Biography

Janna Fox is an Associate Professor in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies (SLaLS). She is the recipient of the prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowship (2002), awarded to “individuals who not only excel in the teaching of their own courses, but also demonstrate an exceptionally high degree of leadership and commitment to the improvement of university teaching across disciplines.” (STHLE, 2007) She teaches courses in language testing, language curriculum, research methodologies, and the scholarship of teaching, and is appointed as a Faculty Associate to the Educational Development Centre, to mentor faculty and improve the quality of teaching and learning within the university. Her research has focused on issues of validity in language testing, and the impact of language policy and curriculum on learning. She completed her M.A. in Applied Language Studies at Carleton University, and her PhD in Education at McGill University. In 2003 she received the Jacqueline A. Ross Award from the Educational Testing Service (TOEFL), for her doctoral dissertation research. This award recognizes research that “makes a significant and original contribution to knowledge about second or foreign language tests and testing.” (ETS, 2007) She was the principal developer of the Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Assessment (1989-2002) and directs the Language Assessment and Testing Research Unit within SLaLS.

Faculty Associate, Educational Development Centre (2005-2007)
Honorary appointment as a mentor to university faculty, to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

Director, Language Assessment and Testing Research Unit (2000- )
The Language Assessment and Testing Research Unit (LATRU), 228C Paterson Hall, carries out research related to assessment and test development.

LATRU engages in test development in both high and low stakes settings, and has overseen the development of such tests as the Citizenship Application Test, the Oral Proficiency in English Communicative Settings (OPECS), and the Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Assessment.

Permanent Board Members:
Bruno Zumbo, Professor, University of British Columbia
Timothy Pychyl, Associate Professor, Carleton University

Standing Members:
Carolyn Turner, Associate Professor, McGill University

Research Interests

• Language testing: assessment models in first and second languages, issues of validity in test use, alternative assessment.
• Writing: the development of academic literacies, the relationship between theoretical models of writing and assessment.
• Curriculum development and program development: implications of particular teaching models in culturally diverse contexts, strategies for teacher development, the role of evaluation and teacher development in curricular change and innovation.

Current Research

Current research projects include SSHRC funded studies of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs in Canadian Universities (with Liying Cheng, Queen’s University; Robert Berman, the University of Alberta) and the impact of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test on Second Language (L2) students (with Liying Cheng and Donald Klinger, Queen’s University). She is also exploring the impact of English language proficiency requirements for admission to tertiary programs; and diffusion of innovation through teacher development as part of program renewal.

Courses

Current course information for this faculty member can be found by searching the Carleton Central/Public Schedule by Term and Name.

Courses previously taught

• ALDS 1001: Introduction to Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies
• ALDS 4201: Language Testing
• ALDS 5002: Inquiry Strategies in Applied Language Studies (formerly LALS 5002)
• ALDS 5202: Curriculum in Language Teaching (formerly LALS 5202)
• ALDS 5204: Seminar in University Teaching (formerly LALS 5204)
• ALDS 5501: Language Testing and Assessment (formerly LALS 5501)

Selective Recent Publications (2003-2007)

(2007)
Alternative Methods of Assessment. In The Encyclopedia of Language and Education, Volume 7, Language Testing and Assessment (Ed. E. Shohamy and N. Hornberger), Springer (in press).

Language Testing Reconsidered , (Ed.with M. Wesche, D. Bayliss, L. Cheng, C. Turner and C. Doe). (2007). University of Ottawa Press: Ottawa, ON.

Introduction. In Language Testing Reconsidered , J. Fox, M. Wesche, D. Bayliss, L. Cheng, C. Turner and C. Doe (Eds.). Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2007, pp. 1-6.

Working for bi-directional washback: Tapping the potential of learner perception and classroom practice to improve test quality (with W. Fraser), in T.S.C. Farrell (Ed.), Teacher Research Series, Vol. 3, Language Teacher Research in the Americas , (H. McGarrell, Ed.). Washington, D.C.: TESOL Publications, (in press).

Did we take the same test? Differing accounts of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test by first (L1) and second (L2) language test takers (with L. Cheng), 2007, Assessment in Education , 14(1), 9-26.

(2006)
Juggling through hoops: Implementing ethics policies in applied language studies (with N. Artemeva, R. Darville and D. Woods), Journal of Academic Ethics , 2006, 4(4), 77-99.

Monograph on English for Academic Purposes: L2 Students in Canadian University Study (Ed. with C. Doe), 2006, Carleton Papers in Applied Language Studies , XXIII.

(2005)
Re-thinking Second Language (L2) Admission Requirements: Problems with Language-Residency Criteria and the Need for Language Assessment and Support. Language Assessment Quarterly , 2005, 2(2), 85-115.

Revisiting the storied landscape of language policy impact over time: A case of successful educational reform. Curriculum Inquiry , 2005, 35(3), Fall, 261-293.

Looking back, looking forward at language teaching practice: The need to take back the research agenda. Contact , 2005, 31(3), 16-20, http://www.teslontario.ca/new/publ/about.htm.

The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB): A Critical Appraisal (with Bob Courchène). Contact, Special Research Symposium Issue, 2005, 31(2), 3-26.

(2004)
Test decisions over time: Tracking validity. Language Testing, 2004, 21(4), 437-465.

Curriculum design: Does it make a difference? Contact, Special Research Symposium Issue, 2004, 30(2), pp. 1-5.

(2003)
From products to process: An ecological approach to bias detection. International Journal of Testing, 2003, 3(1), 21-48.

Recent External Research Grants

SSHRC Funded Research Grant, Impact of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test on Second Language Students (Co-Investigator, with L. Cheng (Principal Investigator) and D. Klinger (Co-Investigator), $130,000, 2005-2008.

SSHRC Funded Conference Grant, Language Testing Research Colloquium (Co-Applicant, with M. Wesche (Principal Applicant), $8,000, 2005.

Research and Development Grant, Language Screening and Placement Test, College of the North Atlantic, Qatar, (with W. Fraser) $64,000, 2004.

Faculty Research Award for Canadians, Ministry of Education, Government of Taiwan, $10,000, 2004.

SSHRC funded research (Principal Investigator), Cost and Benefits: English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Instruction in Canadian Universities , (with L. Cheng and R. Berman) $126,000, 2003-2007.

Memberships

• International Language Testing Association (ILTA)
• American Association of Applied Linguistics
• British Association of Applied Linguistics

Recent Graduate Supervisions

Thesis (M.A.), SLaLS
Hela Boussabah (2007) The introduction of English in grade 6 in Tunisia: A case-study at the classroom level”

Ann Evers (2006) Does discipline matter? Pedagogical approaches to critical thinking in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Economics

Julie Dubeau (2006). Are we all on the same page? An exploratory study of OPI ratings across NATO countries using the NATO STANAG 6001 Scale (with distinction)

Christine Doe (2006). The role of preparation in test takers’ strategy use and test performance.

Zakiya Salim Al Naddabi (2006) ESL Students’ Language Learning Strategy Repertoires in EAP and ESP Contexts: Perceived Success and Pedagogical Mediation

Sun Youyi (2005). The Influence of the Social Interactional Context on Test Performance: A Sociocultural View (with distinction)

Wendy Fraser (2005). Reflective Item Types in a High-Stakes Assessment of English for Academic Purposes: An Examination of the Method Effect .

Ruth Hungerland (2004). The Role of Contextual Factors in Mediating the Washback of High-Stakes Language Assessments (with distinction)

Elena Aminkova (2004). Test-Takers’ Perceptions: Behind the Construct of a Test .

Research Essays (M. A.) SLaLS
Lauren Kennedy, Expanding Test Specifications with Rhetorical Genre Studies and Activity Theory Analyses (2007)

Umama Al Klabani Encouraging teachers to be reflective: Advantages, obstacles and implications (2007)

Karen Rishel, The interface between Second Language Acquisition and Language Testing (2006)

Nameun Shin, An ESL Teacher and Korean ESL Student’s Perceptions of a Process Approach (2006)

Said Aljahdhami, In-service Language Teacher Development: A Three-Level Approach (2006)

Wen Li, Re-thinking Learner Strategies (2005)

Sarah Goodyear, Looking Through the Lens of Rhetorical Genre Studies in a Engineering Communications Skills course Students Evolving Perceptions of Technical Writing (2004)

Rema Othman, Teachers’ perceptions of their professional development: Case studies of Four ESL/EFL Teachers , (2003)

Susan Logie, The use of peer feedback as a pedagogical approach in the writing classroom: A review of the literature (2003)

Futoshi Taschino, When a historian writes lab reports: Transfer in academic writing (2003)

Alana Davis, Fractured Folktales: Tapping into the reading skills of ESL and EFL learners (2003)

Meng Cheng (Portia) Lee, The Impact of computer-mediated writing on L2 pedagogy: Teachers’ Perspectives (2003)

Francine Soimeng Pang, EFL reading in Macao SAR, China: Teaching, curriculum and assessment, (2002)

Han Han, Change in teachers’ pedagogical beliefs in ELT curriculum innovation — The innovation and implementation of the National College English Curriculum in China (2002)

Yongli Han, Washback in China: College English Test (CET) and its effect on English language teaching (2002)

Lillian Dagher, Writing to learn while learning to write in Academia: A case study of the writer’s journal and its pedagogical possibilities (2002)

Juan Carlos Briceño, Teacher development: The case of Venezuela (2001)

Matthew Reesor, English in Japan: Turbulance on the JET Program (2000)