Language Testing and Evaluation potx

Peter Lang · EurLanguage Testing and Evaluation Edited by Rüdiger Grotjahn and Günther Sigott Volume 1 · Günther Sigott Towards Identifying the C-Test Construct Frankfurt am Main, Berli

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Peter Lang · Eur

Language Testing and Evaluation

Edited by Rüdiger Grotjahn and Günther Sigott

Volume 1 · Günther Sigott

Towards Identifying the C-Test Construct

Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, 2004

224 pp., num tables

ISBN 3-631-52062-X / US-ISBN 0-8204-6558-5 · pb € 39.–

What do C-Tests really measure? This book describes the history and the theoretical

background of C-Tests and gives a survey of research into C-Test validity, which leads to

the central question: How much context do test takers need to process when they take

a C-Test? The author answers this question on the basis of extensive material and data

from over 800 subjects It turns out that the C-Test construct is fluid: Test takers have to take extended context into account, but not everybody to the same extent The book discusses the implications of the fluid construct phenomenon for language testing practice and research

Volume 2 · Carsten Röver

Testing ESL Pragmatics

Development and Validation of a Web-Based Assessment Battery

XIII, 156 pp., 43 tables, 8 graphs

ISBN 3-631-52836-1 / US-ISBN 0-8204-7343-X · pb € 39.–

Although second language learners’ pragmatic competence (their ability to use language

in context) is an essential part of their general communicative competence, it has not

been a part of second language tests This book helps fill this gap by describing the

development and validation of a web-based test of ESL pragma-linguistics The instrument assesses learners’ knowledge of routine formulae, speech acts, and implicature in 36 multiple-choice and brief-response items The test’s quantitative and qualitative validation with 300 learners showed high reliability and provided strong evidence of the instrument’s construct validity Its web-based format makes it easy to administer and score The book ends with a discussion of future research directions in assessing second language pragmatics

Volume 3 · Tom Lumley

Assessing Second Language Writing

The Rater’s Perspective

368 pp., num tab and graf

ISBN 3-631-53327-6 / US-ISBN 0-8204-7655-2 · pb € 56.50

This study investigates the process of rating texts written by adult ESL learners Four

experienced raters provided think-aloud protocols describing the rating process for

a set of 24 texts The think-aloud data allowed analysis of the sequence of rating,

raters’ interpretations of the scoring categories, and difficulties raters faced The study

reveals the complexity of the rating process, whereby raters struggle to resolve a tension between the wordings (or rules) of the rating scale and their complex, initial, intuitive impression of the text Rating requires training to provide reliable measurement The study also demonstrates that caution is needed in interpreting results from think-aloud data, despite their methodological value in this kind of study

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Volume 4 · Annie Brown

Interviewer Variability in Oral Proficiency Interviews

X, 289 pp., num tab and graf

ISBN 3-631-54224-0 / US-ISBN 0-8204-7759-1 · pb € 51.50

This book was the winner of the 2005 Jacqueline A Ross Dissertation Award for

second or foreign language testing.

The assessment of speaking skills is an important part of the language learning process,

whether carried out by teachers in the classroom or through proficiency tests

administered by testing agencies However, the complex and subjective nature of speaking assessment raises a number of important questions about the validity, reliability and fairness of test procedures This book, which is based on research into the speaking test of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), shows how the performance of learners in oral proficiency interviews cannot be taken

unequivocally as an indication of their ability, as variation in interviewer behaviour can have an impact both

on learner performance and on ratings outcomes

Volume 5 · Jianda Liu

Measuring Interlanguage Pragmatic Knowledge

of EFL Learners

XIV, 352 pp., 21 fig., 49 tab

ISBN 3-631-54595-9 / US-ISBN 0-8204-9811-4 · pb € 45.50

Pragmatic competence is an integral and indispensable component of overall language

competence Omitting the pragmatic dimension from language assessment is, therefore,

quite unfortunate This book describes the development and validation of three test

methods designed to test the interlanguage pragmatic knowledge of EFL learners Altogether 413 subjects participated in the development of the tests Results showed that all three methods investigated had measured learners’ interlanguage pragmatic knowledge Quantitative analyses showed that the tests tapped the intended construct and the test methods measured a similar construct Analyses of verbal reports yielded results which supported the quantitative analyses and revealed that the construct-relevant knowledge was involved in the test takers’ cognitive activities This book ends with some pedagogical implications of this study and directions for further research

Currently in preparation

Volume 6 · Rüdiger Grotjahn (Hrsg.)

Der C-Test

The C-Test

Theorie, Empirie, Anwendungen

Theory, Empirical Research, Applications

Approx 280 pp

ISBN 3-631-55304-8 · pb approx € 49.80