ERIC Number: EJ1045737
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1543-4303
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Contextualizing Performances: Comparing Performances during TOEFL iBT™ and Real-Life Academic Speaking Activities
Brooks, Lindsay; Swain, Merrill
Language Assessment Quarterly, v11 n4 p353-373 2014
In this study we compare test takers' performance on the Speaking section of the TOEFL iBT™and their performances during their real-life academic studies. Thirty international graduate students from mixed language backgrounds in two different disciplines (Sciences and Social Sciences) responded to two independent and four integrated speaking tasks of the TOEFL iBT and participated in semistructured interviews. For the real-life academic contexts, we recorded the performances of our participants in one in-class and one out-of-class speaking activity. On the basis of an analysis of the participants' speaking (examining grammatical, discourse, and lexical features), we demonstrate that there are some overlapping and some distinct differences in their performances across contexts. Our findings both support and raise questions about the extrapolation inference claim of the validity argument of the Speaking section of the TOEFL iBT.
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Language Tests, Test Validity, Oral Language, Graduate Students, Foreign Students, Semi Structured Interviews, Computer Assisted Testing, Grammar, Discourse Analysis, Questionnaires, Academic Discourse, Vocabulary, Accuracy, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of English as a Foreign Language
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Author Affiliations: N/A