In the realm of language proficiency assessments, the domain description inference and the extrapolation inference are key components of a validity argument. Biber et al.'s description of the lexicogrammatical features of the spoken and written registers in the T2K-SWAL corpus has served as support for the TOEFL iBT test's domain description and…

A key piece of a validity argument for a language assessment tool is clear overlap between assessment tasks and the target language use (TLU) domain (i.e., the domain description inference). The TOEFL 2000 Spoken and Written Academic Language (T2K-SWAL) corpus, which represents a variety of academic registers and disciplines in traditional…

This project examined academic reading in two contrasting English as a medium of instruction (EMI) university settings in Nepal and Sweden and the unique challenges facing students who are studying in a language other than their primary language. The motivation for the project was to explore the role of high-stakes testing in EMI contexts and the…

In recent years, the Educational Testing System organisation has developed two models of the computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). However, the computerization of the test has shown a number of problems according to the testees' origin. This paper suggests some of these problems after conducting short interviews with four…

Although the primary use of the speaking section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ Internet-based test (TOEFL® iBT Speaking test) is to inform admissions decisions at English medium universities, it may also be useful as an initial screening measure for international teaching assistants (ITAs). This study provides criterion-related…

Educators in Europe are complaining about mishandled changes in a key English-language test and are demanding that the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which runs the examination, delay plans to introduce its new online format in March 2006 in more than 100 countries. Critics of the planned change in the Test of English as a foreign Language…

Provides insight on preparing students to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Specific suggestions include helping teachers to become comfortable with the test's computer-based format and helping students adapt to the test's point of view. (Author/VWL)

This paper reports on Educational Testing Service research studies investigating the parameters critical to reliability and validity in both the direct and indirect writing ability assessment of higher education applicants. The studies involved: (1) formulating an operational definition of writing competence; (2) designing and pretesting writing…

Papers from the 1997 and 1998 Current Trends in English Language Testing (CTELT) conferences include: "Computer-Based Language Testing: The Call of the Internet" (G. Fulcher); "Uses of the PET (Preliminary English Test) at Sultan Qaboos University" (R. Taylor); "Issues in Foreign and Second Language Academic Listening…