Thoughts on language assessment ethics

The ‘Language Assessment Ethics Conference’ back in my M.A.TESOL days has always been in my mind, which provided the opportunity to ponder upon ethical theory in professional fields including education. As Dr. Kunnan mentioned in the introduction session of that conference, the world has been suffering from lack of ethical principles in a variety of fields. His remarks prompted me to think of all the innocent victims from 9-11 attack in 2001 and the constant retaliation, human cloning as well as organ donation as one of the most recent issues concerned with ethics and morality.

As an English educator, I agree to the fact that the development of ethical principles in education (especially in the language assessment area) has retarded compared to the speed of the proliferation. I’ve always thought that it is one thing to have a grasp of the principles of second/ foreign language learning and teaching, and another to creatively formulate specific hypotheses about language learning in particular contexts and to garner empirical support for these hypotheses. That support can be gathered by means of careful measurement of the language competence of learners in given situations. That is, our theory of second language acquisition can be put into practice everyday in the classroom, but we will never know how valid our theory is unless our learners’ success is systematically measured in ethical way. Although a drastical change or innovation in the language assessment may not be demanded or expected, a thorough examination on ethics can be the next step the educators need to take for the present.

In the present world where morality and ethical thoughts are gradually losing their grounds by whited sepulchers, it is important for all the practioners in each profession to find out the relationship between philosophical ethics and professional responsibility. The major goal of education lies in the pursuit of helping individuals reach what they need to be the owner of their lives. Dr. Sharon Bishop claimed that acquiring a certain set of skills demanded by general standardized tests bear little meaning on the part of test developers as well as test users. The ethical rules are urged to consider the meaningful connection with unfamiliar context that people will face in their profession instead of simply providing the general principles or code of conduct.

With the above thoughts in mind, some questions came to me, which could halp us relate the principles to language testing practice and our profession. The questions were whether or not our actions/ decisions in the field of education reflect utilitarianism or Kantian ethics of morality. I personally came to think about my own students in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classes that I used to teach back in Korea. Sometimes they might not have known what is being tested when they tackle a test. They might have felt, for a variety of reasons, that a test isn’t testing what it is “supposed” to test. In other words, the tests might not have been carefully constructed or in the well-thought out formats.

As shown in Kantian ethics, one exclusive ruling government is not desirable because it will compromise individual person’s freedom and dignity. In this respect, I agree to the following idea proposed by Dr. Antony Kunnan (my professor at the MATESOL program at my alma mater, Cal State Univ, LA). He asserted that more concerted efforts should be made, in the field of language assessment, to come up with a transnational language testing that will be able to connect global ethics to local ground of ethics. In other words, it is our aspiration and responsibility to build a well-balanced language assessment ethics that allows us to understand who the testees are, what their experiences are, and how the scores are interpreted for individuals.

Let's Solve a Crossword Puzzle with Midaged Health terms!

Fill in the following puzzle using the terms given in the word banks below.

Glossary for Midaged Women's and Men's Health

								1
																	2
			3							4		5
	6
															7
					8
							9
									10
								11

Across 6 Name of the male sex hormone, which is the hormone responsible for the development of male sexual characteristics. One word. "Male menopause" is sometimes described as a condition referred to as low ________________________. 8 One word. What is the period in a woman's life (typically between 45 and 50 years of age) when this occurs? 9 A doctor who specializes in the care and health of the female reproductive organs. 10 One alphabet letter. Getting enough vitamin _____ is also critical for protecting your bones during menopause. It comes from the sun, but many experts say it’s vital for women’s health to take it as a supplement to ensure they are getting enough, especially in winter and in non-sunny climates. 11 One word. This seed is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae, which is a food and fiber crop cultivated in cooler regions of the world. _________________________ is a wonderful plant-based food with omega-3 fatty acids. Try sprinkling ground ___________________ on cereal, yogurt, and salads; it adds fiber to your diet, keeps your arteries healthy, and has some estrogen-like compounds.

Down 1 One word. Changing hormone levels during menopause and midlife can increase the risk for ______________________ in women. Emotional symptoms related to menopause can include anxiety, fears, and mood swings. 2 One word. ___________________________ is a female disease in which endometrial-like tissue is found outside of the uterus in other parts of the body. 3 One word. Bone loss in the mid-age can cause this condition that increases the risk of bone fractures. What is this medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue, typically as a result of hormonal changes, or deficiency of calcium or vitamin D? 4 Two words with no space (in plural form). This is a feeling of warmth in the face that spreads over the body, lasting from around 30 seconds to a few minutes. Reddened skin, palpitations (feeling a strong heartbeat), and sweating are accompanied. 5 One word (in plural form). What do you call the excess Estrogen taken into the body from outside sources (such as meat that has been injected with hormones and pesticides) to which our body reacts to as natural estrogen? 7 ________________________ dominance is not limited to women; Men can also have an increase of this hormone through environmental sources, which would increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Word Bank

Endometriosis	D	hotflashes	flaxseed
menopause	depression	Osteoporosis	Gynecologist
Testosterone	xenoestrogens	estrogen

Answer Keys:
Across
6. Testosterone
8. menopause
9. Gynecologist
10. D
11. flaxseed

Down
1. depression
2. Endometriosis
3. Osteoporosis
4. hotflashes
5. xenoestrogens
7. estrogen

10 Simple New Year’s Resolutions to Stay Healthy in 2018

10 Simple New Year’s Resolutions to Stay Healthy in 2018

(Source from https://cspinet.org/tip/10-simple-new-year%E2%80%99s-resolutions-stay-healthy-2018)

It has already been more than two months since our golden new year started off. How has everything been going with you and your new year resolutions, if there’s been any? Are you still keeping your promises to yourselves with no excuses or obstacles? Alright, it doesn’t matter if you have already fallen off the wagon. Every single day is a new day for you to start it all over again. This week, let’s think about going back to basics in order to stay healthy!

Here are 10 tips to turn ourselves into healthier versions throughout the year of 2018 and many, many, many more years to come!

What to Do in Your Kitchen

1. Cover Half Your Plate with Vegetables or Fruit

Vegetables have always been viewed as your side choices? They should occupy more plate real estate than your protein or pasta, rice, or potatoes. The OmniHeart diets—one of the healthiest diets you can eat—have 11 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. A serving is one piece of fruit, a half cup of cooked vegetables, or one cup of raw vegetable (like lettuce), so it’s not that much. Your main-dish salad could easily be four servings.

2. Add Veggies to Boost Potassium and Lower Salt

Mix a bagged salad kit with a bag of undressed lettuce. Add a pound of steamed broccoli or other veggie to your favorite Chinese or Thai take-out. Add a bed of baby spinach or kale to frozen meals. That way, each mouthful ends up with more potassium and less salt. Or cut sodium in a prepared seasoned grain by mixing it with unseasoned bulgur, quick-cooking brown rice, or farro.

3. Replace Your Meat (or Starchy Side Dish) with Beans

They’re packed with fiber, protein, potassium, magnesium, folate, and iron. That helps explain why beans (and lentils) are so good for you. Beans lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, probably because they’re rich in the gummy, soluble type of fiber. Eating beans regularly also helps lower blood pressure, possibly because they’re a decent source of potassium. Bonus: they’re delicious. Start with one of these recipes from Kate Sherwood, The Healthy Cook.

4. Use Nuts Instead of Croutons

Nuts and seeds offer a little plant protein and plenty of heart-healthy polyunsaturated fat. For instance, Brazil nuts are the excellent source of Selenium and Vt B1, and pumpkin seeds are filled with Protein, Iron, Zinc, and rich in Copper! So sprinkle them on salads instead of croutons (which are typically salty white-flour bread). Or add them to yogurt, cereal, fruit, and vegetable dishes.

5. Eat Plain Yogurt or Mix Plain with Sweetened Yogurt

Unsweetened yogurt provides the most nutrient bang for your calorie buck. For extra protein, try creamy low-fat plain greek yogurt. If plain is too tart for you, mix plain and sweetened. Or add peaches, bananas, berries, or other fruit. Actually, I have personally cut down on my intake of dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, and ice cream, etc) because they might have a negative impact on balancing hormones at midaged people (especially women who are prone to have cervical or endometrial polyps).

6. Cook with Canola or Olive Oil

Replacing saturated fats (in meat and dairy) with unsaturated fats lowers LDL. Most people get plenty of polyunsaturated-rich soybean oil in restaurants and prepared foods, including mayonnaise and salad dressing. So you’ll probably end up with a good mix of unsaturated fats if you use canola oil or olive oil (when you want its flavor) for cooking. I also love to use Grapeseed oil or coconut oil to cook something at high temperature.

7. Snack on Fruits or Vegetables

What better way to tide you over to your next meal than a low-calorie, light-yet-filling orange, half cantaloupe, peach, plum, banana, or bowl of cherries, berries, or grapes? Try baby carrots, grape tomatoes, or slices of bell pepper, cucumber, or jicama with a few tablespoons of hummusor yogurt tzatziki. Yum.

When you eat out,…..

8. Start with a side salad for your appetizer…or just wait for your entrée.

At many restaurants, appetizers mean cheese plus white flour or other fried fare. Quesadillas, spinach and cheese dip, nachos, Buffalo wings, and most other apps hover around 1,000 calories. Who needs ‘em? 

9. Order Smart

Check out our tips for what to put on your bagel or smoothie or pizza, what to stuff in your sub or burrito or bowl of Chinese food, what to order for breakfast or lunch, and how to eat well almost anywhere. You won’t just cut calories. You’ll also boost the nutrients in your meal. Plus, avoid ordering sweetened soda or artificial fruit-flavored juice. Just a full glass of pure water will do.

10. Take Home Half Your Meal

When researchers analyzed main dishes at independent and small-chain restaurants in Boston, the average entrée (with sides) had roughly 1,300 calories. That’s with no drink, appetizer, or dessert. And they looked at more than half a dozen cuisines, including Greek, Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and Italian.

Some Health-related Expressions

Wanna check out some English expressions related to physical illness/ symptoms? Let us learn some expressions about unhealthy physical states, but stay in good health! J

1.   acute (adjective)

an acute illness is one that becomes very bad very quickly

ó chronic (adjective)

medical a chronic illness or chronic pain is serious and lasts for a long time. A serious illness or pain that lasts only for a short time is described as acute

2.   noncommunicable

ó catching (adjective)

a disease, mood, or idea that is catching spreads quickly to other people (synonym: communicable)

3.   congenital (adjective) (=inborn)

a congenital medical condition is one that a person has had since they were born

ó acquired (adjective) attained/ captured

4.   bariatric (adjective) relating to the causes and treatment of obesity

5.   degenerative (adjective)

a degenerative disease is one that gradually gets worse

6.   focal (adjective)

medical a focal disease or infection is limited to one part of the body

in which bacteria are localized in some region, as the tonsils or the tissue around a tooth, from which they may spread to some other organ or structure of the body.

7.   low-grade (adjective)

a low-grade medical condition is not very serious

8.   niggling (adjective)

a niggling injury is not very serious but is difficult to treat or cure

9.   systemic (adjective)

medical affecting your whole body

10.        virulent (adjective)

medical a virulent illness is very dangerous, and affects people very quickly

Time to check with your knowledge! Choose the right expression for each of the following sentences.

   1.   John got his lower back injured while playing golf last weekend. He says it’s no more than a ____________________ injury, but I guess he should go see a chiropractor before it gets worse.

   2.   Tonsilitis, which causes unpleasant and uncomfortable state of your throat, is one of the examples of the _____________ infections. It is localized in one part of your body.

   3.   Many morbidly obese people go under gastric bypass surgery, which is one of the common procedures of _________________ surgery.

   4.   Have you heard the news about the _____________________ outbreak of cholera in Gujarat, especially in the native states?

   5.   Careful examination of the fingernails and toenails can provide clues to underlying ___________________ diseases.

   6.   Tom says he needs to dump his old running shoes and get a new pair of the ones designed for the overpronaters. He has painful flatfeet which can be a sign of a _______________ abnormality or an injury to the muscles and tendons of the foot.

   7.   This approach has helped detect infectious diseases, and the new technology allows __________________ diseases to be detected using the same strategy.

   8.   Physical examination showed ____________________ fever and a slightly tender, markedly enlarged spleen.

   9.   __________________ diseases, such as Asthma attack, come on rapidly, and are accompanied by distinct symptoms that require urgent or short-term care, and get better once they are treated.

  10.  My mother had been suffering from ____________ arthritis on knees, but the artificial knee replacement surgery did help her lead such an active life now.

Answer Keys

  1.   niggling

  2.   focal

  3.   bariatric

  4.   virulent

  5.   systemic

  6.   congenital

  7.   noncommunicable

  8.   low-grade

  9.   acute

  10. degenerative