Abstract
In spite of various definitions provided for it, language proficiency has been always a difficult concept to define and realize. However the commonality of all the definitions for this illusive concept is that language tests should seek to test the learners’ ability to use real-life language. The best type of test to show such ability is considered to be the integrative test and cloze test is in turn regarded to constitute nearly all the factors needed for language use ability. However, the greatest obstacle of cloze tests or in general pragmatic tests is their administrative and scoring constraints for a large number of testees. Discrete-point tests, as the easiest and most common type of tests used for valid national and international proficiency tests, have always been doubtfully questioned as to whether they indicate the learners’ ability to use language in real-life situation, but due to their tangible shortcomings, no absolute answer can be provided. The study aims at shedding light at the idea of the extent to which the discrete items of vocabulary proficiency show the learners’ vocabulary proficiency in the real world of language use. Hence, the study seeks to calculate the correlation between discrete-point and integrative language proficiency tests of vocabulary administered to 21 Iranian freshmen studying English as a Foreign Language.
Highlights
Language proficiency is one of the most poorly defined concepts in the field of language testing, and proficiency tests have always been a point of inquiry in language testing during the past decades
Acknowledging the complexities involved in the concept of language proficiency, Brière states that the term proficiency may be defined as: the degree of competence or the capability in a given language demonstrated by an individual at a given point in time independent of a specific textbook, chapter in the book, or pedagogical method
In the following we investigate the research hypotheses and the correlation between cloze test and multiple-choice test scores
Summary
Language proficiency is one of the most poorly defined concepts in the field of language testing, and proficiency tests have always been a point of inquiry in language testing during the past decades. Farhady (1982) objects the idea by pointing out the ambiguities of Brière’s definition and maintains that such a complicated definition could very well result in vague hypotheses about language proficiency and language proficiency tests. They could be vague with respect to unspecified terms such as competence, capability, demonstrated, and individual. The expression individual could refer to a language learner as listener, speaker, or both These concepts should be clarified and their characteristics should be identified in order to develop explicit hypotheses
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