Measuring English Writing at Secondary Level (MEWS). Eine binationale Studie

Abstract

EINE BINATIONALE STUDIE

English essay writing is a key competence in a modern world where English is the lingua franca of science, business and higher education. MEWS is the first large-scale study of English essay writing in Germany or Switzerland at upper secondary level (11th grade) and has three research questions: (1) How proficient are learners in essay writing in English two years before their baccalaureate? (2) What is the effect of individual factors (e.g. motivation, intelligence), family background and extracurricular activities on English essay writing competences? (3) What is the effect of school and classroom factors (e.g. classroom instruction, school types, ‘baccalaureate rate’) on English essay writing competences? Learners’ ability to write English essays will be measured in Switzerland (N = 1500) and Germany (N = 1500) at two time points, gathering a total of four responses from each learner (12.000 essays in total). To score the student essays both reliably and objectively, both human ratings and computer ratings (“automated essay evaluation”) are employed.