Language Testing at Basic Levels: Interlanguage and Washback Effect

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

New Trends in English Language Teaching and Testing Language Testing at Basic Levels: Interlanguage and Washback Effect Turan PAKER Pamukkale University, Faculty of Education Correspondence: [email protected] The basic levels; A1, A2 and independent user level B1 should be treated and designed differently in assessment and evaluation compared to other upper levels as they go through interlanguage period. In these levels, the purpose of assessment should be only diagnostic, otherwise it may lead to negative backwash effect in language learning process. In this context, teachers should be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each student and design various activities and tasks to create awareness and support their learning without damaging the individual’s self-confidence and self-esteem. The aim of the study is to identify the interlanguage of students in language learning process in these levels, and analyze the existing test items and show the inconsistencies between teaching and assessment in language learning. For this purpose, some exam papers have been collected from various levels and observation reports of pre-service teachers have been analyzed. The findings reveal that accuracy is paramount, test items focus on structure and usually objective test items. In addition, the paper discusses about how damaging the attitude of the teachers about the exam resultsin language classes as a result of mismatch between the expectations of teachers and learners through examples and various metaphors. Keywords: assessment and evaluation, basic language levels, interlanguage, washback effect 72 .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Manual for Language Test Development and Examining
Manual for Language Test Development and Examining For use with the CEFR Produced by ALTE on behalf of the Language Policy Division, Council of Europe © Council of Europe, April 2011 The opinions expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe. All correspondence concerning this publication or the reproduction or translation of all or part of the document should be addressed to the Director of Education and Languages of the Council of Europe (Language Policy Division) (F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex or [email protected]). The reproduction of extracts is authorised, except for commercial purposes, on condition that the source is quoted. Manual for Language Test Development and Examining For use with the CEFR Produced by ALTE on behalf of the Language Policy Division, Council of Europe Language Policy Division Council of Europe (Strasbourg) www.coe.int/lang Contents Foreword 5 3.4.2 Piloting, pretesting and trialling 30 Introduction 6 3.4.3 Review of items 31 1 Fundamental considerations 10 3.5 Constructing tests 32 1.1 How to define language proficiency 10 3.6 Key questions 32 1.1.1 Models of language use and competence 10 3.7 Further reading 33 1.1.2 The CEFR model of language use 10 4 Delivering tests 34 1.1.3 Operationalising the model 12 4.1 Aims of delivering tests 34 1.1.4 The Common Reference Levels of the CEFR 12 4.2 The process of delivering tests 34 1.2 Validity 14 4.2.1 Arranging venues 34 1.2.1 What is validity? 14 4.2.2 Registering test takers 35 1.2.2 Validity
[Show full text]
Assessing L2 Academic Speaking Ability: the Need for a Scenario-Based Assessment Approach
Teachers College, Columbia University Working Papers in Applied Linguistics & TESOL, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 36-40 The Forum Assessing L2 Academic Speaking Ability: The Need for a Scenario-based Assessment Approach Yuna Seong Teachers College, Columbia University In second language (L2) testing literature, from the skills-and-elements approach to the more recent models of communicative language ability, the conceptualization of L2 proficiency has evolved and broadened over the past few decades (Purpura, 2016). Consequently, the notion of L2 speaking ability has also gone through change, which has influenced L2 testers to constantly reevaluate what needs to be assessed and how L2 speaking assessment can adopt different designs and techniques accordingly. The earliest views on speaking ability date back to Lado (1961) and Carroll (1961), who took a skills-and-elements approach and defined language ability in terms of a set of separate language elements (e.g., pronunciation, grammatical structure, lexicon), which are integrated in the skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. According to their views, speaking ability could be assessed by test items or tasks that target and measure different language elements discretely to make inferences on one’s speaking ability. On the other hand, Clark (1975) and Jones (1985) put emphasis on communicative effectiveness and the role of performance. Clark (1975) defined speaking ability as one’s “ability to communicate accurately and effectively in real-life language-use contexts” (p. 23), and this approach encouraged the use of performance tasks that replicate real-life situations. However, the most dominant approach to viewing L2 speaking ability and its assessment has been influenced by the models of communicative competence (Canale, 1983; Canale & Swain, 1980) and communicative language ability (Bachman, 1990; Bachman & Palmer, 1996), which brought forth a multicomponential approach to understanding speaking ability in terms of various underlying and interrelated knowledge and competencies.
[Show full text]
Call for Proposals: Language Testing Special Issue 2021
February 28, 2019 Call for Proposals: Language Testing Special Issue 2021 The editors of Language Testing invite proposals from prospective guest editors for the 2021 special issue of the journal. Each year Language Testing devotes a special issue to papers focused on an area of current importance in the field. Guest editors are responsible for overseeing the solicitation, review, editing, and selection of articles for their special issue. Upcoming and past special issue topics have included the following: 2020: Repeated Test Taking and Longitudinal Test Score Analysis, edited by Anthony Green and Alistair Van Moere 2018: Interactional Competence, edited by India Plough, Jayanti Banerjee and Noriko Iwashita 2017: Corpus Linguistics and Language Testing, edited by Sara Cushing 2016: Exploring the Limits of Authenticity in LSP testing: The Case of a Specific-Purpose Language Tests for Health Professionals, edited by Cathie Elder 2015: The Future of Diagnostic Language Assessment, edited by Yon Won Lee 2014: Assessing Oral and Written L2 Performance: Raters’ Decisions, Rating Procedures and Rating Scales, edited by Folkert Kuiken and Ineke Vedder 2013: Language Assessment Literacy, edited by Ofra Inbar-Lourie 2011: Standards-Based Assessment in the United States, edited by Craig Deville and Micheline Chalhoub-Deville 2010: Automated Scoring and Feedback Systems for Language Assessment and Learning, edited by Xiaoming Xi The Language Testing editors will be happy to consider proposals on any coherent theme pertaining to language testing and
[Show full text]
British Council, London (England). English Language *Communicative Competence
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 258 440 FL 014 475 AUTHOR Alderson, J. Charles, 54.; Hughes, Arthur, Ed. TITLE Issues in Language Testing. ELT Documents 111. INSTITUTION British Council, London (England). English Language and Literature Div. REPORT NO ISBN-0-901618-51-9 PUB DATE 81 NOTE 211p, PUB TYPE Collected Works - General (020)-- Reports - Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Communicative Competence (Languages); Conference Proceedings; *English (Second Language); *English for Special Purposes; *Language Proficiency; *Language Tests; Second Language Instruction; Test Validity ABSTRACT A symposium focusing on problems in the assessment of foreign or second language learning brought seven applied linguists together to discuss three areas of debate: communicative language testing, testing of English for specific purposes, and general language proficiency assessment. In each of these areas, the participants reviewed selected papers on the topic, reacted to them on paper, and discussed them as a group. The collected papers, reactions, and discussion reports on communicative language testing include the following: "Communicative Language Testing: Revolution or Evolution" (Keith Morrow) ancl responses by Cyril J. Weir, Alan Moller, and J. Charles Alderson. The next section, 9n testing of English for specific purposes, includes: "Specifications for an English Language Testing Service" (Brendan J. Carroll) and responses by Caroline M. Clapham, Clive Criper, and Ian Seaton. The final section, on general language proficiency, includes: "Basic Concerns /Al Test Validation" (Adrian S. Palmer and Lyle F. Bachman) and "Why Are We Interested in General Language Proficiency'?" (Helmut J. Vollmer), reactions of Arthur Hughes and Alan Davies, and the `subsequent response of Helmut J. Vollmer.
[Show full text]
LINGUISTICS' Selected Category Scheme: Wos
Journal Data Filtered By: Selected JCR Year: 2020 Selected Editions: SSCI Selected Categories: 'LINGUISTICS' Selected Category Scheme: WoS Rank Full Journal Title ISSN Journal Impact Factor 1 APPLIED LINGUISTICS 0142-6001 5.741 2 Language Teaching 0261-4448 5.327 3 Computer Assisted Language Learning 0958-8221 4.789 4 MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL 0026-7902 4.759 5 LANGUAGE LEARNING 0023-8333 4.667 6 LANGUAGE LEARNING & TECHNOLOGY 1094-3501 4.313 7 International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 1367-0050 4.159 8 STUDIES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION 0272-2631 3.988 9 Language Teaching Research 1362-1688 3.899 10 TESOL QUARTERLY 0039-8322 3.692 11 Language Testing 0265-5322 3.551 12 JOURNAL OF SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING 1060-3743 3.538 13 Bilingualism-Language and Cognition 1366-7289 3.532 14 Annual Review of Linguistics 2333-9691 3.512 15 SYSTEM 0346-251X 3.167 16 RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION 0835-1813 3.077 17 JOURNAL OF MEMORY AND LANGUAGE 0749-596X 3.059 18 Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 2083-5205 3.036 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE & 19 COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 1368-2822 3.020 20 LANGUAGE SPEECH AND HEARING SERVICES IN SCHOOLS 0161-1461 2.983 21 ReCALL 0958-3440 2.917 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL 22 DEVELOPMENT 0143-4632 2.814 23 ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES 0889-4906 2.804 24 APHASIOLOGY 0268-7038 2.773 25 International Journal of Multilingualism 1479-0718 2.714 26 JOURNAL OF PHONETICS 0095-4470 2.670 27 Applied Linguistics Review 1868-6303 2.655 28 JOURNAL OF FLUENCY DISORDERS
[Show full text]
Koalas, Kiwis and Kangaroos
http://lexikos.journals.ac.za Koalas, Kiwis and Kangaroos: The Challenges of Creating an Online Australian Cultural Dictionary for Learners of English as an Additional Language Julia Miller, School of Education, The University of Adelaide, Australia ([email protected]) Deny A. Kwary, Department of English Literature, Airlangga University, Indonesia ([email protected]) and Ardian W. Setiawan, The State Polytechnic Manufacture Bangka Belitung, Sungai Liat, Indonesia ([email protected]) Abstract: This article reports on an online cultural dictionary for learners of English as an Addi- tional Language (EAL) in Australia. Potential users studying English for academic purposes in an Australian university pre-entry program informed each stage of the dictionary's creation. Consid- eration was given to the need for such a dictionary; terms to be included; information necessary for each entry (including audio and visual material); use of a limited defining vocabulary; example sentences; notes on each term's usage; and evaluation of user feedback once the dictionary had been launched online. Survey data indicate that users particularly value the dictionary's ease of use, example sentences, and specifically Australian content (including pronunciation given in an Australian accent). It is suggested that more entries be added, and that cultural dictionaries be created for other varieties of English, as well as for other languages. Keywords: AUSTRALIAN, CULTURE, DICTIONARY, ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE, LEARNER'S DICTIONARY, ONLINE Opsomming: Koalas, kiwi's en kangaroes: Die uitdagings in die skep van 'n aanlyn Australiese kulturele woordeboek vir aanleerders van Engels as 'n addisionele taal. In hierdie artikel word verslag gedoen oor 'n aanlyn kulturele woordeboek vir aanleerders van Engels as 'n Addisionele Taal (EAT) in Australië.
[Show full text]
Language Testing and Assessment: an Advanced Resource Book Glenn Fulcher and Fred Davidson Language Testing and Assessment an Advanced Resource Book
LANGUAGE TESTING AND ASSESSMENT Routledge Applied Linguistics is a series of comprehensive resource books, pro- viding students and researchers with the support they need for advanced study in the core areas of English language and Applied Linguistics. Each book in the series guides readers through three main sections, enabling them to explore and develop major themes within the discipline. • Section A, Introduction, establishes the key terms and concepts and extends readers’ techniques of analysis through practical application. • Section B, Extension, brings together influential articles, sets them in context and discusses their contribution to the field. • Section C, Exploration, builds on knowledge gained in the first two sections, setting thoughtful tasks around further illustrative material. This enables readers to engage more actively with the subject matter and encourages them to develop their own research responses. Throughout the book, topics are revisited, extended, interwoven and deconstructed, with the reader’s understanding strengthened by tasks and follow-up questions. Language Testing and Assessment: • provides an innovative and thorough review of a wide variety of issues from prac- tical details of test development to matters of controversy and ethical practice • investigates the importance of the philosophy of pragmatism in assessment, and coins the term ‘effect-driven testing’ • explores test development, data analysis, validity and their relation to test effects • illustrates its thematic breadth in a series of exercises and tasks, such as analysis of test results, study of test revision and change, design of arguments for test validation and exploration of influences on test creation • presents influential and seminal readings in testing and assessment by names such as Michael Canale and Merrill Swain, Michael Kane, Alan Davies, Lee Cronbach and Paul Meehl and Pamela Moss.
[Show full text]
Constraints – Intersentential / Intrasentential • Codeswitching Is Structured (I.E., Rule-Governed) 1
Programs and Proposals in Codeswitching Research: Unconstraining Theories of Bilingual Language Mixing Jeff MacSwan Arizona State University Overview of the Talk • Central claims – CS research has evolved into two distinct research programs • The Constraint-oriented Program • The Constraint-free Program – The constraint-free program is the more promising path for future research in CS •Outline – The search for a constraint-free solution in CS – The lexicalist solution available in the Minimalist Program • The model • Some sample analyses – A taxonomy of research programs (Lakatos, Feyerabend) – Directions for future research in CS What is Codeswitching? • Codeswitching, or CS for short, is a speech style in which fluent (i.e., simultaneous) bilinguals move in and out of two (or more) languages. • Topics in the literature – Social motivation / grammatical constraints – Intersentential / intrasentential • Codeswitching is structured (i.e., rule-governed) 1. Los estudiantes have seen the Italian movie ‘The students have seen the Italian movie’ 2. *Los estudiantes habían seen the Italian movie ‘The students have seen the Italian movie’ • The research question – What is the underlying structure? What do we mean by “constraint”? • Descriptive sense – Codeswitching is constrained in the descriptive sense – Some patterns are well-formed, others are not 1. My big brother va a comer con nosotros. 2. *He va a comer con nosotros. • Theoretical sense – In the theoretical sense, a constraint is a principle or rule of grammar that bars one or another structure. Constraint-oriented Approach Grammar Codeswitching 2 Grammar1 Constraints Codeswitched Utterances Constraint-free Approach Grammar2 Grammar1 Codeswitched Utterances Constraint-free Approach • Research Agenda – Nothing constrains CS apart from the requirements of the mixed grammars.
[Show full text]
Language for Specific Purposes Testing: a Historical Review
Teachers College, Columbia University Working Papers in Applied Linguistics & TESOL, Vol. 17, No. 2, 1-8 Historical Review of LSP Testing Language for Specific Purposes Testing: A Historical Review Scott E. Grapin1 New York University ABSTRACT Language for specific purposes (LSP) has a long history in the language testing literature. An outgrowth of the communicative language movement of the 1970s, LSP testing arose out of the practical need to assess individuals’ abilities to perform specific tasks in academic and professional settings. This historical review traces the evolution of LSP testing in the language testing literature, focusing specifically on theory and research in two key areas: (a) authenticity and (b) the interaction between language knowledge and background knowledge. The review then turns to how Douglas (2000), in the most comprehensive treatment of LSP testing to date, incorporates insights from these two lines of work into his conceptualization. Throughout the review, tensions and debates emerging from the literature are discussed. The final section addresses the uncertain future of LSP in the language testing landscape. INTRODUCTION Language for specific purposes (LSP) is the branch of applied linguistics concerned with the teaching and learning of language for some practical purpose (Robinson, 1989), such as Spanish for business, English for academic study, or German for mechanical engineering. Coinciding with the advent of communicative language teaching in the 1970s, LSP testing arose out of the need to make a variety of decisions about individuals’ abilities to perform specific tasks in academic and professional settings. One of the earliest examples of an LSP test was an exam designed by the British General Medical Council to assess the clinical competency and language proficiency of doctors from outside the UK applying to practice medicine in Britain (Rea- Dickins, 1987).
[Show full text]
Evaluation of Language Testing: an Applied Linguistic Perspective
International Journal of English Language Education ISSN 2325-0887 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2, Special Issue Evaluation of Language Testing: An Applied Linguistic Perspective Sadeq Ali Saad Al-Yaari (Corresponding author) Independent Researcher, Dept. of English, College of Arts, King Saud University (KSU) Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail: [email protected] Fayza Saleh Al Hammadi Associate prof., Dept. of English, College of Arts, King Faisal University, Al-Hassa Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail: [email protected] Salah Ayied Alyami Assistant professor, Dept. of English, Dammam College of Technology, Dammam University Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail: [email protected] Received: January 1, 2013 Accepted: January 10, 2013 Published: January 17, 2013 doi:10.5296/ijele.v1i2.3059 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ijele.v1i2.3059 Abstract Background: Over the past few years, researchers started to pay great attention to studies on language testing to improve the methodologies of administering, constructing and evaluating tests. Aims: The present study aims at providing a new perspective as it contributes a new method based on scientific analysis that does not only diagnose the phenomenon, but also provides solutions and suggestions. Methods: The study was conducted at the Departments of English both in the College of Education and College of Arts & Linguistics, Thamar University, Yemen. Ten (10) final term tests administered by ten instructors within two colleges were evaluated. The tests were given to freshmen students to test their productive, receptive skills, as well as their language components. Conclusions: Results show that some tests lack validity, practicality, reliability, 27 www.macrothink.org/ijele International Journal of English Language Education ISSN 2325-0887 2013, Vol.
[Show full text]
Code-Switching in English Language Education: Voices from Vietnam
ISSN 1799-2591 Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 6, No. 7, pp. 1333-1340, July 2016 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0607.01 Code-switching in English Language Education: Voices from Vietnam Nhan Trong Nguyen Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia Peter Grainger Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia Michael Carey Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia Abstract—Why do bilingual language teachers and students switch between the two languages in their language classrooms? On the evidence of current research findings in relation to English-Vietnamese code- switching in the educational contexts of Vietnam, this article identifies that classroom code-switching between the second language and the first language has its own pedagogic functions and it can be a valuable language classroom resource to both teachers and learners. In Vietnam, the implementation of the monolingual approach of teaching English-through-English-only faces many challenges such as inadequate classroom resources, students’ low levels of English competence, motivation and autonomy, teachers’ limited English abilities, and inappropriate teaching methods. Many Vietnamese teachers of English support code-switching in the classroom and they teach English through the bilingual approach. English-Vietnamese code-switching is reported not to be a restriction on the acquisition of English; rather, it can facilitate the teaching and learning of general English in Vietnam. This practice of code-switching is not just due to a lack of sufficient proficiency to maintain a conversation in English; rather, it serves a number of pedagogic functions such as explaining new words and grammatical rules, giving feedback, checking comprehension, making comparison between English and Vietnamese, establishing good rapport between teachers and students, creating a friendly classroom atmosphere and supporting group dynamics.
[Show full text]
Types of Language Tests
University of Tlemcen Department of English Master 1: DAELE Dr. N. BENMOSTEFA Types of Language Tests The needs of assessing the outcome of learning have led to the development and elaboration of different test formats. Testing language has traditionally taken the form of testing knowledge about language, usually the testing of knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Stern (1983, p. 340) notes that „if the ultimate objective of language teaching is effective language learning, then our main concern must be the learning outcome‟. In the same line of thought, Wigglesworth (2008, p. 111) further adds that “In the assessment of languages, tasks are designed to measure learners‟ productive language skills through performances which allow candidates to demonstrate the kinds of language skills that may be required in a real world context.” This is because a “specific purpose language test is one in which test content and methods are derived from an analysis of a specific purposes target language use situation, so that test tasks and content are authentically representative of tasks in the target situation” (Douglas, 2000, p. 19). Thus, the issue of authenticity is central to the assessment of language for specific functions. This is another way of saying that testing is a socially situated activity although the social aspects have been relatively under-explored (Wigglesworth, 2008). Yet, language tests differ with respect to how they are designed, and what they are for, in other words, in respect to test method and test purpose. In terms of method, we can broadly distinguish traditional paper-and-pencil language tests from performance tests.
[Show full text]