An Exploration of the Use of Scaling and Clustering Techniques in ESL Program Evaluation

Abstract

The English as a Second Language (ESL) Department of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa (Ul-llv1) offers about twenty-five regular courses in its MA in ESL program. The twenty-five courses represent a wide range of interests and reflect, more or less, a general consensus among the ESL faculty members as to the relevance of those topical areas to the ESL profession. However, there has not been much information about how ESL graduate students actually assess those courses in the MA program. Therefore, a survey was proposed in March, 1986. A major purpose of the study was to explore the possibility of using scaling and clustering techniques for ESL program evaluation, particularly in the area of analysing subjective judgments. Because of the limitations resulting from the preliminary character of this exploration, caution is advised if the findings of this study are to be cited as basis for decisions on any MAin ESL curriculum.