Alister Cumming
Professor, Head of CERLL
Areas of specialization: English as a second language, writing in second languages, evaluation, thinking processes in language learning and instruction
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
1] Adolescent Literacy in Three Urban Regions (ALTUR): Toronto
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Books
Cumming, A. (Ed.) (in preparation). Understanding adolescent literacy in a culturally diverse context. London: Routledge.
Leki, I., Cumming, A., & Silva, T. (2008). A synthesis of research on second language writing in English. London: Routledge.
Chapters in books
Cumming, A. (in preparation). Writing. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Routledge encyclopedia of second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Cumming, A. (in preparation). Foreword. In R. Manchon (Ed.), Foreign language writing in transnational perspective: Learning-to-write and writing-to-learn dimensions. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Cumming, A. (in press). Goal theory and second-language writing development, two ways. To appear in R. Manchón (Ed.), L2 writing development: Multiple perspectives. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Cumming, A. (in press). Writing development in second language acquisition. To appear in A. Ohta (Vol. Ed.), Social, dynamic and complexity theory approaches to second language acquisition, C. Chapelle (Series Ed.), Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Cumming, A. (in press). Validation of language assessments. To appear in C. Chapelle (Vol. Ed.), Assessment and evaluation, C. Chapelle (Series Ed.), Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Cumming, A. (2010). Theories, frameworks, and heuristics: Some reflections on inquiry and second-language writing. In T. Silva & P. Matsuda (Eds.), Practicing theory in second language writing (19-47). West Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press.
Cumming, A. (2009). The contribution of studies of foreign language writing to research, theory, and policies. In R. Manchón (Ed.), Writing in foreign language contexts: Learning, teaching, and researching (pp. 209-231). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Articles in Refereed Journals
Jun, S.W., Ramirez, G. & Cumming, A. (in press). Tutoring adolescents in literacy: A meta-analysis. McGill Journal of Education.
Cumming, A. (2009). What needs to be developed to facilitate classroom-based assessment? TESOL Quarterly, 43, 3, 515-519.
Cumming, A. (2009). Language assessment in education: Tests, curricula and teaching. In B. Spolsky (Ed.), Language policy and assessment. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 29, 90-100.
Cumming, A. (2009). Assessing academic writing in foreign and second languages: Research timeline. Language Teaching, 42, 1, 95-107.
Papers in refereed conference proceedings
Cumming, A. (in press). Curriculum and assessment: Trends in L2 writing research and
pedagogy. In Cheng, X. (Ed.), Proceedings of the Sixth National Symposium on EFL Writing, Teaching and Research. Beijing: National Scholars’ Press.
Technical reports
Cumming, A. (October, 2009). Setting performance standards on four English language proficiency tests for licensure as a pharmacy technician in Canada. Report submitted to the Ontario College of Pharmacy, Toronto, and the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities, Ottawa.
Reviews
Cumming, A. (in press). [Review of Chapelle, C., Enright, M. & Jamieson, J. (Eds.),
Building a validity argument for the test of English as a Foreign Language.] To appear in Language Testing.