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dc.contributor.advisorGreen, Tim
dc.contributor.authorAl Ismaili, Anwar A.S.*
dc.date.accessioned2018-04-30T14:55:47Z
dc.date.available2018-04-30T14:55:47Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10454/15710
dc.description.abstractStudents entering academic programmes are frequently overwhelmed by the demand for extensive reading and comprehension of information derived from multiple and contrasting sources. This entails both careful and expeditious reading. The latter has been generally neglected in research and has not been the focus of many tests. Both types of reading were investigated in this study through a validation process of the summative English reading test for academic purposes taken at the end of the Foundation Programme in Oman. In particular, context validity was established through focusing on the interaction between the linguistic demands and task setting parameters and also the cognitive processes through which the students engaged with the test tasks. To establish the context validity of the test, this study adopted Khalifa and Weir’s (2009) model which not only embraced the complex and multi-componential nature of reading but also provided a workable validation framework. A multi-strategy approach was adopted. A natural experiment utilising Verbal Protocol Analysis captured the cognitive processes through which students engaged in reading. Automated analysis software and opinions of expert judges were used to compare test passages with text extracts drawn from first year academic courses. Correlation tests and factor analysis revealed these cognitive processes and established the robustness of the Khalifa and Weir (2009) model, which was thus validated in a second language context. Passages in the foundation tests were found to be generally representative of academic texts although certain features such as abstractness were under-represented.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipGovernment of the Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Manpoweren_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rights<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>.eng
dc.subjectAssessmenten_US
dc.subjectContext validityen_US
dc.subjectSecond language (L2)en_US
dc.subjectReadingen_US
dc.subjectValidationen_US
dc.subjectEnglish for academic purposes (EAP)en_US
dc.subjectCognitive processesen_US
dc.subjectTask settingen_US
dc.subjectCareful readingen_US
dc.subjectExpeditious readingen_US
dc.subjectOmanen_US
dc.titleEnsuring the Context Validity of English Reading Tests for Academic Purposes (EAP) in Omanen_US
dc.type.qualificationleveldoctoralen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Bradfordeng
dc.publisher.departmentFaculty of Social Sciencesen_US
dc.typeThesiseng
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen_US
dc.date.awarded2015
refterms.dateFOA2018-07-29T01:22:15Z


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