IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK IN ASSESSMENT

Feedback is an important part of the assessment process. It has a significant effect on student learning and has been described as “the most powerful single moderator that enhances achievement” (Hattie, 1999).

In this video (2:58) Nalini Pather speaks about the importance of providing feedback to students right from the beginning of the course.

The main objectives of feedback are to:

• justify to students how their mark or grade was derived
• identify and reward specific qualities in student work
• guide students on what steps to take to improve
• motivate them to act on their assessment
• develop their capability to monitor, evaluate and regulate their own learning (Nicol, 2010).

To benefit student learning, feedback needs to be:

Constructive: As well as highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of a given piece of work, it should set out ways in which the student can improve the work. For the student, it:

• encourages them to think critically about their work and to reflect on what they need to do to improve it
• helps them see their learning in new ways and gain increased satisfaction from it
• helps promote dialogue between staff and students.

Timely: Give feedback while the assessed work is still fresh in a student’s mind, before the student moves on to subsequent tasks.

Meaningful: It should target individual needs, be linked to specific assessment criteria, and be received by a student in time to benefit subsequent work. Effective feedback:

• guides students to adapt and adjust their learning strategies
• guides teachers to adapt and adjust teaching to accommodate students’ learning needs
• guides students to become independent and self-reflective learners, and better critics of their own work
• stimulates reflection, interaction and dialogue about learning improvement
• is constructive, so that students feel encouraged and motivated to improve
• has consequences, so that it engages students by requiring them to attend to the feedback as part of the assessment
• is efficient, so that staff can manage it effectively.

Feedback is valuable when it is received, understood and acted on. How students analyse, discuss and act on feedback is as important as the quality of the feedback itself (Nicol, 2010). Through the interaction students have with feedback, they come to understand how to develop their learning.

Academics in context

Information about the academic staff in this video and their professional contexts may be found in the Academics in context document.

Want to know more?

If you would like to more about this topic on the importance of feedback in assessment there are additional resources listed in the Want to know more.pdf for this step.

CAN SPEAKING TWO LANGUAGES INCREASE YOUR JOB PROSPECTS?

There is stiff competition in the job market these days. Having a skill that allows you to stand apart is a great benefit. One such resume plus is knowing a second language. If you've spoken a second language from a young age or learned another language for travel or personal interest, you may not realize the advantages of bilingualism in the workplace.

The great news is that in addition to knowing a second language for conversing in your personal life, there are many bilingual benefits in the job market. Here are some of the advantages you might not have thought about.

Better Chance of Landing a Job

With so much business being conducted online, many companies now serve a global market. As such, it's a great benefit for many businesses to hire employees who speak more than one language. The more of their customers you can communicate with, the more of an asset you are to them. If a job opening comes down to candidates of equal experience and education, but one is fluent in more than one language it's most likely the bilingual applicant that's getting the position.

Even as early in the hiring process as when you submit your resume, being bilingual makes an impression. As stated on Knowing a second language makes your resume stand out and can boost you to the top of the interview list with potential employers.

You Can Earn More Money

When you're bilingual your earning potential can go up if you are asked to act as a translator or interpreter on the job. Language differentials typically range between 5 and 20 percent per hour more than the base rate . If employees who speak the necessary language(s) are hard to come by at your place of employment, you'll likely earn a higher percentage in these instances than if there are several employees available who can translate.

Extra Job Opportunities

If you've ever thought about switching gears with your career or have wanted to pick up a second job, then knowing a second language might help . There are plenty of exciting jobs that can really only be tackled by those who speak another language.Some examples of jobs for bilinguals are translator, interpreter, language teacher, and tour guide. Having an extra language under your belt opens up some doors you may never have considered.

Increased Brain Power

Beyond the obvious bilingual benefits of being able to communicate with more people, being bilingual actually means you have some other distinct assets to offer the business world. According to NYTimes.com , “Scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.”

Studies have shown that even when a bilingual is speaking just one language, his/her brain has both language systems activated. This pushes the brain to work through this unique conflict, therefore increasing brain power. In fact, bilinguals are thought to be more proficient at working through certain mental puzzles because of this. As you would expect, having employees who are expert problem solvers is always highly coveted.

Boosted Creativity

Not only do bilinguals think smarter, they also appear to think more creatively than those who only speak one language. In fact, a study conducted in 2012 showed that bilingual children were both better problem solvers and creative thinkers. Bilingualism can improve a speaker's mind, both when they are young and old. It encourages them to see the world in a different light, and understand cultures in a way which just reading a book could never accomplish. With this in mind, it's no surprise that the range of jobs for bilinguals is vast.

So, if you're already bilingual you're ahead of the game as far as employment goes. For those who seek to improve their employability by adding a second language there are certain languages that seem to be more highly coveted in the job market. Bilingualism in the workplace is advantageous, but according to Investopedia.com , if you speak Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic, American Sign Language, Russian, German, or Portuguese you'll likely have even more of an edge in the workplace.

Tomado de: https://www.uei.edu/blog/can-speaking-two-languages-increase-your-job-prospects

ADULTS CAN BE RETRAINED TO LEARN SECOND LANGUAGES MORE EASILY, SAYS UCL SCIENTIST

Our ability to hear and understand a second language becomes more and more difficult with age, but the adult brain can be retrained to pick up foreign sounds more easily again. This finding, reported by Dr Paul Iverson of the UCL Centre for Human Communication, at the "Plasticity in Speech Perception 2005" workshop - builds on an important new theory that the difficulties we have with learning languages in later life are not biological and that, given the right stimulus, the brain can be retrained.

It is an accepted fact that the younger the child, the easier it is for them to learn a second language. Children are able to understand words and hear small sound differences that adults often miss -- making understanding more difficult for adults. For example, Polish students of English have difficulty differentiating between vowels such as "pen" and "pan" while German students must learn to hear a difference between the v in "vest" and the w in "west".

Scientists used to believe that the adult brain could not be retrained later in life to distinguish between these sounds: in other words the brain's plasticity (or ability to change) was set.

Dr Iverson shows that adults can retune their brains to hear these differences again. Scientists now believe that the difficulties are caused by our experience which teaches us to ignore certain sounds so that we are able to give our full attention to the sounds that (in our native language) matter most to understanding a sentence.

Two studies jointly worked on by Dr Paul Iverson and Dr Valerie Hazan, UCL's Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, have examined whether it is possible to retune how the brain processes speech sounds, and hope that their findings will help make language learning easier for adults. In one study, Japanese subjects were retrained to hear the difference between r's and l's (something that Japanese students of English tend to find particularly difficult). The study tested 63 native Japanese subjects in Japan and London, and had them complete a 10-session training course. Before and after training, the subjects were given a number of perceptual tests to evaluate their perception of acoustic cues. Similar tests were carried out in London on Sinhalese (from Sri Lanka) and German speakers who had lived in the UK for more than 20 years.In the Japanese training study, the subjects improved their recognition of l's and r's by an average of 18%. So, for example, if an individual could identify the difference between r and l 60% of the time, at the end of training they would be able to get this correct 78% of the time - supporting the view that the brain can be retuned.

Talking at the UCL workshop, which brings together specialists in language, speech and speech perception, Dr Iverson said: "Adult learning does not appear to become difficult because of a change in neural plasticity. Rather, we now think that learning becomes hard because experience with our first language 'warps' perception. We see things through the lens of our native language and that 'warps' the way we see foreign languages.

"It is very difficult to undo this learning. That is, we change our perception during childhood so that it becomes specialized to hear the speech sounds in our first language. This specialization can conflict with our ability to learn to distinguish sounds in other languages. Through training, we can essentially change our 'perceptual warping' to make second-language learning easier. I hope that this research will lead to new ways of training adults to learn second languages."

Tomado de: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050615060545.htm

5 QUICK TIPS TO BECOME A POLYGLOT

Most Americans are monolinguals. They are brought up speaking only one language, which is English. They grow up watching people from other cultures who know their native language as well as English. Not only the attraction for speaking multiple languages motivates people to become multi-lingual. Being multi-lingual also helps in career opportunities that propels them significantly forward.

There is slight difference between a multilingual and a polyglot. A multilingual person learns different languages because of necessities. On the other hand, a polyglot is a lover of languages, different cultures, and intellectual curiosity. Here are five quick tips to become a polyglot:

Study One Book In Several Languages

Perhaps, this is the most effective and easiest method of enhancing your reading expertise in different languages. Instead of reading different books in different languages, read one simple book in multiple lingos.  Some books are specially meant for polyglots, which are written in English on even pages, but in another language on odd pages. This trick allows you to understand two languages in a short span. You will also be able to interpret the structure of grammar and sentences. To start with, you can refer to books like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight, and many more. These books are easily available in multiple languages.

Use Your Active Time For Learning

You have to put in extra efforts to become a polyglot. You can set reminders to spend 10 minutes thrice a day during your working hours to learn a word or two. Spending 10 minutes in this routine will add up to 3-4 hours per week. For instance, if you want to learn Chinese in Singapore, you can also listen to songs in Chinese or other target languages during the workout, commuting, or even cooking. This will generate more productivity out of you just those limited 24 hours.

Analyze Your Potential For Learning The Number Of Languages

Becoming a polyglot is not a one day-task. You might have heard tips about learning multiple languages at a time. This is a preference of some people, but not all. If you are comfortable learning one language at a time, follow your instinct. If you can handle the load of multiple languages simultaneously without confusing the words, you are free to do it. However, make sure that you give each language the attention it requires. It is no use learning many things at a time and mastering none of them. Not forgetting, practice speaking the words or sentences that you have learned out loud. Speaking helps in improving your grasp towards the new language.

Learn Languages Of The Same Family

It becomes significantly easy to learn multiple languages from the same family. Once you have mastered one language, it becomes easy to master the related languages, which have the same origin. For instance, if you learn Spanish first, you can easily learn Italian. Then, you can proceed to learn French, which is again related to Italian. Then, you can try Portuguese. All of these languages belong to the Latin family. Every time you learn a new language, the time spent in attaining fluency is reduced. Stay motivated and you will soon be on your way to be a polyglot!

Be Passionate

Do not learn multiple languages, just because it sounds cool. You have to be passionate about the language, the new culture or simply be curious to learn a new language effectively. You need to put in a lot of effort and it may dishearten you if you are not motivated enough.

Tomado de: https://www.lindamandarin.com.sg/blog/5-quick-tips-to-become-a-polyglot/

6 SERIOUS SOCIAL BENEFITS OF LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE

Better ability to see the perspectives of others.

Studies have found that multilingual children have some advantages when it comes to social situations. One study showed that bilingual children could better interpret an adult’s intended meaning than monolingual children. It’s thought that because bilingual children need to select which language to use in each context, they may be better at considering the perspectives of others.

While it’s unclear if these skills carry over to adulthood, one can hope that the added perspective of knowing another language and the ability to interpret context does have some effect.

And if so, this could put language learners at a distinct advantage when it comes to needing to interpret information that might otherwise seem unclear. For instance, if your boss tells you he needs the report ASAP but you’re unsure of which report he means, your increased ability to see things from his perspective might help you deduce that the report he needs is the one related to his upcoming meeting.

Clearer communication.

The ability to clarify what you mean in another language is tremendously helpful in plenty of social situations. Not everyone speaks your native language, and speaking an additional language can give you a valuable way to clarify what you mean when someone who speaks that language doesn’t understand you. Even if you’re not fully proficient in a second language, you and your conversation partner may each know enough of the other’s language to piece together what you need to communicate.

For instance, if you travel abroad and need to know where the bathroom is, it’s easiest to ask in the local language. If you don’t know the language very well, you might not fully understand the response, but at the very least, the person you’re talking to can understand your meaning well enough to point you in the right direction.

Making the effort to communicate with whatever language skills you do have could also make you a more resourceful communicator in general.

Deeper personal connections with native speakers.

Nelson Mandela put it best: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

And it’s true: Communicating in someone’s native language is a great way to not only show respect, but also connect with them on a deeper level.

For instance, if you have a friend whose native language is Russian and they speak English with you, you may feel a deeper connection with them than if you had to communicate exclusively in Russian. And speaking Russian with them can in turn put them at ease and better cement your bond.

Improved language abilities with your first language.

Studying any language can improve your understanding of your native language. Since most people learn their first language naturally through observation, they may not know the underlying rules and logic of how it works. Instead, they simply know how the language works from experience.

When you learn a second language, though, you learn the rules. Oftentimes, these rules correlate with rules in your native language, thereby helping you better understand how your own language works.

For instance, native English speakers might struggle with the subjunctive. Would you say “if I was rich,” or “if I were rich” when discussing a potential lottery win? However, someone who had more awareness of the subjunctive from rules learned from Spanish might understand that while English speakers might be as likely to say one as the other, it’s “if I were rich” that technically specifies a theoretical scenario.

Knowing and understanding grammar rules can build your confidence and ensure you’re communicating clearly in your native tongue, and that you’re aware of the mechanisms of your language, even if these mechanisms are used inconsistently or loosely in real conversation, as with the above example. If nothing else, you might be able to skillfully avoid the embarrassment of having your grammar corrected on your social media accounts.

Increased cultural awareness and understanding.

Since embracing culture differences is usually encouraged in language study, language students frequently have better cultural awareness than people who speak only one language.

In an increasingly global community, this is invaluable and may come in handy throughout your life. For instance, if you’ve studied Japanese, chances are that you’re much more aware than you otherwise would be of how communication works in Japan, such as how various gestures there might differ from those in other countries.

So if you’re interacting with someone in or from Japan, knowing this information can help you conduct yourself in an appropriately respectful manner and to understand the other person’s meanings and intentions.

Improved confidence and self-awareness.

There’s no doubt that learning another language changes you. As you learn and get better at the language, you’re likely to find you have increased confidence and self-awareness.

Some of this may come from learning a valuable new skill that you enjoy using, but language instruction also relies heavily on social interaction, so the practice alone can be a confidence builder.

Many language classes have you practice holding conversations in your target language. Not only can this increase your social confidence, it can also improve your awareness of yourself and who you are, since you’ll frequently end up discussing subjects related to yourself and your life.