Appendix Five

1. This appendix consists of three tables that all employ Bachman and Palmers’ (1996: 49-50) framework

2. Appendix Two provide the detailed explanation of each label in the tables.

3. As indicated in 2.2 and 3.2, this appendix includes three tables. The first one is a table that deconstructs the salient features of three samples genuine

academic lectures (from Yale Online Lectures Programme), which are retrieved from the following URL:

http://open.163.com/movie/2009/9/C/A/M71QJQ2MQ_M71QK9JCA.html

http://open.163.com/movie/2010/3/5/Q/M7OTJK3C3_M7OTLPO5Q.html

http://open.163.com/movie/2010/5/D/K/M6GGHJIVC_M6GGO8NDK.html

The information collected in the three table is based on my observation and subjective interpretation of the three samples of genuine academic lectures

and the TOEFL and IELTS samples.

4. The second table and the third table employ the same framework to deconstruct the salient features of the test tasks collected from the TOEFL samples

and the IELTS samples.

5. The information collected from the first table will be employed as the foundation, by which a comparison can be made between the foundation and the

information collected from the second and the third tests.

Description of Academic Lectures

Description of Academic Lectures

Characteristics of the Setting

Physical characteristics Academic lectures normally take place in a spacious lecture room, whose capacity varies
from one to the other. In general, noise level in academic lectures is very low except the
situation in which the lecturer asks to students to discuss a topic. Before students hear a
lecture, they are expected to acquire enough schematic knowledge to comprehend the
content of the lecture by pre-reading tasks.
Participants There are two kinds of participants in academic lectures: a lecturer and some students.
In general, the lecturer is the protagonist in the lecture. The lecturer plays the roles of
knowledge transferrer and lecture manager. S/he is responsible for the lecture, deciding
what to teach and how to teach. The students, in most of the time in a lecture, just listen
to the lecture. However, sometimes, students are expected to actively engage into the
lecture (e.g. stating different opinions, asking a question, etc.)
Time of tasks The time when a lecture takes place is flexible. It can take place in the morning or in the
night. The duration of a lecture is 40 minutes (this is based the three samples I choose
for this study). The level of the students’ stamina is unknown (whether they feel fatigue
or fresh in the lecture).

Characteristics of tasks rubrics

Instructions Academic lectures follow a strict pattern, which is can be separated into three parts:
introduction, development and conclusion. It should be noted that the sub-pattern of the
development stage may vary from one discipline to the other. I found different sub-
patterns of the three samples (cause-effect, compare/contrast and problem-solution).
English is the only communicative medium used by the lecturers. The lecturers also
provide visual aids (e.g. PPT, video clips) to help comprehension.
Structure In the three samples, there does not exist distinguishing boundary of different activities.
The lecturers just give lecture from the beginning to the end. There is not any question
item used to measure the students’ comprehension to the lectures.
Time of allotment Because there is not any question item used to measure the students’ comprehension, I
cannot provide relevant information for this item.
Scoring method It is similar to the previous item.

Characteristics of the Input

Format The lectures are presented by many sources (e.g. verbal language, non-verbal language
(gestures, intonations, etc.), visual aids, handouts). The language of the three samples is
expressed in extended discourse, and all the three lecturers are native speakers. The
speech rate of the three samples ranges from 140 wpm to 180 wpm. The lectures are
expressed through live performance.
Language input The language used in the samples includes a considerable amount of colloquial language,
but it also features academic language and in particular disciplinary-related vocabulary
(terminology). There are many phonological changes (e.g. assimilation, elision and
intrusion). Hesitation is very typical in the three samples (e.g. unfilled pause, filled pause,
repetitions and false starts). Discourse markers (Chaudron and Richards (1986) divided
discourse markers into two types: macro makers and micro-markers) are appropriately
used in the lectures, but sometimes, the lectures employ non-verbal cues to indicate the
change of discourse patterns (or topic development). Some language expressed by the
lecturers needs the students to interpret the pragmatic or prepositional inferences.
Topical characteristics Because the three samples target at three different subject matters (History, Chemistry
and Sociology), the topical characteristics are different.

Characteristics of the Expected Response

Format In the three samples, the students are expected to give aural response to the lectures.
The length of the response varies from a single word to several sentences, and sometimes
the students’ response is non-verbal. The speech rate also varies from one student to the
other.
Language of expected response
Topical characteristics
Relationship between Input and Response
Reactivity
Scope of relationship
Directness of relationship
The language of the students’ response to the lecture is different. Native speaker
students can use a wide range of vocabulary and grammatical structures to express their
ideas, and their speech rate is relatively fast. Non-native speaker students sometimes
make linguistic mistakes, and their speech rate is relatively low.
Because the three samples target at three different subject matters (History, Chemistry
and Sociology), the topical characteristics are different.
In the three samples, in most of time the lectures are non-reciprocal (Bachman and
Palmer, 1996: 55). The situation in which the students actively engage in the lectures is
rare. However, it is still able to find a limited number of situations that the students
communicate with the lectures by stating different opinions or asking for clarification of
an argument.
The students are expected to understand the main idea of the lectures as the detailed
information is provided in PPT or handouts.
In order to understand the meaning of the lectures, the students should carefully listen
to the lectures; besides, it is necessary for them to do some preliminary works (e.g. pre-
reading task).
Description of the IELTS Samples

Description of the IELTS Samples

Characteristics of the Setting

Physical characteristics The capacity of the room for taking IELTS differs in different IELTS test centres, ranging
from 40 to more than a hundred. In IELTS, every candidate is not allowed to speak without
the permission from the invigilators, so the noise level is very low. In general, almost
every candidate is familiar with the test. The equipment used for the listening section
also varies from on testing centre to the other. Some centres are equipped with loud
speakers in testing rooms while some are equipped with a large number of headsets for
each candidate.
Participants The candidates are the major participants in the test, and there are also a few of
invigilators (in general two or three invigilators for one testing room). The candidates
must follow the given procedures and the instructions from the invigilators to finish the
test.
Time of tasks In IELTS, the listening section lasts for 40 minutes, of which 10 minutes for preparation
(for candidates testing the equipment if it is necessary, for invigilators read instructions,
for candidates transfer their answers to the answer sheet). The length of lectures in the
five samples ranges from four to six minutes.

Characteristics of tasks rubrics

Instructions In IELTS, there are four sub-sections in the listening section. Except the fourth section
targets academic lectures, the other sections target at various TLU activities (e.g. a
conversation in a general life setting (a conversation between a salesman and a
costumer), a monologue of introducing a holiday destination, a conversation between a
student and a teacher), so the language of a TLU activity differ from that of the other. The
 test only provides aural information without any visual aid. The discourse patterns of the
lectures in the five IELTS samples are the typical ones used in genuine academic lectures
(e.g. cause-effect, problem-solution, compare/contrast and classification).
Structure The boundaries for the four sub-sections in the IELTS listening test is distinguishable. In
one set of IETLS, there are 40 question items in the listening section (10 question items
per sub-section). In other words, only 10 question items for academic lectures. Each
question is of equal importance, and the order of the 40 question items are fixed (to be
precisely, the order of the four sub-sections is fixed). All the question items are provided
to the candidates before the recordings play.
Time of allotment The time allotted for the candidates to answer the question items is limited. The
candidates have to listen to the recordings and answer the question items
simultaneously.
Scoring method All the question items in the IELTS listening test are closed questions (The answer(s) for
each question item is (are) provided for the examiners. Each piece of answer sheet is
measured by machine. The official organisation of IELTS provides the detailed explanation
of criteria of measurement.

Characteristics of the Input

Format Aural information is the only input to provide necessary information for the candidates
in order to answer the question items. The language presented in the recordings are
expressed by native speakers (mainly British English, but sometimes including American
English, Australian English or Indian English). The rating speech differs in different sub-
sections. For the academic lectures, the average speech rate of the five IELTS samples is
125 wpm.
Language input The language in the recordings of the lectures includes a small amount of colloquial
language. Besides, the language is more similar to a transcript written by the test-
developers. In other words, the language in the lectures does not feature typical natural
oral language. Hardly can anyone find hesitation and phonological changes in the
recordings, i.e. the language is perfect in terms of grammar and vocabulary in use.
Discourse markers are extensively used in the recordings to indicate the discoursal
patterns (or topic development), almost all the discourse structures are explicitly

Topical characteristics
Characteristics of the Expected Response
Format
Language of expected response
Topical characteristics
Relationship between Input and Response
Reactivity
Scope of relationship
Directness of relationship
expressed with the aid of discourse markers (See Transcript One in Page xx (at the bottom
of this appendix), this is the transcript of one the samples (CI-10-4) used in this study,
the yellow highlights indicate the discourse markers used to show the discourse
structure).
Because the five samples target at different subject matters, the topical characteristics
are different.
The candidates respond to the lectures by answering the question items. The question
items are mainly classified into two types: short-answer questions and MCQ questions.
Candidates only need to choose options (writing A (B, C or D) or lexical items (single
words, phrases or chucks) on the answer sheet.
Because the five samples target at different subject matters, the topical characteristics
are different.
In the IELTS listening test, the relationship between the candidates and the question
items is non-reciprocal (there is not any active communication between the candidates
and the test) (Bachman and Palmer, 1996: 55).
In the sub-section of lectures, candidates are only expected to focus on the specific
details or limited part of the recordings because the question items in this sub-section
are mainly short-answer questions, which ask the candidates to listen to specific
information.
All the necessary information for answering the questions is provided in the recordings.
It is not necessary for the candidates to use too specific schematic knowledge to answer
the questions. For example, the answers of CI-9-1 are “tide, hearing, plants, feeding,
noise, healthy, group, social, leader and network” (the answers of the questions items
31-40 in CI-9-1). There is not any item in this sample measuring the candidates’
comprehension of any specific schematic knowledge.
Description of the TOEFL Samples

Description of the TOEFL Samples

Characteristics of the Setting

Physical characteristics The capacity of the room for taking TOEFL differs in different TOEFL test centres, ranging
from 40 to more than one hundred. In the TOEFL listening test, every candidate is not
allowed to speak without the permission from the invigilators, so the noise level is very
low. In general, almost every candidate is familiar with the test. Because the latest version
of TOEFL is an internet-based test, each candidate is allocated for a computer and a pair
of headset.
Participants The candidates are the major participants in the test, and there are also a few of
invigilators (in general two or three invigilators for one testing room). The candidates
must follow the given procedures and the instructions from the invigilators to finish the
test.
Time of tasks In TOEFL, the listening section lasts for 60-90 minutes, and there is a short period of time
for preparation (for candidates testing the equipment if it is necessary). The length of
lectures in the five TOEFL samples ranges from four to nine minutes.

Characteristics of tasks rubrics

Instructions In each set of TOEFL listening test, there are two sub-sets whose structure is completely
the same. Each sub-set includes three recordings. The first recording is a conversation
between a student and a university staff (or a faculty member). The topic of the
conversation is in relation to university lives or academic issues. The second and the third
recordings are academic lectures, ranging from a wide range of disciplines (e.g. History,
Art History, Philosophy, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Sociology, Anthropology, Archaeology
and Economics). As a result, the language varies from one discipline to the other.
However, the discourse patterns of the lectures in the five IELTS samples are the typical
ones used in genuine academic lectures (e.g. cause-effect (T-22-4), problem-solution (T-
 5-5), compare/contrast (T-5-2) and classification(T-13-2)). Because TOEFL is an internet-
based test, in the listening section the test provides some visual prompts (see the figure
below) to help the candidates comprehend the recordings, but pictures are the only type
of prompts provided in TOEFL, and the number of the pictures is limited (two to three for
each recording). Each conversation includes five question items, and each lecture
includes six question items, so there are 34 question items in total for each set of TOEFL
listening test. MCQ is the only type of question items.

Structure The boundaries for the six recordings in the TOEFL listening test is distinguishable. In one
set of TOEFL, there are 34 question items (six question items per lecture and five question
items per conversation) in the listening section. In other words, only 24 question items
for academic lectures. Each question is of equal importance, and the order of the 34
question items are fixed (to be precisely, the order of the six recordings is fixed). All the
question items are provided to the candidates after the recordings play.
Time of allotment The time allotted for the candidates to answer the question items is adequate. The
candidates are given time to recall the information of the recordings they hear to answer
the questions.
Scoring method All the question items in the TOEFL listening test are closed questions (The answer for
each question item is provided for the examiners. Each piece of answer sheet is measured

Characteristics of the Input
Format
Language input
Topical characteristics
Characteristics of the Expected Response
Format
Language of expected response
Topical characteristics
Relationship between Input and Response
Reactivity
by machine. The official organisation of TOEFL provides the detailed explanation of
criteria of measurement.
Aural information is the major input to provide necessary information for the candidates
in order to answer the question items. Besides, there are a limited number visual prompts
(pictures) provided for the candidates to help listening comprehension. The language
presented in the recordings are expressed by native speakers (mainly American English).
The speech rate differs in different recordings. For the academic lectures, the average
speech rate of the five TOEFL samples is 144 wpm.
The language in the recordings of the lectures only includes a small amount of colloquial
language; however, the language in the lectures feature typical natural oral language. It
is able to find hesitation and phonological changes in the recordings. Discourse markers
are extensively used in the recordings to indicate the discoursal patterns (or topic
development), but there are still some semantic relationships which are expressed
implicitly (by inference or intonations). There exists some turning-taking between the
lecturers and the students.
Because the five samples target at different subject matters, the topical characteristics
are different.
The candidates respond to the lectures by answering the question items. The question
items are all MCQ.
Candidates only need to choose options (A, B.C and D).
Because the five samples target at different subject matters, the topical characteristics
are different.
In the TOEFL listening test, the relationship between the candidates and the question
items is non-reciprocal (there is not any active communication between the candidates
and the test) (Bachman and Palmer, 1996: 55).
 In the lectures, candidates are mainly expected to process a lot of language input for one
question item (e.g. interpreting semantic relationship between two sentences or
Scope of relationship interpreting the main idea of the recording). Meanwhile, the candidates are also
expected to focus on the specific details or limited part of the recordings in order to
concentrate on some specific information.
All the necessary information for answering the questions is provided in the recordings.
Directness of relationship It is not necessary for the candidates to use too specific schematic knowledge to answer
the questions.

Transcript One (CI-9-4-4)

Today we're going to look at an important area of science, namely nanotechnology.

So what is it?
Nano means tiny, so it's science and engineering on the scale of atoms and molecules.
The idea is that by controlling and rearranging atoms, you can literally create anything.
However, as we'll see, the science of the small has some big implications affecting us in many ways.
There's no doubt that nanotechnology promises so much for civilisation.
However, all new technologies have their teething problems.
And with nanotechnology, society often gets the wrong idea about its capabilities.
Numerous science-fiction books and movies have raised people's fears about nanotechnology with scenarios such as inserting little nano robots into your body
that monitor everything you do without you realising it, or self replicating nano robots that eventually take over the world.
So how do we safeguard such a potentially powerful technology?
Some scientists recommend that nano particles be treated as new chemicals with separate safety tests and clear labelling.
They believe that greater care should also be taken with nano particles in laboratories and factories.
Others have called for a withdrawal of new nano products such as cosmetics and a temporary halt to many kinds of nanotech research.
But as far as I'm concerned there's a need to plough ahead with the discoveries and applications of nanotechnology.
I really believe that most scientists would welcome a way to guard against unethical uses of such technology.
We can't go around thinking that all innovation is bad, all advancement is bad.
As with the debate about any new technology, it is how you use it that's important.
So let's look at some of its possible uses.
Thanks to nanotechnology, there could be a major breakthrough in the field of transportation with the production of more durable metals.
These could be virtually unbreakable, lighter and much more pliable leading to planes that are 50 times lighter than at present.
Those same improved capabilities will dramatically reduce the cost of travelling into space making it more accessible to ordinary people and opening up a totally
new holiday destination.
In terms of technology, the computer industry will be able to shrink computer parts down to minute sizes.
We need nanotechnology in order to create a new generation of computers that will work even faster and will have a million times more memory but will be
about the size of a sugar cube.
Nanotechnology could also revolutionise the way that we generate power.
The cost of solar cells will be drastically reduced so harnessing this energy will be far more economical than at present.
But nanotechnology has much wider applications than this and could have an enormous impact on our environment.
For instance, tiny airborne nano robots could be programmed to actually rebuild the ozone layer, which could lessen the impact of global warming on our planet.
That's a pretty amazing thought, isn't it?
On a more local scale, this new technology could help with the clean up of environmental disasters as nanotechnology will allow us to remove oil and other
contaminants from the water far more effectively.
And, if nanotechnology progresses as expected as a sort of building block set of about 90 atoms then you could build anything you wanted from the bottom up.
In terms of production, this means that you only use what you need and so there wouldn't be any waste.
The notion that you could create anything at all has major implications for our health.
It means that we'll eventually be able to replicate anything.
This would have a phenomenal effect on our society.
In time it could even lead to the eradication of famine through the introduction of machines that produce food to feed the hungry.
But it's in the area of medicine that nanotechnology may have its biggest impact.
How we detect disease will change as tiny biosensors are developed to analyse tests in minutes rather than days.
There's even speculation nano robots could be used to slow the ageing process, lengthening life expectancy.
As you can see, I'm very excited by the implications that could be available to us in the next few decades.
Just how long it'll take, I honestly don't know.
Transcript Two (T-5-2)

FEMALE PROFESSOR: Have you ever heard the one about alligators living in New York sewers? The story goes like this: a family went on vacation in Florida and
bought a couple of baby alligators as presents for their children, then returned from vacation to New York, bringing the alligators home with them as pets. But
the alligators would escape and find their way into the New York sewer system where they started reproducing, grew to huge sizes and now strike fear into
sewer workers. Have you heard this story? Well, it isn't true and it never happened, but despite that, the story has been around since the 1930s.
Or how about the song "twinkle, twinkle little star", you know, [sings] "twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. "Well we've all heard this song.
Where am I going with this? Both the song and the story are examples of memes, and that's what we would talk about, the theory of memes.
A meme is defined as a piece of information copied from person to person. By this definition, most of what you know, ideas, skills, stories, songs are memes. All
the words you know, all the scientific theories you've learned, the rules your parents taught you to observe, all are memes that have been passed on from
person to person.
So what? You may say. Passing on ideas from one person to another is nothing new. Well, the whole point of defining this familiar process as transmission of
memes is so that we can explore its analogy with the transmission of genes. As you know, all living organisms pass on biological information through the genes.
What's a gene? A gene is a piece of biological information that gets copied or replicated, and the copy or replica is passed on to the new generation. So genes
are defined as replicators. Genes are replicators that pass on information about properties and characteristics of organisms. By analogy, memes also get
replicated and in the process pass on culture information from person to person, generation to generation. So memes are also replicators.
To be a successful replicator, there are three key characteristics: longevity, fecundity and fidelity. Let's take a closer look.
First, longevity. A replicator must exist long enough to be able to get copied, and transfer its information. Clearly, the longer a replicator survives, the better its
chances of getting its message copied and passed on. So longevity is a key characteristic of a replicator. If you take the alligator story, it can exist for a long time
in individual memory—let's say, my memory. I can tell you the story now or ten years from now, the same with the twinkle, twinkle song. So these memes have
longevity because they are memorable for one reason or another.
Next, fecundity. Fecundity is the ability to reproduce in large numbers. For example, the common housefly reproduces by laying several thousand eggs, so each
fly gene gets copied thousands of times. Memes, well, they can be reproduced in large numbers as well. How many times have you sung the "twinkle, twinkle
song" to someone? Each time you replicated that song—and maybe passed it along to someone who did not know it yet, a small child maybe.
And finally, fidelity. Fidelity means accuracy of the copying process. We know fidelity is an essential principle of genetic transmission. If a copy of a gene is a bit
different from the original, that's called a genetic mutation, and mutations are usually bad news. An organism often cannot survive with a mutated gene—and
so a gene usually cannot be passed on, unless it's an exact copy. For memes however, fidelity is not always so important. For example, if you tell someone the
alligator story I told you today, it probably won't be word for word exactly as I said it. Still, it will be basically the same story, and the person who hears the story
will be able to pass it along.
Other memes are replicated with higher fidelity, though—like the twinkle, twinkle song? It had the exact same words 20 years ago as it does now. Well, that's
because we see songs as something that has to be performed accurately each time. If you change a word, the others will usually bring you in line. They'll say,
"that's not how you sing it", right?
So, you can see how looking at pieces of cultural information as replicators, as memes, and analyzing them in terms of longevity, fecundity and fidelity, we can
gain some inside about how they spread, persist or change.