which they contributed to the field, and present and summarize scholar’s ideas using and defining the terminology and connecting these ideas to the questions asked.
- If you like working in groups, it is a good idea to meet online with classmates.
- Advice for group work
- Form a small group with 3-5 other students
- Commit to each other to a meeting schedule, time and mode
- Individually list the major theories that you remember
(Do this before you open the books to see how much you already know!)
- Include the key theorists’ name and dates.
- Write a paragraph or two from memory with the key details.
- Meet with your group to compare notes.
- Revise your summaries as needed
- Make a timeline of key theorists and dates.
Include ONLY names and dates for a “clean” visual memory support.
Use colors if you are a visual learner.
- Practice timed essays with each other:
- Familiarize yourself with the evaluation rubric used by comprehensive exam graders
- Write and exchange your questions
- Assess each other’s essays using the comprehension evaluation rubric
- Suggested: two “assessors” read and grade independently, THEN compare grades and feedback.
- Give feedback in terms of the rubric and what the question asks
- You may consult any of the faculty members if you have doubt or questions about some concept or issue.
Taking the Exam
- Set up a document in word before you access the exam so you are ready to write as soon as you access the questions. SAVE it! Remember to hit save regularly as you write, or set it up to autosave every 5 minutes. Make sure you give yourself 5-10 minutes at the end to copy/paste your answers to Bb.
- Do not worry about formatting. It will disappear when you copy to Bb. Try to insert a blank line or two between paragraphs. Don’t worry about indenting.
- Copy the key phrases that you must answer in each question. Enter spaces between each phrase before you start to write. This will create a structure and help you remember what you have to answer. The last line of each question will ALWAYS tell you to support your answer with relevant literature. It is not necessary to copy this phrase—you are doing this throughout each answer.
- It is very important that you mark clearly by number each of the questions you choose to answer. The area designator and question number is sufficient. You do not have to copy the entire question. (e.g., A3)
- You should not waste time making detailed notes, extensive outlines, or rewriting your answers. The exam committee realizes this is a timed exam and you are under considerable pressure; therefore, we do not grade on language mechanics or expository prose -- so long as your argument and meaning are clear.
- You should not spend more than an hour on each question.
- You should run a spell check before uploading your exam.
Failing the Exam
Students who fail the exam on the first attempt can take the exam a second time. Before retaking the exam, the student should set up a phone, Wimba, or chat appointment with the Comprehensive Exam Coordinator to discuss the reasons for the failure. Students who fail the exam will be given the comments of readers and be shown parts of their exam in light of the readers’ evaluations.
Students who fail the exam can retake the exam only once. In preparing to retake the exam, students are encouraged to discuss with their advisors or other faculty how they might strengthen their performance. If a student feels he or she has been unjustly evaluated, an appeal procedure exists and may be discussed with the comprehensive exam chair.
Students who take their coursework seriously, seek and obtain the guidance of their faculty advisor periodically throughout their program of study, and prepare conscientiously for the comprehensive exam, usually have no difficulties passing.
Sample Exam Questions
Theories and Principles of Language Instruction
Define “communicative competence.” Discuss why it has become such an important focus of language teaching and how it can be developed in the classroom. Make sure you support your answer with relevant literature.
ESL Methodology
An important controversy in the education of second language students has to do with how to best teach ELL students language or literacy. One argument suggests that we should teach basic skills and build on these. Another suggests that we must engage in meaningful content. Where do you stand on this issue? Why? Make sure you support your answer with relevant literature.
Linguistic Factors
Describe two major theories of first language acquisition. Choose the theory you consider most tenable and substantiate your response. Make sure you support your answer with relevant literature.
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