State of the art review : language testing and assessment (part two).

In Part 1 of this two-part review article (Alderson & Banerjee, 2001), we first addressed issues of washback, ethics, politics and standards. After a discussion of trends in testing on a national level and in testing for specific purposes, we surveyed developments in computer-based testing and then finally examined self-assessment, alternative assessment and the assessment of young learners. In this second part, we begin by discussing recent theories of construct validity and the theories of language use that help define the constructs that we wish to measure through language tests. The main sections of the second part concentrate on summarising recent research into the constructs themselves, in turn addressing reading, listening, grammatical and lexical abilities, speaking and writing. Finally we discuss a number of outstanding issues in the field

Developing an Automated Test of Spoken Japanese

In order to assess spoken skills of learners of Japanese effectively and more efficiently the Institute for DECODE (Institute for Digital Enhancement of Cognitive Development) at Waseda University is collaborating with Ordinate Corporation to develop and validate an automated test of spoken Japanese, SJT (Spoken Japanese Test). The SJT is intended to measure a test-taker’s facility in spoken Japanese, that is listening and speaking skills in daily conversation, in a quick, accurate and reliable manner. In this paper, we discuss the purposes for developing the SJT, the mechanism of a fully automated test, and the test development processes, including item development and implementation

Assessing L2 vocabulary depth with word associates format tests: issues, findings, and suggestions

Word Associates Format (WAF) tests are often used to measure second language learners’ vocabulary depth with a focus on their network knowledge. Yet, there were often many variations in the specific forms of the tests and the ways they were used, which tended to have an impact on learners’ response behaviors and, more importantly, the psychometric properties of the tests. This paper reviews the general practices, key issues, and research findings that pertain to WAF tests in four major areas, including the design features of WAF tests, conditions for test administration, scoring methods, and test-taker characteristics. In each area, a set of variables is identified and described with relevant research findings also presented and discussed. Around eight topics, the General Discussion section provides some suggestions and directions for the development of WAF tests and the use of them as research tools in the future. This paper is hoped to help researchers become better aware that the results generated by a WAF test may vary depending on what specific design the test has, how it is administered and scored, and who the learners are, and consequently, make better decisions in their research that involves a WAF test

カイワ ダイアログ アンショウ ニ ジュウジ サセル ガイコクゴ シドウホウ ガ スピｰキングジ ノ テイケイ ヒョウゲン ノ シヨウ ト アンキ ガクシュウ ニ オヨボス エイキョウ ニ カンスル キソ ケンキュウ

PDF/A formatsAccess: via World Wide Web東京外国語大学大学院総合国際学研究科博士 (学術) 論文 (2016年4月)Author's thesis (Ph.D)--Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 2016博甲第214号Bibliography: p. 183-195Summary in English and Japanese東京外国語大学 (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)博士 (学術

A Common Testing Framework for Measuring Spoken Language Skills of Non-Native Speakers

A testing framework was developed to create automated spoken language tests in multiple languages. The tests built on this framework are delivered over a telephone and are automatically scored using a speech recognition engine and a computerized scoring system. With this testing system, a test can be administered in large volumes, completed in only 10-15 minutes, and scored very rapidly without sacrificing reliability or quality. The spoken English test and spoken Spanish test were built upon this common testing framework and are already in operation. Currently, a spoken Japanese test is under development. Data from the SET and SST will be presented to show how tests built on top of this common framework are both reliable and valid

Using Speech Recognition for an Automated Test of Spoken Japanese

PACLIC 19 / Taipei, taiwan / December 1-3, 200

Testing the use of grammar: Beyond grammatical accuracy

Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Rater group bias in the speaking assessment of four L1 Japanese ESL students

The purpose of this study, modeled after Kobayashi’s (1982) investigation of writing evaluations, is to determine whether the factors like language background and educational training affect raters’ assessments of four Japanese medical students in a controlled oral interview. Rater groups include ESL-trained L1 English and L1 Japanese speakers, a peer group, and native speakers with no ESL background and negligible contact with Japanese L1 speakers. The four interviewees are first rated according to seven categories: grammar, fluency, content, pronunciation, pragmatics, compensation techniques, and overall intelligibility, and are then ranked from “most able” to “least able”. Group means per category are calculated and a FACETS (Linacre, 1996) analysis is used to look at the interaction between rater groups and rating categories. The findings show variation, though not seemingly as a result of the factors being investigated. Some general conclusions about the rater groups are made from the bias analysis. The limitations of the study are presented, and suggestions for further research are provided