Assessing the Effects of Ability Grouping on EFL Student English Listening and Reading Proficiencies

能力分級教學對EFL學生英語聽力與閱讀能力之影響評估

10.6284/NPUSTHSSR.2009.3(2)7

劉慧如(Hui-Ju Liu)

語言表現 ； 能力分班 ； 性別差異 ； language performance ； ability grouping ； gender differences

人文社會科學研究

3卷2期（2009 / 06 / 01）

133 - 148

英文

將學生依不同能力等級分班實施英語教學已是台灣高等教育的常見措施。本研究主要探討能力分班教學的成效，是否在不同能力等級的班級中學習的大學生其英語聽力與閱讀能力能持續顯著地進步。研究樣本包括122位大學一年級的學生，他們在入學之後馬上就依其英語能力被編入不同能力等級的班級。統計方法的使用是在探究下列三個研究問題：(1)被分配到不同能力等級的學生其英語聽力與閱讀能力在學年末是否能有顯著的進步？(2)被分配到不同能力等級的學生其整體的英語能力在學年末是否能有顯著的進步？(3)學生的英語聽力、閱讀與整體的英語能力的變化是否存在顯著的能力等級的差異？研究結果顯示不同能力等級學生的英語能力在學年末都有顯著的進步，唯一沒有顯著差異的是高級班學生的英語閱讀能力。研究期間能力等級對學生的英語閱讀與聽力的進展存在有高度顯著的影響效果。

Grouping students of similar ability for English instruction has become a common practice in higher education in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether EFL college students of different abilities are able to make significant progress in their language performance in homogeneously grouped classes over time. The sample was 122 freshmen who had been assigned to different levels of English classes after entering the university. Statistical methods were conducted to address the following research questions: (1) whether ability-grouped students' listening and reading proficiencies significantly improved over the one-year period after being grouped, (2) whether the overall English proficiency of homogeneously grouped EFL students significantly improved over time, and (3) whether there are significant level differences in students' progress in English listening, reading, and overall proficiency scores over the duration of the study. The findings indicate that students at all ability levels attain significantly higher English proficiency scores over time, except for the reading proficiency scores for the high-ability group. Both the timing and level effects are highly significant on students' progress in English reading and listening performance.

1. Braddock, J. H.,Slavin, R. E.(1992).Why ability grouping must end: Achieving excellence and equity in American education.Baltimore, MD:the Common Destiny Conference, Johns Hopkins University.
2. Cheung, C. K.,Rudowicz, E.(2003).Academic outcomes of ability grouping among junior high school students in Hong Kong.The Journal of Educational Research,96(4),241-254.
3. De Fraine, B.,Van Damme, J.,Onghena, P.(2007).A longitudinal analysis of gender differences in academic self-concept and language achievement: A multivariate multilevel latent growth approach.Contemporary Educational Psychology,32(1),132-150.
4. Tracking, ability grouping and the gifted
5. Figlio, D. N.,Page, M. E.(2002).School choice and the distributional effects of ability tracking: Does separation increase inequality?.Journal of Urban Economics,51,497-514.
6. Fuligni, A. J.,Eccles, J. S.,Barber, B. L.(1995).The long-term effects of seventh-grade ability grouping in mathematics.Journal of Early Adolescence,15(1),58-89.
7. Gamoran, A.(1992).Is ability grouping equitable?.Educational Leadership,50(2),11-17.
8. Gamoran, A.,Nystrand, M.,Berends, M.,LePore, P. C.(1995).An organizational analysis of the effects of ability grouping.American Educational Research Journal,32(4),687-715.
9. Hallinan, M.(1994).Tracking: From theory to practice.Sociology of Education,67(2),79-84.
10. Effects of instructional differences among ability groups on student achievement in middle-school science and mathematics
11. Ireson, J.,Hallam, S.,Hurley, C.(2005).What are the effects of ability grouping on GCSE attainment?.British Educational Research Journal,31,773-458.
12. Ireson, J.,Hallam, S.,Plewis, I.(2001).Ability grouping in secondary schools: Effects on pupils' self-concepts.British Journal of Educational Psychology,71,315-326.
13. Kulik, C. L. C.,Kulik, J. A.(1982).Effects of ability grouping on secondary school students: A meta-analysis of evaluation findings.American Educational Research Journal,19(3),415-428.
14. Kulik, J. A.,Kulik, C. L. C.(1992).Meta-analytic findings on grouping programs.Gifted Child Quarterly,36(2),73-77.
15. Liang, T. L.(2003).Cooperative learning: An alternative to ability grouping.Journal of Paisa Humanities and Social Sciences,2,141-175.
16. Liu, W. C.,Wang, C. K. J.,Parkins, E. J.(2005).A longitudinal study of students' academic self-concept in a streamed setting: The Singapore context.British Journal of Educational Psychology,75,567-586.
17. The tracking and ability grouping debate
18. Marsh, H. W.,Chessor, D.,Craven, R.,Roche, L.(1995).The effects of gifted and talented programs on academic self-concept: The big fish strikes again.American Educational Research Journal,32(2),285-319.
19. Oakes, J.(1985).Keeping track: How schools structure inequality.New Haven, CT:Yale University.
20. Rogers, K. B.(2002).Grouping the gifted and talented: Questions and answers.Roeper Review,24(3),102-107.
21. Rogers, K. B.,Kimpston, R. D.(1992).Acceleration: What we do vs. what we know.Educational Leadership,50(2),58-61.
22. Slavin, R, E.(1993).Ability grouping in the middle grades: Achievement effects and alternatives.Elementary School Journal,93(5),535-552.
23. Slavin, R. E.(1990).Achievement effects of ability grouping in secondary schools: A best-evidence synthesis.Review of Educational Research,60(3),471-499.
24. Slavin, R. E.(1991).Are cooperative learning and "untracking" harmful to the gifted?.Educational Leadership,48(6),68-71.
25. Slavin, R. E.(1987).Ability grouping and student achievement in elementary schools: A best-evidence synthesis.Review of Educational Research,57(3),293-336.
26. Slavin, R. E.(1988).Synthesis of research on grouping in elementary and secondary schools.Educational Leadership,46(1),67-77.
27. Tieso, C. L.(2003).Ability grouping is not just tracking anymore.Roeper Review,26(1),29-37.
28. Yu, C. F.(1994).The assessment of ability grouping in the college lab program: The Soochow experience.Soochow Journal of Foreign Languages and Literature,10,45-77.

1. 廖彥棻(2020)。從一所頂尖大學英文輔導班學生觀點初探英文能力分級教學之成效與影響。東吳外語學報，48，17-55。
2. (2017)。探討臺灣高等教育英語能力分班之教學：以非英語系能力分班為例。教育學刊，48，81-128。