Download or read book Interviewer Variability in Oral Proficiency Interviews written by Annie Brown and published by Peter Lang Pub Incorporated. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book was the winner of the 2005 Jacqueline A. Ross Dissertation Award for second or foreign language testing. The assessment of speaking skills is an important part of the language learning process, whether carried out by teachers in the classroom or through proficiency tests administered by testing agencies. However, the complex and subjective nature of speaking assessment raises a number of important questions about the validity, reliability and fairness of test procedures. This book, which is based on research into the speaking test of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), shows how the performance of learners in oral proficiency interviews cannot be taken unequivocally as an indication of their ability, as variation in interviewer behaviour can have an impact both on learner performance and on ratings outcomes.

Download or read book Interaction in Paired Oral Proficiency Assessment in Spanish written by Ana Maria Ducasse and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2010 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Defining the construct of interaction for paired assessment purposes has been difficult, despite the evolution of our view of language to include the social perspective of co-construction, and the fact that such discourse is increasingly taught and assessed. In this volume three sequenced studies define interaction in paired oral assessment through the verbal protocols of learners of Spanish and their assessors. Assessors then scale performances from videoed test performance data resulting in the development of an evidence based rating process which includes non-verbal interpersonal communication, interactive listening and interactional management.

Download or read book Crossing Boundaries written by Richard Nordquist and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2010 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The articles in this volume were originally presented in spring 2009 at an international conference hosted by the Institute of Germanic and Romance Languages and Cultures at Tallinn University in Estonia. The theme of «crossing boundaries» is reflected in the rich mix of genres, cultures, applications, and critical theories considered here. Indeed, these articles demonstrate that crossing boundaries can be a companionable journey as well an intellectually enriching experience.

Download or read book Interviewing for Language Proficiency written by Steven J. Ross and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses oral proficiency interviews, a mainstay of second language speaking proficiency assessment for several decades. Adopting a mixed-method perspective involving micro-analytic approaches, discourse analysis and quantitative methods such as multi-level modeling and event history analysis, the author focuses on interaction and discourse processes common in language assessment interviews. This innovative book will appeal to students and scholars of language assessment, conversation and discourse analysts, as well as practitioners and providers of oral proficiency assessment.

Download or read book Tasks and Criteria in Performance Assessment written by Annie Brown and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2009 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume includes selected papers from the 28th Language Testing Research Colloquium, held at the University of Melbourne (Australia) in July 2006. The papers selected for this volume share a common theme - that of 'performance'. Not only do they focus on performance assessments of second or foreign language speaking and writing, but they also focus on the performance of the participants - the candidate (or candidates) and the raters - and the construction of that performance through the tasks and the assessment criteria.

Download or read book Multiple Perspectives on Learner Interaction written by William J. Crawford and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the field of Second Language Studies, shared datasets provide a valuable contribution to second language research as many variables are held constant (e.g., participants, tasks, research context) thus allowing for an evaluation of theoretical and/or methodological perspectives that may not otherwise be comparable. This edited volume includes a wide range of studies using a common dataset (the Corpus of Collaborative Oral Tasks). The corpus includes 820 spoken tasks (268,927 words) carried out by dyads of L2 English speakers (primarily Chinese and Arabic learners). Studies included in the book are categorized into three main traditions: learner corpus research, Task-Based Language Teaching, and assessment. Because the corpus contains text and sound files, both lexico-grammatical and phonological analyses are included. Intended for researchers in the field of Second Language Studies with an interest in oral interaction research, this book provides a collection of methodological, pedagogical, and assessment studies using a common dataset.

Download or read book Measuring Oral Proficiency Through Paired task Performance written by Ildikó Csépes and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2009 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book intends to provide a theoretical overview of examining candidates' oral abilities in different examination formats. In particular, it explores specific partner effects on discourse outcomes and proficiency ratings in the framework of paired-task performance. Two investigations, both set in the context of a proposed Hungarian school leaving examination in English, were carried out in order to contribute to a better understanding of the assumed impact of the chosen variables. Study One investigates discourse differences between examiner-to-examinee interaction and peer-to-peer interaction. Study Two explores the impact of the peer partner's proficiency. The results show that partner effects related to this variable cannot be predicted as either harmful or beneficial since no statistically significant difference was found between 30 candidates' scores in different examination conditions.

Download or read book L2 Learning as Social Practice written by Gabriele Pallotti and published by Natl Foreign Lg Resource Ctr. This book was released on 2011 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume collects empirical studies applying Conversation Analysis to situations where second, third, and other additional languages are used. A number of different aspects are considered, including how linguistic systems develop over time through social interaction and how the linguistic-interactional divide can be bridged with studies combining Conversation Analysis and Functional Linguistics. 400 pp.

Download or read book Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning written by Jenefer Philp and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-07 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning synthesizes the existing body of research on the role of peer interaction in second language learning in one comprehensive volume. In spite of the many hours that language learners spend interacting with peers in the classroom, there is a tendency to evaluate the usefulness of this time by comparison to whole class interaction with the teacher. Yet teachers are teachers and peers are peers – as partners in interaction, they are likely to offer very different kinds of learning opportunities. This book encourages researchers and instructors alike to take a new look at the potential of peer interaction to foster second language development. Acknowledging the context of peer interaction as highly dynamic and complex, the book considers the strengths and limitations of peer work from a range of theoretical perspectives. In doing so, Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning clarifies features of effective peer interaction for second language learning across a range of educational contexts, age spans, proficiency levels, and classroom tasks and settings.

Download or read book Automated Speaking Assessment written by Klaus Zechner and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-28 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Automated Speaking Assessment: Using Language Technologies to Score Spontaneous Speech provides a thorough overview of state-of-the-art automated speech scoring technology as it is currently used at Educational Testing Service (ETS). Its main focus is related to the automated scoring of spontaneous speech elicited by TOEFL iBT Speaking section items, but other applications of speech scoring, such as for more predictable spoken responses or responses provided in a dialogic setting, are also discussed. The book begins with an in-depth overview of the nascent field of automated speech scoring—its history, applications, and challenges—followed by a discussion of psychometric considerations for automated speech scoring. The second and third parts discuss the integral main components of an automated speech scoring system as well as the different types of automatically generated measures extracted by the system features related to evaluate the speaking construct of communicative competence as measured defined by the TOEFL iBT Speaking assessment. Finally, the last part of the book touches on more recent developments, such as providing more detailed feedback on test takers’ spoken responses using speech features and scoring of dialogic speech. It concludes with a discussion, summary, and outlook on future developments in this area. Written with minimal technical details for the benefit of non-experts, this book is an ideal resource for graduate students in courses on Language Testing and Assessment as well as teachers and researchers in applied linguistics.

Download or read book Setting Performance Standards in Europe written by Spiros Papageorgiou and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2009 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication was awarded the Jacqueline Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award in 2009. Since its publication in 2001, the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) has been the most frequently-cited performance standard in language testing in Europe. To help test providers and users with score interpretation in relation to the CEFR levels, the Council of Europe published the 'Manual for relating language examinations to the CEFR'. Even though the linking process set out in the Manual is primarily based on judgements by trained participants, judgement-making in this context remains largely unexplored. The research presented in this book addresses this issue by employing quantitative and qualitative methods. Despite the judges' good understanding of how language ability progresses from lower to higher CEFR levels, it was found that describing test content and examinee performance was not without problems and decision-making was affected by a number of factors that were irrelevant to the judgement task. The results provide a better understanding of judgement-making during the CEFR linking process, which has important implications for examination providers and users of CEFR-aligned test scores.

Download or read book Proceedings of the 12th METU International ELT Convention written by Sema Turan and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2018-06-11 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited collection contains sixteen papers presented at the 12th METU International ELT Convention, “Celebrating Diversity”, held in 2015 in Ankara, Turkey. With the social, cultural and technological changes the 21st century has brought to our lives, every learner today has more diverse needs and expectations, which makes us consider the concept of “diversity” as one of the core points in English language education. Based on the core principle “One size does not fit all”, this volume presents a wide range of topics and covers issues related to diversity in student and teacher profiles, teaching and learning practices, assessment techniques, world Englishes and cultural elements in EFL/ESL classrooms. As such, the proceedings of the 12th METU International ELT Convention are an invaluable reference for those interested in diverse perspectives, applications and practices in the teaching of English as a foreign and second language.

Download or read book Handbook of Second Language Assessment written by Dina Tsagari and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2016-03-07 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Second language assessment is ubiquitous. It has found its way from education into questions about access to professions and migration. This volume focuses on the main debates and research advances in second language assessment in the last fifty years or so, showing the influence of linguistics, politics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and psychometrics. There are four parts which, when taken together, address the principles and practices of second language assessment while considering its impact on society. Read separately, each part addresses a different aspect of the field. Part I deals with the conceptual foundations of second language assessment with chapters on the purposes of assessment, and standards and frameworks, as well as matters of scoring, quality assurance, and test validation. Part II addresses the theory and practice of assessing different second language skills including aspects like intercultural competence and fluency. Part III examines the challenges and opportunities of second language assessment in a range of contexts. In addition to chapters on second language assessment on a national scale, there are chapters on learning-oriented assessment, as well as the uses of second language assessment in the workplace and for migration. Part IV examines a selection of important issues in the field that deserve attention. These include the alignment of language examinations to external frameworks, the increasing use of technology to both deliver and score second language tests, the responsibilities associated with assessing test takers with special needs, the concept of 'voice' in second language assessment, and assessment literacy for teachers and other test and score users.

Download or read book Coherence and Cohesion in Spoken and Written Discourse written by Olga Dontcheva-Navratilova and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2020-07-13 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coherence and Cohesion in Spoken and Written Discourse provides new insights into the various ways coherence works in a wide spread of spoken and written text types and interactional situations, all of which point to the dynamics and subjectivity of its nature. Despite the variety of approaches the authors adopt, they share an understanding of language as a dynamic and heterogeneous system mediating interaction in social and cultural contexts and explain how coherence and cohesion are reflected in different contextually bound aspects of human communication. The chapters of the book comprise essays by linguists working in the fields of pragmatics, discourse analysis and stylistics which explore features contributing to the perception of cohesion and coherence in spoken and written varieties of English, namely impromptu, academic and political discourse within the former variety, and media, academic and fictional discourse within the latter. This volume, which combines theoretical insights with practical analyses of different varieties of spoken and written English discourse, will be of interest to a wide range of researchers, scholars and students of English.

Download or read book New Speakers of Minority Languages written by Cassie Smith-Christmas and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-11-29 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book represents the first collection specifically devoted to New Speaker Studies, focusing on language ideologies and practices of speakers in a variety of minority language communities. Over thirteen chapters, it uses the new speaker lens to investigate not only linguistic issues, such as language variation and change, phonetics, morphosyntax, language acquisition, code-switching, but also sociolinguistic issues, such as legitimacy, integration, and motivation in language learning and use. Besides covering a range of languages - Basque, Breton, Galician, Giernesiei, Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh - and their different sociolinguistic situations, the chapters also encompass a series of interactional settings: institutional settings, media and the home domain, as well as different contexts for becoming a new speaker of a minority language, such as by migration or through education. This collection represents an output by a lively network of researchers: it will appeal to postgraduate students, researchers and academics working in the field of sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, language policy and those working within minority language communities.

Download or read book Sociocultural Theory in Second Language Education written by Merrill Swain and published by Multilingual Matters. This book was released on 2011 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this accessible introduction to Vygotskyian sociocultural theory, narratives illuminate key concepts of the theory. These key concepts, addressed across seven chapters, include mediation; Zone of Proximal Development; collaborative dialogue; private speech; everyday and scientific concepts; the interrelatedness of cognition and emotion, activity theory and assessment. An eighth chapter provides readers with an opportunity to consider two additional narratives and apply the SCT concepts that they have become familiar with. These narratives come from individuals in a variety of languages, contexts, ages and proficiencies. We hear from learners, teachers and researchers. Intended for graduate and undergraduate audiences, this textbook includes controversies in the field, questions for collaborative discussion and provides references to important work in the literature of second language teaching, learning and research. This book presents a unique introduction to Sociocultural Theory. Through the telling of fascinating stories the authors familiarize the reader with the concepts that are central to the theory and in particular to how the theory relates to the teaching and learning of languages beyond the first. It is an exceptional piece of scholarship that I think Vygotsky would have wholeheartedly endorsed." James P. Lantolf, the Pennsylvania State University, USA "This book is a most welcome addition to the growing literature on sociocultural theory. It is refreshing to come across such a reader-friendly book dealing with complex constructs. The book provides an overview of key concepts in sociocultural theory, and then, using a set of narratives, illustrates how these concepts can be used to explain phenomena in second language learning and teaching, As such, the authors have succeeded in producing an accessible and highly engaging introduction to sociocultural theory." Neomy Storch, The University of Melbourne, Australia "Sociocultural Theory in Second Language Education is a highly recommended and worthwhile book for all those who seek to understand how sociocultural theory is entailed in teaching practice. Using narratives of teaching recounted in the voices of language learners and teachers, Swain and her co-authors bring the major concepts of Vygotsky to life in clear and accessible ways. Contributing to the conceptual analysis of each story is information on allied concepts, key studies, controversies and discussion topics. This book is certain to be a mainstay in language teacher education programs and in courses on sociocultural theory and second language acquisition." Richard Donato, University of Pittsburg, USA The authors, each from a different background, share a passion for sociocultural theory. Each author brings stories, data and experiences from her area of expertise: second language pedagogy and teacher development (Linda); elementary classroom teaching with second language and bilingual students (Penny) and teaching and research in bilingual education and second language learning (Merrill). Penny lectures at the University of Toronto. Linda is an associate professor at York University in Toronto. Merill is a professor emeritus at OISE University of Toronto.

Download or read book Measured Constructs written by Cyril J. Weir and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-05-23 with total page 673 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume establishes how English language constructs were measured in Cambridge English examinations over the period 1913 to 2012. An addition to the Studies in Language Testing series, this volume provides an overview of English language testing over the last century, with coverage of key theoretical and practical aspects of the assessment of reading, listening, writing and speaking skills. It includes examples of the Cambridge English exams, old and new, and is the first volume to describe in a systematic way the different theoretical influences which have shaped the development of the constructs underlying Cambridge English exams in the last 100 years.