2018 Annual Conference of China English Language Education Association (CELEA2018)

249 / 2018-04-07 21:30:55

Viva’s role in English majors’ postgraduate degree assessment：A study of two Chinese universities

assessment; viva assessment; English major; role; postgraduate education

Plenary track > 中国特色英语测评研究

Postgraduate degree viva refers to the thesis defense, whose role has long been questioned. The author used questionnaires and interviews to examine the role of English majors’ postgraduate degree viva assessment. Ten teachers and twenty students of each target universities’ English major postgraduate degree program participated in this study. They are recruited from China’s two representative universities. The results reflect the current process, criteria and supervision situations of English major postgraduate degree viva assessment. Divergences appeared between different programs, and even within one program. The prevalent attitudes, beliefs and opinions about the viva held by English major postgraduate degree program teachers and students also provide some suggestions for the improvement of viva implementation and supervision.