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Pearson, William S. – Language Testing, 2023
Many candidates undertaking high-stakes English language proficiency tests for academic enrolment do not achieve the results they need for reasons including linguistic unreadiness, test unpreparedness, illness, an unfavourable configuration of tasks, or administrative and marking errors. Owing to the importance of meeting goals or out of a belief…
Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, English (Second Language), Language Proficiency, Language Tests
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Li, Albert W. – Language Testing, 2023
The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) is a multi-level, multi-purpose Chinese proficiency test developed by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (previously the Office of Chinese Language Council International and, henceforth, referred to by its colloquial name "Hanban"). It assesses reading, writing, and listening skills of…
Descriptors: Language Tests, Language Proficiency, Chinese, Second Language Learning
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Isbell, Dan; Winke, Paula – Language Testing, 2019
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) oral proficiency interview -- computer (OPIc) testing system represents an ambitious effort in language assessment: Assessing oral proficiency in over a dozen languages, on the same scale, from virtually anywhere at any time. Especially for users in contexts where multiple foreign…
Descriptors: Oral Language, Language Tests, Language Proficiency, Second Language Learning
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Yan, Xun; Maeda, Yukiko; Lv, Jing; Ginther, April – Language Testing, 2016
Elicited imitation (EI) has been widely used to examine second language (L2) proficiency and development and was an especially popular method in the 1970s and early 1980s. However, as the field embraced more communicative approaches to both instruction and assessment, the use of EI diminished, and the construct-related validity of EI scores as a…
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Language Proficiency, Meta Analysis, Effect Size
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Xi, Xiaoming; Higgins, Derrick; Zechner, Klaus; Williamson, David – Language Testing, 2012
This paper compares two alternative scoring methods--multiple regression and classification trees--for an automated speech scoring system used in a practice environment. The two methods were evaluated on two criteria: construct representation and empirical performance in predicting human scores. The empirical performance of the two scoring models…
Descriptors: Scoring, Classification, Weighted Scores, Comparative Analysis
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Plough, India C.; Briggs, Sarah L.; Van Bonn, Sarah – Language Testing, 2010
The study reported here examined the evaluation criteria used to assess the proficiency and effectiveness of the language produced in an oral performance test of English conducted in an American university context. Empirical methods were used to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively transcriptions of the Oral English Tests (OET) of 44…
Descriptors: Graduate Students, Listening Comprehension, Evaluators, Performance Tests
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Schmitt, Norbert; Ng, Janice Wun Ching; Garras, John – Language Testing, 2011
Although the Word Associates Format (WAF) is becoming more frequently used as a depth-of-knowledge measure, relatively little validation has been carried out on it. This report of two validation studies tackles various important WAF issues yet to be satisfactorily resolved. Study 1 conducted introspective interviews regarding students' WAF…
Descriptors: Scoring, Vocabulary Development, Associative Learning, Validity
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di Gennaro, Kristen – Language Testing, 2009
Practitioners working closely with second language (L2) writers in the US recognize at least two types of L2 students: international (IL2) and Generation 1.5 (G1.5) students. Some argue that specific differences in each group's writing performance are evident (cf. Harklau, 2003; Reid, 2006); however, investigations into observable and measurable…
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Student Placement, Writing (Composition)
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Knoch, Ute – Language Testing, 2009
Alderson (2005) suggests that diagnostic tests should identify strengths and weaknesses in learners' use of language and focus on specific elements rather than global abilities. However, rating scales used in performance assessment have been repeatedly criticized for being imprecise and therefore often resulting in holistic marking by raters…
Descriptors: Feedback (Response), Language Usage, Performance Based Assessment, Performance Tests
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Mochida, Akira; Harrington, Michael – Language Testing, 2006
Performance on the Yes/No test (Huibregtse et al., 2002) was assessed as a predictor of scores on the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), a standard test of receptive second language (L2) vocabulary knowledge (Nation, 1990). The use of identical items on both tests allowed a direct comparison of test performance, with alternative methods for scoring the…
Descriptors: Scoring, Questioning Techniques, Vocabulary Development, Language Tests
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Shizuka, Tetsuhito; Takeuchi, Osamu; Yashima, Tomoko; Yoshizawa, Kiyomi – Language Testing, 2006
The present study investigated the effects of reducing the number of options per item on psychometric characteristics of a Japanese EFL university entrance examination. A four-option multiple-choice reading test used for entrance screening at a university in Japan was later converted to a three-option version by eliminating the least frequently…
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Psychometrics, Reading Tests, English (Second Language)
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Qian, D.D.; Schedl, M. – Language Testing, 2004
The central purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate an in-depth vocabulary knowledge measure in the context of developing the new TOEFL test. The study was carried out with a sample of 207 international students attending an intensive English as a second language (ESL) program in a major Canadian university, in order to determine whether…
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Difficulty Level, Vocabulary Development, English (Second Language)
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Bachman, Lyle F.; And Others – Language Testing, 1988
An exploratory analysis comparing two test batteries for English-as-a-Foreign-Language reading comprehension used a single framework of communicative language ability and test method facets to investigate construct validity. The framework's use in the content analysis of communicative language tests, and for the comparison of content across tests,…
Descriptors: Communicative Competence (Languages), Comparative Analysis, Construct Validity, Content Analysis
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Weir, Cyril J.; Wu, Jessica R. W. – Language Testing, 2006
Examination boards are often criticized for their failure to provide evidence of comparability across forms, and few such studies are publicly available. This study aims to investigate the extent to which three forms of the General English Proficiency Test Intermediate Speaking Test (GEPTS-I) are parallel in terms of two types of validity…
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Test Format, Speech Communication, Check Lists