How My Tongji University (Shanghai) Students Determined to Measure and Improve

1. How My Tongji University (Shanghai) Students Determined to Measure and Improve English Conversation by Making & Using RUBRICS

2. This slide is presented with apologies to those of you who know more about rubrics than I do; it’s designed for those who don’t… Right. A rubric lists the important elements and describes qualities. But how would I measure the quality of the trousers? Oh, so a rubric would help us evaluate quality and even identify ways to improve! Yup. Well, you’d have to consider fabric, stitching, style, and stuff. Uhm... Well, I use a tape measure to calculate the needed in-seam length, right? Hey Mac, what’s a rubric? Huh? I believe it’s an objective way to measure something that’s subjective. Yeah.

3. The following slides were used in an oral English class of master’s candidates at Tongji University in Shanghai Constructing a Rubric

4. English Conversation What are important components of an English Conversation? Grammar Pitch Rate My students first developed a list of some 14 components related to oral English Sentence Structure Engages Others Volume 3 Kinds of Questions Active Listening Vivid English Fluency Pronunciation Rejoinders Understandability Vocabulary

5. English Conversation Cluster & Combine Grammar Pitch Rate Sentence Structure Engages Others Volume 3 Kinds of Questions Active Listening Vivid English Fluency Pronunciation Rejoinders Understandability Vocabulary

6. Grammar and Sentence Structure Active Listening Vivid English Grammar Engages Others Sentence Structure Rate 3 Kinds of Questions Pitch Rejoinders Volume English Conversation Fluency Pronunciation Understandability Vivid English Confidence, Emotion, Rate, Pitch, Volume, Inflection Participation Engages Others Active Listening Use of Questions Rejoinders Essential Qualities from our previous class Revised Ranked 3 4 Vocabulary 2 Vocabulary Vocabulary Conversational Fluency 5 1 Pronunciation Degree of understandability

7. Conversational Fluency A Rubric to Improve Oral English Poor Acceptable Good Exceptional Pronunciation (Degree of Understandability) descriptor for Discuss a Vocabulary each box. Grammar and Sentence Structure group Each Vivid English Confidence, Emotion, Rate, Pitch, Volume, Inflection must give a written Participation Engages Others, Active Listening, Use of Questions, Rejoinders to copy Mr. Harrison.

8. Thanks to your outstanding work and thoughtful insight Our RUBRIC Is Finished

9. From Rubric to Scoring Form

10. Scoring Form Estimated “Average” Points Maximum Points

11. PRACTICE • My students prepared a CD of themselves and two other classmates engaged in an oral English conversation • Your assignment is to listen to each person and do your best to score the oral English skills of each of the three students It may be a li’l hard at first But it’ll get easier... honest!

12. Hi. I’m LILY and I’m (obviously) in the middle Conversation #1 Hi. I’m KAREN and I’m on your left And I’m NINA. We’ll be talking about our “Favorite Cities”

13. And I’m CARL. We’ll be talking about taking a trip to Lhasa Conversation #2 Hi. I’m JAKE and I’m on your left On your right is me: CHARLEY

14. What do you think? Can you do that?