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…

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…

Testing of second language pragmatic competence is an underexplored but growing area of second language assessment. Tests have focused on assessing learners' sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic abilities but the speech act framework informing most current productive testing instruments in interlanguage pragmatics has been criticized for…

This article examines the interactional work in which two groups of secondary ESL students engaged to achieve and sustain participation in group oral assessment, which is designed to assess a student's interactive communication skills in a school-based assessment context. The in-depth observation of the ways in which participants co-constructed…

This paper reports the findings of an empirical study on ESL/EFL teachers' evaluation and interpretation of oral English proficiency as elicited by the national College English Test-Spoken English Test (CET-SET) of China. Informed by debates on the issue of native speaker (NS) norms which have become the focus of attention in recent years, this…

The "Versant Spanish[TM] Test" applies state-of-the-art technology to language assessment in a quick and efficient tool designed for the purpose of "assessing an individual's ability to speak and understand spoken Spanish". According to the developers, the Pearson Education Group, the test is equally useful in academic as well as professional…

SRI International's EduSpeak[R] system is a software development toolkit that enables developers of interactive language education software to use state-of-the-art speech recognition and pronunciation scoring technology. Automatic pronunciation scoring allows the computer to provide feedback on the overall quality of pronunciation and to point to…

This paper presents evidence that supports the valid use of scores from fully automatic tests of spoken language ability to indicate a person's effectiveness in spoken communication. The paper reviews the constructs, scoring, and the concurrent validity evidence of "facility-in-L2" tests, a family of automated spoken language tests in Spanish,…

In 2002 the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) implemented a revised version of the Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). CPE, which is the highest level of the Main Suite of Cambridge ESOL exams, comprises five modules, "Reading," "Writing," "Use of English," "Listening" and "Speaking," the latter of which is the…

In this article, the author reviews the TOEFL iBT which is the latest version of the TOEFL, whose history stretches back to 1961. The TOEFL iBT was introduced in the USA, Canada, France, Germany and Italy in late 2005. Currently the TOEFL test is offered in two testing formats: (1) Internet-based testing (iBT); and (2) paper-based testing (PBT).…

The purpose of BEST Plus is to assess the ability to understand and use unprepared, conversational, everyday language within topic areas generally covered in adult education courses. It is one of several standardized assessments approved by the National Reporting System (NRS, 2008), which is the accountability system for federally funded ESL and…

This study examined the effects of training on peer assessment and comments provided regarding oral presentations in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms. In Study 1, both the treatment and control groups received instruction on skill aspects, but only the treatment group was given an additional 40-minute training on how to rate…

A multitask speaking measure consisting of both integrated and independent tasks is expected to be an important component of a new version of the TOEFL test. This study considered two critical issues concerning score dependability of the new speaking measure: How much would the score dependability be impacted by (1) combining scores on different…

This study was undertaken, in conjunction with other studies field-testing prototype tasks for a new TOEFL, to evaluate the content validity, perceived authenticity and educational appropriateness of these prototype tasks. We interviewed seven highly experienced instructors of English as a Second Language (ESL) at three universities, asking them…

The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of creating positive washback by focusing on factors in the background of the test development process and anticipating the conditions most likely to lead to positive wash-back. The article reports on a multiphase empirical study investigating the washback effects of a needs-based test of spoken…