This study examines the associations between the speaking proficiency of 181 adult learners of Dutch as a second language and their linguistic competences. Performance in eight speaking tasks was rated on a scale of communicative adequacy. After extrapolation of these ratings to the Overall Oral Production scale of the Common European Framework of…

Pragmatic proficiency has been incorporated in the EFL teaching and testing syllabi in China, but the corresponding tests still focus on linguistic competence. The gap between the teaching and testing is mainly due to the lack of generally accepted measures of communicative abilities such as pragmatic competence. This study developed a…

Discusses the three main approaches to defining language knowledge and use: (1) the structural approach, (2) the functional approach, and (3) the general proficiency approach. Asserts that each approach has specific consequences for language testing and that no one approach can claim to be the only way of representing that knowledge. (Author/SED)

Presents the theory of general language proficiency and looks at the construct validation of cloze tests and C-tests. Describes the defects of classical cloze procedures. Gives an example of the C-Test and discusses its empirical validity. Concludes that C-tests are authentic tests of the construct of general language proficiency.