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Social media play a leading role in the daily lives of young people, especially such media where images are central. There has been a significant increase in the production and circulation of multimodal digital texts in current times. This article addresses the potential and complexity of digital production on Instagram from the perspective of learning and literacies. Based on ethnographic research in a public secondary school in Santiago, Chile, this paper presents the digital practices of eight young people. The materials analyzed come from interviews with young people, teachers, and mothers, in situ and digital ethnographic observations, and visual pieces produced by young people. The findings show different learning, the level of complexity of which is associated with the intensity of text production and the orientation and motivation. Vernacular literacies are related to practical knowledge, where English, hashtags, images, and humor are significant in digital production. The findings also show some cases of production that transcend personal use with an expressive function, guided by strategic orientations of communication, politics, and education. For the latter, the interaction of academic and vernacular literacies is crucial. Finally, the paper identifies certain gaps in digital literacy, where the school could contribute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the prospects of adaptation of academic discourse to the needs of Russian tertiary students of the Humanities with the view of developing academic literacy in native language. The authors made an attempt to extrapolate the techniques of academic writing, i.e., note-taking, thesis-writing, paraphrasing, paragraphing, hedging, proof-reading etc. to Russian language research papers and to integrate them with the students’ major. The course implies acquiring research and professional competences as well as readiness to construct one’s own knowledge in mother tongue.

Communication skills, especially academic writing skills in English, are vital for a successful career in the global scientific community. Finnish engineering students, however, seem to encounter problems when preparing their scientific publications in English as a second language (ESL) for international forums. Thus, these skills should be enhanced at all levels of academic education to promote students' development as experts in their field. The paper describes challenges faced by engineering students in academic writing and seeks solutions to promote students' learning process. In addition to communication issues, the paper enlightens the environment and conditions in which the engineering students operate. By an interpretive study, the paper examines texts written by Finnish engineering students. The qualitative textual analysis is based on Systemic Functional Linguistics. Further, the paper discusses learning of academic writing from the perspective of situated learning. Based on the textual analysis, the paper identifies challenges and problems in academic writing, namely unfamiliarity with publication practices, grammar and terminology problems, unawareness of academic discourse strategies, such as hedging and the use of cohesive devices, and challenges with handling feedback. To enhance students' competences in academic communication within their discipline, guidance and training of communication skills should be integrated into relevant technical and academic contexts throughout the engineering studies. Thus, in addition to thesis writing, argumentation and writing skills and the use of databases can be enhanced for instance by writing course reports in the form of academic papers. Individual consultation also plays a key role in the situated learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has gained considerable attention, mainly due to the growing importance of English teaching and the need for preparing international professionals. The primary academic emphasis of this field is largely centered on the study of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). It has become increasingly important for China to provide EAP education to its vast population of college students, who represent a significant proportion of global tertiary-level English learners. By doing so, they can improve their academic literacy and participate more effectively in international academic communication. In 2016, China's College English Test Examination Board issued the National College English Test Syllabus which emphasized the importance of academic English literacy in the test design. This syllabus was released during a contentious debate among Chinese academics about the role of EAP in college English teaching and testing. Despite this heated discussion, there are currently few studies that have analyzed the linguistic nature of academic English tests in a quantitative manner. This paper calculates the academic word coverage of the reading passages in two crucial English proficiency tests designed for college students in China, the College English Test (CET) and the Test of English for Academic Purposes (TEAP). It is found that the academic word coverage of CET is increasing from the year 2013 to 2021 and that the academic word coverage of TEAP is slightly higher than that of CET. In this sense, these English tests can meet the requirements for measuring Chinese college students' academic literacy. It is also found that there is a positive correlation between academic word coverage and language difficulty as is indicated by Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. These findings provide an empirical reference for the study of academic English tests in China, and other parts of the world, and contribute to EAP teaching and testing reform for the development of students' academic literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this conceptual paper, borne from the experiences of two academic literacy lecturers at the NWU, we ask, regarding elements of assessment, how we can sensibly adapt an intervention-style writing course in a post-Covid-19 higher education context. We propose a course correction model, applicable to academic literacy writing courses, to address the pedagogical lacunae highlighted in a pre-pandemic context and compounded in the post-pandemic higher education context. We argue for the adaption of this writing course to contend with the under-preparedness of students for higher education, the issue of online learning and resultant student cognitive overload and additional challenges, such as the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its effects on teaching and learning, and specifically writing courses. An important element which needs to be reconceptualised within the context of our compounded problem, is that of the writing assessment. In this paper we argue for moving away from placing major emphasis on assessing the final product of writing and shifting some focus to the pedagogical value of examining the student's journey of writing. We therefore propose incorporating reflective writing as a significant element of assessment through our reflect- rewrite-model. The goal of this proposed model is to create a space for fostering student self-awareness, responsibility, critical thinking, and evaluation skills. Such outcomes should then contribute to the creation of effective and contextually relevant, academic skills development, which in turn should positively influence student success and mitigate some of the issues currently experienced in the module offering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how we integrated critical thinking and academic literacy with disciplinary content in a communication skills module for Computing students. The module aims to develop students' academic literacy, and at the same time, their ability to critically question issues related to their discipline or profession. Previously, for the writing task, each student had to write an argumentative essay on a topic and question that they wish to explore within a given theme. However, feedback from students and some faculty members suggested that such a task may have limited relevance to Computing students. When redesigning the course, we approached it from the perspective of critical digital literacy (CDL). This approach emphasizes the need to re-balance between a competency-based digital literacy approach built around hard IT skills such as coding, and a capacity-based digital literacy approach focused on "distinctively human capacities" (Bass, 2018, p. 37) such as creativity and critical thinking. We adopted the five-resources CDL pedagogical model proposed by Hinrichsen and Coombs (2013) and framed the different communication tasks within this model. Instead of academic essays, students were to apply all five CDL resources to write an online commentary in response to a digital text within the given theme. To determine whether students found value in this task and in this novel CDL approach, pre- and post-course surveys were conducted. The rationale and implementation of this redesigned writing task are described in this paper, followed by the survey findings and our reflections on the course redesign process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary academia, English-language reading assignments are prevalent, even in contexts where English is not the primary medium of instruction nor the local language. This presents a challenge for students with English as a foreign language (EFL) who seek to pursue a university education in their home country. This study investigates the presence of English literacy events in Swedish upper secondary schools outside of English classes and explores their implications for university readiness and educational equity. Using survey data from 163 EFL students and qualitative content analysis, students' written comments revealed a notable absence of English literacy events in non-English subjects, with limited exposure to written English texts and occasional use of multimodal English activities. The findings underscore disparities in students' opportunities to engage with academic English literacy practices, primarily influenced by individual factors. This paper delves into the interplay between individual dimensions, and institutional and social practices, in shaping student agency in English academic literacy practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Signos is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the academic writing practices of a post graduate student from a University of Pakistan. It also examines the role of English in academic writing and related problems, including the issues of identity involved in the writing processes and practices at university. The study is longitudinal and spans a period of 12 months in which data is collected through various means including student's narrative, her written academic texts, and her discussion around these texts and surrounding practices. The study is located in a case study method of research and employs academic literacies approach to look into the writing processes, practices and perspectives on it. The data analyzed include the written narratives, the texts, and the semi-structured interviews, for linguistic analysis of texts the study draws on systemic functional linguistics. The paper interprets the multilingual student writer's problems with writing and identity experienced at a university where writing is governed by dominant institutional norms and individual expectations of the teachers. The study has implications for both higher education institutions and teachers to play their role in addressing these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, contentiously for some, universities have developed generalist skills lists and associated curricula in response to government demand for more ‘employment-ready’ graduates. Such training usually includes writing and communication. In Australia and the UK, guidelines designed to support the development of skills programmes describe research training as ‘generic skills’ and/or ‘discipline-based’. This framing effectively precludes a discussion of academic literacies perspectives on curriculum development and pedagogy for research training. In a review of some key insights from academic literacies and consideration of their implications for research training, the article discusses why academic literacies are not skills-based, strictly generic or informed by the students' discipline. The article suggests a reframing of the terms of research skills discussion to accommodate academic literacies perspectives. This would involve recognition of curriculum and pedagogy that aims to introduce the complex and diverse written genres, research purposes, rhetorical conventions, language functions and cultural norms that students are working with, an approach supportive of both effective student writing and subject learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Historia y Comunicación Social is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Academic literacy as an embodiment of higher-order language and thinking skills within the academic community bears huge significance for language socialization, resource distribution and even power disposition within the larger sociocultural context. However, although the notion of academic literacy has been initiated for more than twenty years, there still lacks a clear definition and operationalization of the construct. The study conducted a systematic review of academic literacy research based on 94 systematically selected research papers on academic literacy from 2002 to 2019 from multiple databases. These papers were then coded respectively in terms of their research methods, types (interventionistic or descriptive), settings and research focus. Findings demonstrate (1) the multidimensionality of academic literacy construct; (2) a growing number of mixed methods interventionistic studies in recent years; and (3) a gradual expansion of academic literacy research in ESL and EFL settings. These findings can inform the design and implementation of future academic literacy research and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to assess and improve the impact on reading students' comprehension due to an intervention in two curricular modules, Teorías pedagógicas and Lengua at Teacher's Training of an Instituto de Formación Docente (IFD) in Uruguay. The framework on these studies is based on Academic Literacy, which encompasses the teaching practices needed for reading specialized texts. The method used to quantify changes on reading students' comprehension is a pretest and posttest strategy without control group. Before and after the intervention a reading comprehension test is applied. The results show a statistically significant difference in the mean between the pre and posttest (the difference of 1 and p value equal to 0.003). Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected, and the alternative hypothesis is accepted which is that the intervention produced change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Didacticae: Revista de Investigación en Didácticas Específicas is the property of Didacticae: Revista de Investigacion en Didacticas Especificas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT: In this paper, I analyse bilingual interactional practices in higher education in Brazil, focusing on Deaf students and, in particular, on their participation in academic literacy practices with the assistance of Sign Language interpreters. The paper draws on a study conducted within the undergraduate Linguistics program at a public university. As part of this study, I engaged in participant observation and interactional analysis in a classroom where three Deaf students were enrolled. The study was conducted within a theoretical and methodological framework consisting of ethnography as a logic of inquiry, recent writings on bilingual education for Deaf students, and literacy as a social practice (New Literacy Studies). My analysis of the specific challenges faced by these students in higher education is also situated within the wider educational policy context in Brazil and related to recent policy-making regarding democratising access to higher education for minoritized groups.

This paper presents a quantitative analysis of an intervention study that used process-oriented, guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) to teach grammar as part of an academic literacy module in the Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) at a South African university. In the first semester of the Language and Study Skills (LST) module, four key grammatical functions (parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation, and discourse markers) are foundational to subsequent writing skills taught throughout the year. The POGIL-based intervention study for the LST module was designed to respond to the specific educational context and needs of the ECP students. A teaching intervention was conducted using POGIL-style worksheets, after which the performance of the intervention group was compared to the performance of a control group using data from items in formal assessments (two semester tests and an examination). Analysis of this data indicates that the POGIL group performed better than the control group in all four constructs, though the difference in performance was statistically significant in only three constructs. The paper concludes with a suggestion that further research should be conducted to investigate the relationship between students' level of capability and their response to POGIL-style language instruction; some possibilities for the continuation of the study are outlined. The research therefore contributes to the small, but growing body of work on POGIL instruction by expanding it to include academic literacy and ECP instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the literature on the assignment traditionally called the research paper focusses on first-year students, and often centers on what they don’t know or can’t do. This article seeks to expand the conversation to one about the skills and knowledge displayed by senior students, and about their perceptions of the universe of academic research and their place in it. It does so by means of a qualitative study of 13 senior students at the University of Calgary. Through interviews, I probe their understanding of their own research processes, how they think they learned to do what they do, and, most important, their understanding of what it means to conduct academic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently a great deal of interest in language teachers' competence in assessing language ability. Their competence in this regard, or lack of it, has much to do with their initial training and professional biases. Taking as example the teaching and learning of one specific kind of language, academic discourse, this paper discusses a number of assessment techniques that language teachers could apply to language teaching at school, or in other contexts of language tuition. Its basis is four basic principles of language assessment: reliability, validity, interpretability of results, and efficiency. These four principles are important to all assessments designed by language teachers. Some assessment techniques that have not yet widely been used to their full potential by teachers are described when different formats of language assessment are discussed. In particular, examples of effective and efficient formats of assessment will be given by referring to an analysis of a test of academic literacy administered to senior secondary school students in their pre-university year. Those examples have clear applications in other language learning settings. The paper concludes with a challenge to teachers: to experiment with new assessment designs, and to learn how to interpret the results of assessment in order to plan language instruction more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on ongoing research into how an embedded academic support programme, based in a South African university’s writing centre, shapes the academic literacy practices of first-year B.Ed. students. This paper focuses specifically on the peer tutors who implement the programme. Our data collection and analysis methods are informed by socio-cultural theories of literacy and the notion of ‘discursive third space’. The tutors’ discursive reconstructions of the intervention programme are understood to reveal the dynamics of how the intervention functions as third space. Peer tutors were selected purposefully for the study; they needed to have had at least one year of experience tutoring and mentoring in the intervention programme, and five peer tutors agreed to take part. Data was collected using an audio-recorded focus-group interview, and the transcription analysed; data was coded into meaning units within which key themes, patterns, and categories informed by the study’s theoretical frameworks were identified in a recursive process. The analysis reveals that the tutors use the intervention programme as a third space in which they draw on the students’ varied “funds of knowledge and Discourse” (Moje, Ciechanowski, Kramer, Ellis, Carillo and Collazo 2004), with three main results evident. Firstly, because the students’ learning is scaffolded, and their skills in navigating between different spaces, Discourses, and funds improved, their epistemological access to dominant Discourses around academic literacy and course content increases. Secondly, the tutorial third space offers potential for reshaping dominant Discourses, and so for decolonial transformation. Thirdly, however, the strain of working in-between competing funds of knowledge can be inhibiting rather than generative, resulting in “post-colonial splitting” (Bhabha 1994). If we are to engage meaningfully with the academic-support access paradox, the insights that the tutorial third space generates have to be taken seriously.

The management of language diversity and the mastery of language required by educational institutions affect those institutions from early education through to higher education. This paper will deal with three dimensions of how language is managed and developed in education. The first is the design of interventions for educational environments at policy level, as well as for instruction and for language development. The second dimension concerns defining the kind of competence needed to handle the language demands of an academic institution. The interventions can be productive if reference is made throughout to the conditions or design principles that language policies and language courses must meet. The third dimension concerns meeting an important requirement: the alignment of the interventions of language policy, language assessment and language development (and the language instruction that supports the latter). The paper will use a widely used definition of academic literacy to illustrate how this supports the design of language assessments and language courses. It is an additional critical condition for effective intervention design that assessments and language instruction (and development) work together in harmony. Misalignment among them is likely to affect the original intention of the designs negatively. Similarly, if those interventions are not supported by institutional policies, the plan will have little effect. The principle of alignment is an important, but not the only design condition. The paper will therefore conclude with an overview of a comprehensive framework of design principles for language artefacts that may serve to enhance their responsible design.

In the academic literacy (AL) class, fostering engagement between educators and students in the online environment is challenging. However, students are familiar with game shows and social media, where they are used to sharing opinions and expressing themselves. Therefore, simulation of this in the online AL classroom may provide a solution to low participation rates. When combined with social constructivism, in which student interaction is key to learning, the tools on an online platform may assist educators in enhancing engagement and the acquisition of AL skills. In popular game shows, there is a powershift when the audience gains more control through participation, which improves the ratings of game shows (Enli & Ihlebæk, 2011). This tactic of audience participation can be applied to online learning with tools (such as Polls, Like, and Mic and Chat functions), especially in AL where student expression is so important. By applying these tactics, students may experience a sense of community which increases engagement and vital AL skills. Thus, this paper demonstrates how the simulation of game shows and social media can enhance student engagement and AL skills in an online classroom. To achieve this goal, student perceptions were analysed, following a convergent parallel mixed methods approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The complex role of academic language and learning (ALL) professionals in higher education is poorly understood, even though it contributes to key outcomes such as improved study skills, academic language enhancement, curriculum development and student retention. In this paper, we explore the multiple professional identities of people working in this field. Ten ALL practitioners employed in Australian universities took part in semi-structured interviews exploring their roles and the contextual constraints and affordances of their work. We elaborate on eight discrete subject positions that emerged from the participants' data: the collaborator, the relationship manager, the applied linguist, the teacher, the content (non) expert, the academic, the strategist, and the expense. We draw on a critical realist frame to articulate the interplay between structure and individual agency within these identities, highlighting the range of expertise that ALL practitioners bring to the role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper focuses on the description and exemplification of a strategy which is the core of the Academic Reading and Writing Program (PROLEA, for its acronym in Spanish) conducted at the Universidad de Flores (UFLO), in Argentina: the "negotiation between professional peers" or "negotiation between teaching partners". The Program's pedagogic design is based on the Sydney School's developments in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). The negotiation between peers comprises the work between a professor on academic and professional literacies, who is a member of the Program, and the professors of each of the specific subjects involved. In order to successfully implement the SFL pedagogic proposal at this educational level, the realization of the negotiation between professional peers is necessary. This negotiation entails a series of agreements between the professors involved about the teaching of the curricula contents through reading and writing tasks. First in this paper, the negotiation between peers is characterized, and its function and value in the Program are highlighted; second, two scenarios of application are presented in order to show this strategy's contribution as well as its difficulties and the way of resolution of the problems found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to demonstrate how posthuman research methodologies foster change in analytical thinking strategies to encourage new understandings of academic literacy. It details data and insights from a recent PhD study exploring postgraduate students undergoing transformational entanglements of becomings with 'academic language'. By presenting fragments of interviews with postgraduate students sites of contradictions and assumed expectations of communicative competence are explored. This is analysed by overlaying several thoughts on top of Deleuzo-Guattarian concepts major and minor language, desire, and the pre-personal. Posthuman methodologies are used to re-think 'the problem' of academic language, unsettling longstanding 'deficit model' understandings of academic literacy. Exploring possibilities of the 'more than' in and of language creates generative spaces for new possibilities in analytical processes. Thus, I unsettle my own thinking practices by re-turning to the data to offer multiple diffracted readings for alternative ideas about the role of language in postgraduate learners' becomings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a writing programme I started at Bronx Community College to improve academic success among recently immigrated Spanish-speaking students by linking ESL courses to Spanish academic literacy courses within the framework of a learning community. My reflection begins by articulating the pedagogical rationale for looking beyond 'English-only' approaches to the teaching of college writing in the context of the U.S. language demographics. I discuss how the linked course model facilitated the circumvention of 'normative English monolingual ideologies' and the implementation of a translingual approach to college writing in an institution where English is the only language of instruction. Drawing on a longitudinal study that includes a comparative analysis of academic success metrics and in-depth interviews, I show how the translingual pedagogical strategies that emerged from the linked courses facilitated English academic literacy acquisition and the ability to succeed through this language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues for the re-integration of academic development (AD) and a academic language and learning (ALL) practitioners in Australian higher education. This argument is made as universities aim to develop internationally recognised, inter-disciplinary and standards-based curricula against the backdrop of international comparative education (e.g., Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), the Australian Qualifications Framework and a quality emphasis on English language standards (e.g., Tertiary Education Quality and Assessment Agency). Drawing on Rowland's argument that professional life in the academy has become fragmented across five fault lines ([2002]. Overcoming fragmentation in professional life: The challenge for academic development.Higher Education Quarterly, 56(1), 52–64), I propose a sixth: the pedagogical fault line between language and learning which I argue is institutionally manifest in the historical bifurcation of AD and ALL practitioners in the academy. This paper traces the historical separation of these two fields of practice in Australian higher education in order to disturb the present distinction and show how it is more an accident of history than the result of sound pedagogical decision-making. The paper argues that in the current educational context, it is timely to consider a re-integration of these two aspects of the academic field. It is suggested that such a move will create research and teaching connections that develop synergies in educational development that are able to work with language and learning simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-year students' literacy deficits are not the problem. They are emblematic of an overall skill set which can be scaffolded from the first year of university study. If we treat literacy deficits as contingent upon other items of motivation, and as an element of Academic Motivational Literacy, we can usually also see these deficits as 'rich points' (Agar (2000) Border lessons: linguistic "rich points" and evaluative understanding. New Directions for Evaluation 2000: 93–109.). That is, in many cases, students have a desire to succeed, and we can typically build from one or more literacies to greater motivation and success in other areas. Or, to put it another way, a deficit might be a problem, but it is also an opportunity. This concept, of targeting weaknesses to build overall confidence, underpins the approach taken in a first-year subject for a cohort of students who are particularly disadvantaged, diverse and underconfident. This paper will present examples of programs undertaken in this course over the space of six years which addressed each need as an opportunity, and it will provide evidence to show that success, in student retention, in overall grade distributions, and in student satisfaction, was the result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been well documented in research that students from so-called 'non-traditional' backgrounds can experience significant difficulty in accessing higher education, in part due to a lack of cultural capital. This is further reinforced by 'invisible pedagogic practices' such as 'critical analysis', 'structure' and 'argument', which uphold the prestige of disciplines without adequately inducting students into such practices. Through the evaluation of an academic literacy intervention ('ARC') designed to improve the academic resilience and confidence of students on an undergraduate degree programme, this paper demonstrates that 'literacy' is as much a social practice as it is a set of applied skills. Thus, 'academic literacy' should constitute both study skills and academic socialisation. This paper further argues that the acquisition of 'academic literacy' necessitates the adoption of an 'academic identity', which is an emotional as well as an intellectual endeavour. This requires institutions to move away from the deficit model of 'academic literacy support' towards models which enable the construction of a shared academic identity and cultivate a sense of belonging to the university environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of RED - Revista de Educación a Distancia is the property of Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cuaderno de Pedagogia Universitaria is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The National Benchmark Tests Project (NBTP) was commissioned by Higher Education South Africa and became operational in 2009. One of the main aims of the NBTP is to assess the extent to which entry-level students might be said to be ready to cope with the conventional demands of academic study in three key areas: academic literacy; quantitative literacy; and mathematics. This paper presents an analysis of the academic literacy readiness of a sample of registered students as reflected in their performance on the NBT in Academic Literacy, a standardised assessment developed in the context of the wider project. The paper presents a theoretical analysis of the construct of academic literacy as operationalised in the test. This is followed by a categorised empirical analysis of test-takers’ performance on the test, in which the levels of academic readiness of these test-takers are presented and discussed. The argument presented highlights the diverse range of academic literacy levels of entry-level students, as well as implying the teaching and learning interventions that might be necessary to improve readiness. Concluding comments argue that some groups of students may be unable to cope with conventional academic literacy demands in the absence of explicit intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many nations now enrol large numbers of tertiary students with English as an additional language, raising concerns over academic literacy standards. As a result, calls for whole-institution approaches to enhance language proficiency have grown. This paper describes the issues faced by one university that attempted such an approach. We first outline three theoretical assumptions, that is, that academic literacy is facilitated by (1) the attention to discourse at the discipline-specific level, (2) the engagement of students with their social, institutional and cultural surroundings, and (3) the provision to students of the tools for self-directed, ongoing learning. The paper then explains how one Australian university implemented a mandatory programme of credit-bearing discipline-specific English language enhancement courses as foundational units across all degree programmes. Describing the first programme of its kind in Australia, the paper focuses on the issues emerging from practice identified from the first five years: (1) stakeholder perceptions, (2) student reception, (3) materials development, (4) programme management, (5) assessment and (6) measuring outcomes. Rather than a panacea for a notoriously complex issue, the paper presents strategies for dealing with the challenges that emerge for other institutions that might be contemplating reform of a similar magnitude. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While previous research has documented the challenges international students face during their graduate level study in U.S. universities (Casanave and Li, 2008), less is known about the graduate students at English‐medium universities, which are common in non‐English dominant (EFL) contexts. To address this gap in the literature, this exploratory research study investigates second language (L2) graduate students' academic literacy practices at English‐medium universities in Turkey. During one academic year, Turkish graduate students in English language education programmes at seven English‐medium universities were invited to participate in a survey regarding their academic literacy practices in English and Turkish. One hundred ten participants responded on the survey. In addition, a subset of participants was asked to participate in semi‐structured interviews. Graduate students stated that studying through the medium of English made it almost impossible to write in their L1 (i.e. Turkish). They, however, were asked to make parallel use of English and Turkish in some genres such as academic papers and conference abstracts. Based on the results, the study highlights the importance promoting academic biliteracy along with full‐bilingualism at graduate programmes in English‐medium universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently postgraduate hospitality courses are attracting large numbers of international students, many of whom do not speak English as a first language. In addition, these programmes are also popular with first language students drawn from non-traditional academic backgrounds. Both cohorts experience difficulties with the academic genre requirements associated with study at postgraduate level, and these difficulties impact on the successful completion of their studies. Research indicates that students benefit most from academic literacy instruction when this instruction is contextualised in the relevant discipline area. This article describes the attempt of two lecturers, one an applied linguist, the other a discipline expert, to develop credit bearing papers that would address students’ academic literacy challenges using a contextualised discipline specific approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Revista Sophia is the property of Universidad La Gran Colombia, Seccional Armenia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Austral Comunicacion is the property of Austral Comunicacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose – This paper outlines a teaching and learning collaboration between information literacy (IL) professionals and a social work academic at The University of Auckland. The collaboration was developed for the purpose of introducing evidence-based practice (EBP) and related IL skills to a third-year social work cohort preparing for their first practicum. Embedding the research–practice connection in the minds of students at this level of study is essential, as using evidence in practice is considered to be a fundamental professional objective. Despite this perspective, it is not uncommon for research to be viewed as an ancillary, if not discretionary skill in social work, with the research–practice gap well recognised in the social work literature. EBP offers students a clearly defined, systematic research framework imminently suited to the novice learner which emphasises the importance of research for practice. Research skills, in particular IL and the ability to find, evaluate and apply information, are essential to the development of effective EBP. Apart from the practical skills of being able to find evidence, critical thinking and reflective skills are key skills also inherent to IL processes and practice, and mastery of the evidence-based approach is impossible without mastery of these key IL competencies. Taking a solution-focused frame, theoretically underpinned by a constructivist teaching philosophy, we detail specific EBP and IL teaching practices, challenges and the remedies applied. The paper concludes with key lessons learned and future directions for teaching EBP and IL skills to social work students at The University of Auckland. Design/methodology/approach – A solution-focused frame is theoretically underpinned by a constructivist teaching philosophy. Findings – This paper offers insights derived from seven years of teaching EBP and IL skills to social work students and investigates specific teaching challenges and details the remedies applied. Research limitations/implications – As a case study, this article deals with one instance of EBP and IL teaching. Focusing specifically on EBP in the social sciences, this may not be relevant for other disciplines. Practical implications – This paper offers insights into methods for merging EBP and IL skills teaching in the social sciences, providing practical examples of activities which can be used in teaching, underpinned by relevant theory. Social implications – To be effective practitioners, social workers must understand the importance of research to practice, in particular how this can improve their professional knowledge and practice. Forging the research–practice connection aids the development of competent practitioners and enhances the well-being of social work clients. Originality/value – The authors outline constructivist–connectivist learning activities that can be used to advance students’ IL skills, develop research capacity and enhance the importance of the research-practice connection in social work practice. While much research has been done on EBP and IL connections in the medical and nursing literature, there is limited literature discussing EBP and IL integration in social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACTExpectations of how theory, empirical material, and methods should be dealt with in academic writing has not always been explicitly communicated to students. Due to a heterogeneity in student populations enrolled in higher degree courses worldwide, diversity in academic writing practices has increased. This paper explores academic writing practices among a group of students with professional, vocational backgrounds and close relationships to practical knowledge. Twelve examination papers from fifteen students within a continuing education program at a Danish university have been analysed inspired by Aristotle’s activities of theoria and praxis and Bourdieu’s concept of strategy. In this perspective, the study shows student strategies of how the students seem to retain an affinity to allow a practical approach of social and ethical evaluation when handling theory, empirical material, and methods. The analysis shows that students’ personal preferences are brought into the foreground.

Copyright of CIRCULO de Linguistica Aplicada a la Comunicacion is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss a collaborative initiative between a module leader, librarian and academic skills tutor to support information and academic literacy skills development of a group of international students from a partner college in Malaysia during their three-month study visit to Sheffield Hallam University. Design/methodology/approach - The paper explores the transferability of active learning and teaching techniques used with second-year home students to a cohort of final-year international students. It discusses the development, implementation and assessment of learning workshop activities and the use of mobile phones in the classroom to enhance student engagement. Findings - The embedded active learning and teaching techniques used with second-year home students transferred well to the international student cohort. At the end of the module, international student feedback and reference list analysis suggests that the embedding of both information and academic literacy skills within modules does support student development of these skills. Mobile technology proved both enjoyable and engaging for the students. Originality/value - The paper's findings are transferable to other international student cohorts in UK higher education libraries and suggest ways of engaging students in information and academic skills workshops and supporting their skills development to achieve academic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Benchmark Test in Academic Literacy is designed to assess the ability of first-year students to cope with the typical language-of-instruction, academic reading and reasoning demands they will face on entry to higher education. Drawing on quantitative data, this paper reports on the overall performance levels of a large-scale (n = 6500) national sample of test-takers who took the test as applicants for the 2013 intake into higher education. Overall test-taker performance is disaggregated by performance on sub-scales of the overall construct of academic literacy. The argument is made that the National Benchmark Test provides a framework for a nuanced and practicable understanding of test-takers’ academic literacy ‘proficiencies’. The conclusion to the paper evaluates the extent to which the test enables higher education lecturers’ greater engagement with students’ academic literacy shortcomings and with research-led information aimed at the improvement of teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper concerns the regulation of second language research writing, particularly from the point of view of how English language writing is managed and intervened in. We approach the topic through a case study conducted at a computer science department in a large Nordic university. Drawing on interviews with researchers and administrative staff working in the setting, as well as document data, we explore (1) what kinds of institutional, top-down mechanisms can be identified which regulate English language research writing and (2) how regulation is enacted in the form of interventions into research texts as part of the writing practices of research groups. The analysis draws on the Academic Literacies paradigm and the sociolinguistics of writing. We analyse both the way in which research writing is affected by disciplinary conventions and expectations and the way in which institutional constraints and affordances impact writing. The findings show a lack of top-down mechanisms regulating writing; disciplinary pressures seemed to matter more to writers than institutional ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition through the first year of university study is challenging for the majority of students. For students from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds, commencing studies in an English-Medium Instruction (EMI) university program presents a number of specific challenges. These students are faced with meeting both language demands as well as learning expectations of the institution, which often differ markedly from their previous formal learning experiences. Developing CALD students' digital literacy practices has been shown to lead to improved academic performance, success and retention in some higher education settings. This paper focuses on the digital literacy practices of undergraduates at a national public university in a Gulf State. Results from a survey and focus groups are analysed to identify the students' access to and use of digital technologies, in order to better understand how their academic success can be enhanced through digital literacy development. The study identifies a disconnect between students' perceptions of their digital capabilities and the institutional requirements for study. The research recommends that providing integrated, institution-wide digital literacy development focused on accessing, assessing and incorporating online resources in their work, will help improve transitioning CALD students' preparedness for undergraduate study in this and other EMI universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disruption that accompanied the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 also affected the administration of academic literacy tests. These are employed to place incoming students at institutions of higher education in appropriate courses for the development of their ability to handle the demands of academic discourse. For many students the conventional tests, deployed online, were inaccessible. We reflect here on how possible alternatives might be employed to identify students who are at risk as a result of low levels of academic literacy. The first is an algorithm that aims to predict whether the student might be a candidate for an intensive academic literacy course, and the other, constituting the primary focus of this paper, is a conventional post-admission academic literacy test available in-house, which had the potential of being refined for such a purpose. Since the test had initially been designed to assess prospective postgraduate students' preparedness to engage in academic writing, and had been piloted on a range of undergraduate students, this presented an opportunity to explore whether it might be possible to use it more widely. Analyses generated by programs yielding both descriptive, inferential and probability statistics are presented to show that this test was indeed capable of being employed thus, and could be refined further. At the same time, this exploration has had the further benefit of enhancing the assessment literacy of those presenting the actual academic literacy interventions. We envisage a further exploration of adapting tests of similar design for assessments that are more field-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this conceptual paper, borne from the experiences of two ccademic literacy lecturers at the NWU, we ask, regarding elements of assessment, how we can sensibly adapt an intervention-style writing course in a post-Covid higher education context. We propose a course correction model, applicable to academic literacy writing courses, to address the pedagogical lacunae highlighted in a pre-pandemic context and compounded in the post-pandemic higher education context. We argue for the adaption of this writing course to contend with the under-preparedness of students for higher education, the issue of online learning and resultant student cognitive overload and additional challenges, such as the rapid development of AI and its effects on teaching and learning, and specifically writing courses. An important element which needs to be reconceptualised within the context of our compounded problem, is that of the writing assessment. In this paper we argue for moving away from placing major emphasis on assessing the final product of writing and shifting some focus to the pedagogical value of examining the student’s journey of writing. We therefore propose incorporating reflective writing as a significant element of assessment through our reflect-rewrite-model. The goal of this proposed model is to create a space for fostering student self-awareness, responsibility, critical thinking, and evaluation skills. Such outcomes should then contribute to the creation of effective and contextually relevant, academic skills development, which in turn should positively influence student success and mitigate some of the issues currently experienced in the module offering.

This paper explores how Culturally Sustaining Systemic Functional Linguistics (CSSFL), a theoretical and pedagogical approach, facilitates emergent bilingual (EB) students' engagement in explicit, equitable literacy practices within the unique context of a middle school intensive reading classroom. This design-based research (DBR) study documents the literacy practices and routines of EBs in a culturally and linguistically diverse intensive reading classroom, what CSSFL-informed lessons comprise when created in response to students' cultural and linguistic affordances, and how students' genre-based language knowledge was supported in these lessons. Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Systemic Functional Linguistics informed analysis of data collected from observations, student samples, researcher reflections, and video/audio-recordings. Findings indicate that while there were missed opportunities for culturally sustaining practices and explicit language instruction in the reading classroom, designing and implementing a CSSFL-informed and curriculum-aligned lessons facilitated students' enthusiasm and active participation, community building and shared experiences, and use of translanguaging and multimodal practices to heighten metalinguistic awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing market of international students puts increasing pressure on higher education providers to also provide language support, as students from non-English speaking background face the dual challenge of developing their English language proficiency alongside their subject content. However, there is little research on how knowledge about language is actually integrated with content knowledge in practice or how such an integration can be supported by curriculum design. Using a case study of a popular academic language support program implemented in an Australian university, this paper examines the relationship between academic literacy and business ethics as two distinct forms of disciplinary knowledge, to investigate how the complexity of their integration is managed dynamically in the classroom. In this study, we draw on Legitimation Code Theory to analyze the role of language in constructing discipline-specific knowledge. Our findings suggest that students do not automatically understand the relevance of language support and that shifting knowledge practices during classroom interaction can enhance students' motivation as well as help students to relate their knowledge about language to the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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