Cover not available

Article published In: Describing School Achievement in Asian Languages for Diverse Learner Groups
Edited by Angela Scarino and Catherine Elder
[Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 35:3] 2012
► pp. 251–270

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF

Documenting the diversity of learner achievements in Asian languages using common measures

 | University of Melbourne
 | University of Melbourne
 | University of Melbourne
Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 1 January 2012
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.35.3.02eld
While there have been a number of studies exploring the impact of time-on-task and language background on language achievement for both English and other languages, the Student Achievement in Asian Languages Education (SAALE) project constitutes the first systematic attempt to gather empirical evidence of these effects for four Asian languages (Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean) in Australian schools. The paper focuses on the approach adopted to measure and exemplify the diverse nature of learner achievements in the context of concern. This approach involved a) the gathering of information about the language background and prior learning experience of the study’s participants in order to establish learner sub-groups for subsequent analysis, b) the use of common assessment procedures at each level of schooling to compare levels of achievement across learner sub-groups and c) the analysis of samples of each sub-group’s performance by teams of teacher experts to develop rich descriptions of achievement reflecting the different dimensions of diversity relevant to each language.
The paper outlines the methodology adopted for the study, and reports briefly on the overall findings, Particular attention is paid to the challenges encountered in undertaking the research and to the further efforts that are needed to build on the project outcomes.
References (67)
Abbott, M. (2006). ESL reading strategies: Differences in Arabic and Mandarin speaker test performance. Language Learning, 561, 633–670. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blondin, C., Candelier, M., Edelenbos, P., Johnstone, R., Kubanek-German, A. & Taeschner, T. (1998). Foreign languages in primary and pre-school education: context and outcomes. London: CILT.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bolger, P.A. & Zapata, G.C. (2011). Psycholinguistic approaches to language processing in heritage language speakers. Heritage Language Journal, 8(1), 1–29. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brown, A., Hill, K. & Iwashita, N. (2000). Is learner progress in LOTE learning comparable across languages? Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 23(2), 35–60. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Burstall, C. (1975). French in the primary school: The British experiment. Canadian Modern Language Review. Retrieved 22 November, 2009, from [URL].
Carreira, M. (2004). Seeking explanatory adequacy: A dual approach to understanding the term “heritage language learner.” Heritage Language Journal, 2(1), 1–25. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carreira, M. & Potowski, K. (2011). Pedagogical implications of experimental SNS research. Heritage Language Journal, 8(1), 134–147. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1967). Foreign language proficiency levels attained by language majors near graduation from college. Foreign Language Annals, 11, 131–151. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cleveland, H., Mangone, G. J., & Adams, J. C. (1960). The overseas Americans: A report on Americans abroad. New York: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clyne, M. (1986). An early start: second language at primary school. Melbourne: River Seine.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clyne, M., Fernandez, S., Chen, I. & Summo-O’Connell, R. (1997). Background speakers: Diversity and its management in LOTE programs. Belconnen, ACT: The National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clyne, M., Jenkins, C., Chen, I. Y., Tsolalidou R., & Wallner, T. (1995). Developing second language from primary school. Canberra: NLLIA.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Collins, L., Halter, R. H., Lightbown, P. M. & Spada, N. (1999) Time and the distribution of time in L2 instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 33(4), 655–680. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Corder S. P. (1981). Language distance and the magnitude of the language learning task. In Error analysis and interlanguage (pp. 95–102). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Courcy, M. C. (2002). Learners’ experiences of immersion education: Case studies of French and Chinese. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
DeKeyser, R. (1991). Foreign language development during a semester abroad. In B. F. Freed, (Ed.), Foreign Language Acquisition Research and the Classroom (pp. 104–118). Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dufon, M. & Churchill, E. (Eds). (2006). Language learners in study abroad contexts. London: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Elder, C. (1989). Drowning or waving? An evaluation of an Italian partial immersion program at a Victorian primary school. Melbourne Papers in Applied Linguistics, 1(2), 9–17.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1996). The effect of language background on ‘foreign’ language test performance: The case of Chinese, Italian and Modern Greek. Language Learning, 46(2), 233–82. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1997). The background speaker as learner of Italian, Modern Greek and Chinese: Implications for foreign language assessment. Doctoral dissertation, University of Melbourne.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2000a). Learner diversity and its implications for outcomes-based assessment. In C. Elder (Ed.). Defining standards and monitoring progress in languages other than English. uest edited issue of the Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 23(2), 36–61. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2000b). Outing the ‘native speaker’: The problem of diverse learner backgrounds in foreign language classrooms. Language, Curriculum and Culture, 13(1), 86–108. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Farmer, K. (2006). The Japanese bilingual program at Huntingdale Primary School, Melbourne. Babel, 41(2), 32–4, 381.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hill, K. (2012). Classroom-based assessment in the school foreign language classroom. Frankfurt am Main, Peter Lang. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hill, K., Davies, A., Oldfield, J. & Watson, N. (1997). Questioning an early start: the transition from primary to secondary foreign language learning. Melbourne Papers in Language Testing, 6(2): 21–36.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Iwashita, N. (this issue). Cross-linguistic influence as a factor in the written and oral production of school age learners of Japanese in Australia.
Jarvis, S. & Pavlenko, E. (2008). Crosslinguistic influence in language and cognition. New York/London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Johnstone, R. (2000). Context-sensitive assessment of modern languages in primary (elementary) and early secondary education: Scotland and the European experience. Language Testing, 17(2), 123–142. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2006). Review of research on language teaching, learning and policy published in 2004 and 2005. Language Teaching, 9(4), 1–27. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kagan, O. (2005). In support of a proficiency-based definition of heritage language learners: The case of Russian. The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 81(2&3), 213–221. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, H.-S. (2005). Processing strategies and transfer by heritage and non-heritage learners of Korean. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Hawaii at Manoa.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, J.-H., Montrul, S. & Yoon, J. (2009). Bindng interpretations of Korean heritage speakers. Language Acquisition, 161, 3–55. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, S. H. O. (this issue). Learner background and the acquisition of discourse features of Korean in the Australian secondary school context.
King, K. A. & Ennser-Kananen, J. (2012). Heritage languages and language policy. In C. Chapelle, (Ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Wiley-Blackwell. .Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kohler (this issue). How does time-on-task affect the achievement of early and late starters of Indonesian in schools?
Kondo-Brown, K. (2008). Issues and future agendas for teaching Chinese, Japanese and Korean heritage students. In K. Kondo-Brown & J. D. Brown, (Eds.), Teaching Chinese, Japanese and Korean heritage language students: Curriculum needs, materials, and assessment (pp. 17–43). New York: Lawrence Erbaum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lado, R. (1957). Linguistics across cultures: applied linguistics for language teachers. Michigan, University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lapkin, S., Hart, D. & Swain, M. (1995). A Canadian interprovincial exchange: Evaluating the linguistic impact of a three-month stay in Quebec. In B. F. Freed, (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 67–94). Amsterdam: Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Llosa, L. (in press) Assessing heritage language learners. In A. Kunnan, (Ed.) Companion to Language Assessment. London: Wiley-Blackwell.
Lorch, S., McNamara, T. & Eisokovitz, E. (1992). Late Hebrew immersion at Mt Scopus College, Melbourne: towards complete Hebrew fluency for Jewish day school students. Language and Language Education, 2(1), 1–29.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marriott, H. (1993). Acquiring sociolinguistic competence: Australian secondary students in Japan. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 4(4), 167–92.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Molyneux, P. (2004). Pride and empowerment: Bilingually educated students reflect on their learning. Australian Language and Literacy Matters, 1(2), 4–10.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Montrul, S. (2002). Incomplete acquisition and attrition of Spanish tense/aspect distinctions in adult bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 5(1), 39–68. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Montrul, S. & Perpiñán. S. (2011). Assessing differences and similarities between instructed heritage language learners and L2 learners in their knowledge of Spanish tense-aspect and mood (TAM) morphology. Heritage Language Journal, 8(1), 90–113. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Odlin, T. (1989). Language Transfer: Cross-linguistic Influence in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
O’Grady, W., Kwak, H-Y., Lee, O.-S., & Lee, M. (2011). An emergentist perspective on heritage language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 331, 223–45. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
O’Grady, Lee, O-S & Lee, J-H, (2011). Practical and theoretical issues in the study of heritage language acquisition. Heritage Language Journal, 8(3), 23–39. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oostdam, R. & Van Toorenburg, H. (2002). ‘Leuk is not enough’: Het vraagstuk van de positionering van Engels inhebasisondervijs en de aansluitingmet het voortgezetonderwijs. LevendeTalentijdschrift, 3(4), 3–17.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ozolins, U. (1993). The politics of language in Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Polinsky, M. (2008). Without aspect. In G. Corbett & M. Noonan, (Eds.), Case and grammatical relations (pp. 263–82). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Polinsky, M. & Kagan, O. (2007). Heritage languages: In the ‘wild’ and in the classroom. Language and Linguistics Compass, 1(5), 368–395. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pufahl, I., Rhodes, N. C. & Christian, D. (2000). Foreign Language Teaching: What the United States Can Learn from other Countries. Eric Document ED-00-PO-4609.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rao, Z. (2001). Matching teaching styles with learning styles in East Asian contexts. The Internet TESL Journal, VII(7). Retrieved from [URL].
Rudd, K. (1994). Asian Languages and Australia’s Economic Future: A report prepared for the Council of Australian Governments on a proposed national Asian languages/studies strategy for Australian schools. Brisbane: Queensland Government Printer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Scarino, A., Elder, C., Iwashita, N., Kim, S. H. O., Kohler, M. & Scrimgeour, A. (2011). Student Achievement in Asian Languages Education. Full report. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations: Canberra.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Scarino, A. (this issue). A rationale for acknowledging the diversity of learner achievements in learning particular languages in school education in Australia.
Serrano, R. Tragant, E. & Llanes, A. (2012). A longitudinal analysis of the effects of one year abroad. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 68(2), 138–163. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Slaughter, Y. (2007a). The study of Asian languages in two Australian states: Considerations for language-in-education policy and planning. Unpublished PhD thesis. Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, University of Melbourne.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2007b). The rise and fall of Indonesian in Australian schools: Implications for language policy and planning. Asian Studies Review, 311, 301–322. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Spada, N., Lightbown, P. M. (1989). Intensive ESL programs in Quebec primary schools. TESL Canada Journal, 7(1), 11–32. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stern, H. H. (1985). The time factor and compact course development. TESL Canada Journal, 3(1), 13–27. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Valdés, G. (2001). Heritage language students: Profiles and possibilities. In J. K. Peyton, D. A. Ranard, & S. McGinnis (Eds.), Heritage languages in America: Preserving a national resource (pp. 37–80). Washington, DC & McHenry, IL: Center for Applied Linguistics & Delta Systems.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Victoria, Department ofucation and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) (2010). Languages Other Than English in Victorian Government Schools 2009. Melbourne: DEECD. Retrieved 9 September, 2012 from [URL]
Vinjé, M. P. (1993). Balans van het Engels aanheteinde van de basisschool. Arnhem: CITO.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wiley, T. G. (2001). On defining heritage languages and their speakers. In J. K. Peyton, D. A. Ranard, & S. McGinnis (Eds.), Heritage languages in America: Preserving a national resource (pp. 29–36). Washington, DC & McHenry, IL: Center for Applied Linguistics & Delta Systems.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wilkinson, S. (1998). Study abroad from the participants’ perspective: A challenge to common beliefs. Foreign Language Annals, 311, 23–39. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (5)

Cited by five other publications

Gil, Jeffrey
2021. Conclusion. In The Rise of Chinese as a Global Language, ► pp. 145 ff. DOI logo
Scarino, Angela
2014. Recognising the Diversity of Learner Achievements in Learning Asian Languages in School Education Settings. In Dynamic Ecologies [Multilingual Education, 9], ► pp. 137 ff. DOI logo
Willoughby, Louisa
2014. Meeting the challenges of heritage language education: lessons from one school community. Current Issues in Language Planning 15:3 ► pp. 265 ff. DOI logo
Willoughby, Louisa
2016. High Stakes Assessment of Heritage Languages: The Case of the Victorian Certificate of Education. In Handbook of Comparative Studies on Community Colleges and Global Counterparts [Springer International Handbooks of Education, ], ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Willoughby, Louisa
2018. High Stakes Assessment of Heritage Languages: The Case of the Victorian Certificate of Education. In Handbook of Research and Practice in Heritage Language Education [Springer International Handbooks of Education, ], ► pp. 429 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 1 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue