Language Proficiency Test Research Articles

Исследование влияния синхронной и асинхронной компьютерной обратной связи от одногруппников на развитие письменной речи кандидатов IELTS

The present study investigated the effect of synchronous and asynchronous computer-mediated peer feedback on IELTS candidates’ writing improvement and interactions. In so doing, 132 IELTS candidates from an English language center in six writing classes were chosen based on the convenience sampling procedure. They were split into three equal groups: two experimental groups that were instructed through synchronous peer feedback and asynchronous computer-mediated feedback and one control group. The data were collected using a sample English language proficiency test and synchronous and asynchronous media writing scoring rubric. One-way ANOVA and Chi-square test were applied for the statistical analysis of the data. It was revealed that L2 learners benefited more from the computer-mediated peer feedback than conventional paper and pencil peer feedback. Further, the participants in the asynchronous group noticeably exceeded the IELTS candidates in the synchronous group. The results also showed that the most frequent feedback in both experimental groups was directive feedback. However, there were some discrepancies in the frequency of various directive subcategories. Suggestion was the most frequent directive subcategory reported by the synchronous group and instruction feedback was the most repeated one in the asynchronous group. On the basis of the findings of the study, instructors were advised to employ asynchronous feedback whenever possible to maximize their learners’ writing accuracy.

English-Language Proficiency Requirements for Migration to Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the Implications for Language Testing Research

Language proficiency testing has long played a role as both facilitator and barrier in global migration. This paper outlines how Canada and other traditional migrant destination countries use English-language proficiency testing for immigration, asylum and resettlement, and citizenship. It identifies commonalities between these three related areas of migration and the covert values that are often embedded in the required test scores. It identifies different approaches for conducting research under the umbrella of Shohamy’s (2001) Critical Language Testing and concludes with language testing research and advocacy suggestions specific to the Canadian context.

One Standard, Different Approaches: Language Assessment in the Military Context. A Visegrad countries analysis.

The article describes how one standard set for language testing is perceived in Visegrad countries and how it is transformed into designing their language proficiency tests. It focuses on analyzing the methods of how the four countries use the identical descriptors to develop their own distinct tests. In their comparison and analysis, the authors concentrate on the test format, testing methods, tester training, and assessment techniques. The gathered data have shown some similar approaches to test design and administration, however, some differences in certain aspects were also observed.

Assessing the content typicality and construct of Persian language proficiency test (PLPT) for non-Persian speakers: a corpus-informed study

Drawing on a growing body of research on the interface between corpus linguistics and second/foreign language testing and assessment, we adopted Peykare, a large-scale, annotated, Persian written language resource to evaluate the content (i.e., coverage and typicality) and construct validity of a Persian language proficiency test developed for certification of proficiency in Persian as a foreign language (PFL) of non-native speakers. Designed at the Research Center for Intelligent Signal Processing (RCISP), Peykare contains 35,058 text files over five linguistic varieties and 24 different registers of contemporary Persian. This study addresses how corpora, as rich database resources, can practically be applied to test validation purposes and insightfully inform the test life cycle. The results of content validity phase revealed evidence supporting content representativeness, relevance, and typicality of the test. The linkage between the corpus-extracted criterial features or parameters and those covered by the test was not, however, strongly evidenced by items measuring ezafeh constructions, homographs/homophones, PRO (proposition), and POST (postposition). The analysis of content typicality indicated chunks that did not closely conform to the corpus typical output. The construct validity phase, assessing the test hypothesized factor structure (i.e., hierarchical, unitary, correlated, and uncorrelated models) in two randomly split samples of PFL learners from Asian and European countries (N=121), showed that the correlated model fit the data best in both samples. The results supported the presence of distinctive factors of receptive skills, providing empirical evidence for score interpretations of the corpus-based test.

Re-examining the effectiveness of processing instruction components for teaching the present subjunctive: Do learning styles make a difference?

The present quasi-experimental study investigated which component of processing instruction (PI) is responsible for its beneficial effects and whether EFL learners with different learning styles similarly benefit from PI components. In doing so, a sample of 67 first-year students took part in a study with a non-equivalent control group pretest–posttest design. The participants were randomly divided into three groups: one receiving explicit information without further exercises (EI group), another receiving structured input activities comprising both referential and affective activities without explicit information (SI group), and the third group receiving processing instruction containing both explicit information and structured input activities (PI group). First, Ehrman and Leaver’s (E & L) Construct questionnaire was employed to categorize the participants into ectenic and synoptic learners in each group. Afterward, a General Language Proficiency Test (GLPT) and a Target Structure Test were administered. After the treatment, the learners took a posttest modeling the pretest. The independent samples t-tests run in each group revealed no significant differences between the ectenic and synoptic learners’ performance regarding the components of PI. However, the findings suggested that the ectenic learners benefited least from the SI activities, and the advantageous effect of PI was mainly related to EI. Pedagogical implications of the study for opposing learning styles are discussed, and suggestions are provided for further research.

Bilingual children acquiring Russian and German in Vienna: nonword repetition correlates with stronger but not with weaker language.

Nonword repetition tests (NWRT) can be useful tools together with other assessment procedures for diagnosing a developmental learning disorder in bilingual children. Concerning typically developing children, however, the link between NWRT performance and language development is still unclear. The present study contributes to this discussion by investigating the link between language-dependent NWRT performance, language development, and language exposure. A total of 20 simultaneously bilingual Russian-German children, aged 4-6 years, were tested with "The Russian language proficiency test for multilingual children (SRUK)" and "Patholinguistische Diagnostik bei Sprachentwicklungsstörungen (PDSS)" as well as language-specific nonwords for Russian and German. Most children scored within the mean range in SRUK. In PDSS they scored two standard deviations below the mean range in most of the subtests. NWRT in Russian significantly correlated with the NWRT in German and also positively correlated with both comprehension and production in Russian. In contrast, the German NWRT did not correlate with comprehension or with production in German. Moreover, the correlation between the German NWRT and the comprehension of grammatical structures in Russian was significant, and the correlations between the German NWRT and the two other Russian language development tests just failed to reach significance. High scores in both the Russian and the German NWRT offer evidence that the ability to repeat language-specific nonwords does not differ depending on language exposure. The aim to distinguish between typical and atypical language development based on NWRT can be reached only when NWRT and all possible influencing factors in typically developed children are analyzed.

The Impact of Academic Acculturation and Language Proficiency on International Students’ University Experience and Academic Success: A Longitudinal Study

The Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) assessment is a proficiency test for university admission. Most research has focused on the paper edition, not the recent computer edition (CE). Validity research on other proficiency tests found that relationships between proficiency scores and academic achievement measures can be tenuous because other factors intervene in students’ chances of success. Research on academic success has examined academic acculturation as one factor. However, the impact of acculturation on academic achievement has not been examined alongside language proficiency test scores. The current study investigated this issue by focusing on students with a range of CAEL scores and examining the relationship between CAEL-CE scores, academic achievement, and academic acculturation. Forty-four students at a Canadian English-medium university participated in the study. Students’ grade point averages were obtained, and an academic acculturation questionnaire was administered. A subset of participants took part in focus groups. The findings and their implications are discussed.

ELT Scholars’ Attitudes towards Inclusion of Intercultural Competence Assessment in Language Proficiency Tests

Intercultural Competence Assessment (ICA) has recently become a central issue in applied linguistics in general, and language testing and assessment in particular. The present paper aims to investigate the difference between native and non-native assessment experts’ beliefs about incorporating ICA in the Language Proficiency Assessment (LPA). Basic qualitative research design was employed and questions were emailed to 97 native and non-native language testing and assessment experts of whom 32 participants returned their responses (response rate = 33%). Moreover, 10 of the experts were interviewed to triangulate the data. The data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results demonstrated that there were no significant differences between native experts and non-native experts’ attitudes towards whether ICA should be included in the LPA. Despite this finding, some native speaker experts strongly disagreed with the notion while some other non-native scholars supported it. This study may be helpful to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) assessment experts who argue for the inclusion of ICA in the LPA, believing that such an inclusion would benefit not only second language proficiency assessment but also efforts in designing more effective instructional syllabuses.

Evaluating the Use and Interpretation of the TOEIC® Listening and Reading Test Score Report: Perspectives of Test Takers in Japan

Researchers suggest that claims about the meaningfulness of test score interpretations and consequences of test use should be backed by evidence that stakeholders understand the definition of the construct assessed (meaningfulness) and score reports (consequences). Evaluation of stakeholders' actual uses and interpretations of score reports in large‐scale standardized language proficiency tests, however, remains limited in the score reporting literature. This study investigates how test takers, as an important stakeholder group, use and interpret the score report of the TOEIC® Listening and Reading (TOEIC L&R) test. Data were collected from 834 TOEIC L&R test takers in Japan, who represented a wide range of English language proficiency based on their TOEIC L&R total scores. The participants responded to an online survey that asked about their uses and interpretations of the test results and their comprehension of the performance feedback presented in the score report. The results showed that the participants used the test results largely as intended, providing an important piece of validity evidence to support the proposed uses of the TOEIC L&R test. Some of the score reporting elements such as the performance feedback and footnote message, however, were not easy to understand for all participants, revealing a need to improve the interpretability of the score report. The study findings have implications for designing informative score reports and the usefulness around reporting test performance feedback.

Multi-text reading strategy for teaching and effectiveness evaluation

In this study, the concept of group co-learning and multi-text reading was incorporated into the teaching of Mandarin language in the second year of a Five-year Junior College Program, and attempts were made to create a co-learning environment, design learning courses and reading and writing activities to develop and enhance students’ basic self-learning (reading and writing) skills. The teaching effectiveness was examined by testing and questionnaire feedback. In addition to comparing the results before and after teaching by the pre- and post-tests of the National College Language Proficiency Test, organized by the National Taichung University of Education, the study also used the learning feedback questionnaire to examine whether the teaching strategies were accepted by the students. The results showed that the change in the teaching strategy of Taiwanese Mandarin in the second year of Five-year Junior College Program was effective in enhancing students’ reading initiative and writing achievement, as well as in building an acceptable learning identity. Keywords: Taiwanese Mandarin, teaching, five-year junior college program, learning community, flipped teaching, reading skill, reading instruction.

Information Visualization Dashboard to Proctor Test-Takers During an Online Language Proficiency Test

Abstract As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the learning and evaluation processes have been moved to an online modality to keep social distance and reduce the spreading of the virus. The strategies implemented for assessment and proctoring in this online remote teaching and assessment emergency are no exception when proctoring test-takers. This problem is addressed from a practical context of study: the English Language Proficiency Tests of a University in southeast Mexico. Considering an iterative user-centered mixed methodology, a set of dashboards was designed, implemented and evaluated to visualize the information generated by test-takers during the administration process. An increase in the Usability of the dashboards is observed in all heuristic categories, with visual design being greater. The use of the mixed methodology and the constant user feedback during the process helped us to reduce development time compared with other works found in the literature. Moreover, it is possible to use the proposed dashboards in other application domains like medicine, or care facilities where user activity monitoring is needed to make informed decisions. categoryHuman-centered computing; Information visualization

IMPACT OF TEST PREPARATION ON CANDIDATES’ IELTS READING TEST SCORES

This study investigates the impact of an hour’s preparation on IELTS (International English Language Testing System) reading test scores. Preparation is sometimes neglected by candidates who consider themselves proficient users of English, despite the high stakes involved in IELTS testing. Participants in the experimental group were provided a one-hour session on reading strategies and test-taking skills, focusing on the IELTS reading test. They were tested before and after this session, alongside a control group who received no training. Statistical analysis revealed that training significantly increased reading scores, suggesting the importance of such training even for proficient users of the target language. Keywords: IELTS, language proficiency tests, high-stakes test, test performance.

DOES SELF-ESTEEM INFLUENCE STUDENT ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TEST SCORES?

As one of Indonesia’s most prominent foreign languages, English is essential in education. The importance of English is reflected in the fact that it is taught from elementary school through university and is even used as a requirement for graduation or employment. Passing the campus-provided English Proficiency Test is a graduation requirement for Teknokrat University students. As a result, learning and mastering English is an important step for students.When it comes to teaching English in the classroom, there are various factors to consider. Every student has their own individuality. Different personalities result in varying levels of comprehension. Students’ personalities vary enormously, yet self-esteem is important in influencing individuals. In short, students’ personalities can differ based on their self-esteem. As a result, students’ personalities are greatly influenced by their sense of self, affecting their learning. This study aimed to see if there is a relationship between undergraduate students’ self-esteem and their English Language proficiency test at Teknokrat University. The computation results show that the correlation coefficient was .454. This study revealed a moderately positive relationship between students’ self-esteem and their EPT scores. Thus, the greater their self-esteem, the better their EPT score.Keywords: English Learning, English Proficiency Test and Self-esteem

Getting stakeholders acquainted with the rationale behind the construct of the English language proficiency test of the University of Costa Rica for the Ministry of Education of Costa Rica

Este artículo tiene como objetivo recopilar evidencia para construir un argumento de validez de contenido acerca de la prueba de dominio lingüístico de la Universidad de Costa Rica para estudiantes de secundaria, a través de un análisis de los fundamentos teóricos que sustentan la construcción y administración de una prueba de idioma hecha a medida para un contexto localizado. El documento incluye una descripción de la prueba y las aportaciones de las principales partes interesadas. Al mismo tiempo, este artículo proporciona sugerencias y recomendaciones para futuras experiencias en pruebas de este tipo, mientras que allana el camino para futuros investigadores que pretendan continuar con estos esfuerzos académicos.

Chinese university students' conceptions of feedback and the relationships with self-regulated learning, self-efficacy, and English language achievement.

In China, under the influence of examination-driven culture and teacher-centered ways of learning, students' self-regulated learning (SRL) capabilities, self-efficacy, and actual English proficiency are greatly hindered. Given this situation, the Chinese Ministry of Education has promulgated the use of formative assessment in the College English curriculum at the tertiary level since 2004. Feedback, as an integrated part of formative assessment, takes up the largest proportion of the Chinese College English classroom assessment and intends to facilitate SRL and learning. However, whether feedback could facilitate students' SRL and learning has not been fully investigated in this context in China. Therefore, this study first explored how students self-reported their conceptions of feedback, SRL, and self-efficacy, and second, the relationships among these constructs and their English language achievement in the College English course. A questionnaire was used to collect data on students' conceptions of feedback, SRL, self-efficacy, and self-perceived English language proficiency. Their English test scores as an indicator of English language achievement were also collected. A total of 538 participants from a university in Northern China participated in this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analyses, Pearson correlation analyses, and multiple regression analyses. The results found that Chinese students from the College English course reported a high level of conceptions of teacher and peer feedback, SRL, and self-efficacy, yet a low level of Teacher/Peer Feedback Ignored. For the relationships among these variables, students' conceptions of feedback contributed to SRL and self-efficacy. Besides, self-efficacy was found to be the strongest predictor for self-perceived English language proficiency and standardized English test scores, both indicators for English language achievement. From the theoretical perspective, this study addressed the research gap in the literature by examining four constructs together, that is, students' conceptions of feedback, SRL, self-efficacy, and English language achievement within a university context in China. From the pedagogical angle, the results can also support teachers in their feedback practices to facilitate students' SRL, self-efficacy, and learning.

Students' perceptions of the general english proficiency test: A study on Tishk International University students in Erbil, Iraq

Language Proficiency exams are run globally in different formats to assess students` performance at all stages. Accordingly, standardized or institution-based proficiency exams are common at higher education institutions to determine students` level and overall ability. This study was conducted in 2022-2023 Academic Year over a span of 4 weeks to examine the perceptions of prospective students who want to study in different faculties and departments of Tishk International University in Iraq. One thousand students were chosen as the sample by adopting convenience sampling method. The purpose of this study was to figure out prospective students` genuine opinions on revised Tishk International University General English Proficiency Exam. The students took the exam run by Tishk International University, Language Preparatory School and expressed their opinions about the exam through the interview. The findings revealed that watching movies, reading books, joining some training programs, following the news and TV programs in English affected their performance positively, whereas setting other priorities, focusing on other subjects rather than English, not studying well in advance, unable to manage the time and stress affected their results adversely. Additionally, the students stated once more that incorporating some of the questions from their grade 12 English textbook with those from the Cambridge Proficiency Exam 1 boosted their motivation to achieve high marks on the test. The findings of this study may have some implications for future studies related to English language proficiency tests.

Assessment of speech transmission index and reverberation time in standardized English as a foreign language test rooms

Today, millions of standardized English as a foreign language proficiency tests are administered globally each year. A large portion of this is conducted as a paper-based test in which the listening section is commonly delivered through loudspeakers to groups of test takers, a method in which the audio signals are exposed to the acoustic tendencies of each particular venue. As it is well-established in the literature that non-native listeners are more susceptible to adverse listening conditions compared to their native counterparts, there is a need for an objective examination of the acoustic quality of such environments. This study examined the speech transmission index for public address systems (STIPA) for three types of sound sources (wall-mounted speakers, radio cassette player, and amplified speaker) and reverberation time (RT) in 10 unoccupied classrooms commonly used as test rooms at a university in Japan. The results revealed that STI was found to be statistically significantly different for the amplified speaker compared to both or one other sound source in eight out of 10 rooms. The amplified speaker also recorded the highest STI among the three sound sources in eight out of 10 rooms and the most rooms with STI entirely above 0.66, a minimum target value prescribed in IEC 60268–16:2020 as exhibiting high speech intelligibility. Additionally, ≥ 0.66 STI was consistently observed in rooms with RT0.5-2kHz≤ 0.7 s. Further observations are discussed to better understand the current conditions under which these tests are administered

Jumping Through Hoops in the Canadian Immigration System: A Critical View of the Immigrant's Journey to Citizenship

AbstractLanguage assessment for citizenship is a ubiquitous enforced and enacted policy in several developed countries (e.g., Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Netherlands, to name a few). In this regard, language testers have expressly argued that this practice enacts injustice for and adds hurdles to marginalized immigrant groups (McNamara & Shohamy, 2009; Shohamy, 2009). Nevertheless, language proficiency tests remain a critical, high‐stakes criterion in evaluating immigrants' permanent residence and naturalization applications. To this end, language tests used for immigration and citizenship purposes are often aligned with widely recognized language frameworks such as the Canadian Language Benchmarks (Chen & Flasko, 2020) and the Common European Framework of Reference (Lim, Geranpayeh, Khalifa, & Buckendahl, 2013). In turn, these alignment studies idealize, in subtle ways, new Canadians with language proficiency requirements that would make them worthy of permanent residence or citizenship. Knowledge of society tests plays an essential role in immigrants' journey to citizenship and can also be considered tests of reading proficiency. This study focuses on the enacted Canadian language policy for prospective immigrants and citizens, adopting a corpus‐assisted discourse analytic approach (Taylor & Marchi, 2018) to the study guide for the Canadian citizenship test (Discover Canada: The rights and responsibilities of citizenship). A primary focus is examining how official and nonofficial languages are represented within this document. The findings highlight some of the problematic assumptions that underpin the use of monolingual constructs in tests encountered in the journey to permanent residence and Canadian citizenship.

Proficiency Test Training for Mandarin Learners in Surakarta

Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) or the Chinese Language Proficiency Test is an international standardized test in Chinese language proficiency. It is used to assess non-native Chinese speakers’ ability in using the Chinese language in their daily, academic, and professional lives. The purpose of administering training activities for the HSK Mandarin competency test is to help Mandarin language learners know the importance and benefits of the Mandarin language proficiency test (HSK) and where the certificate is used as one of the requirements to continue to a higher education level. It is also used to assess Mandarin language proficiency when applying to better job opportunities. The participants of this research are the teachers and students of SMA Bina Widya Solo where their learning system is at the HSK 4 level. The results showed that the students and the teachers of SMA Bina Widya Solo are more open to perspectives about the benefits of the HSK competency test as an instrument of measuring language skills that are internationally certified.
 Keywords: counseling, training, HSK, Mandarin language

The relationship between language learning strategies, affective factors and language proficiency

AbstractStudents with a mother tongue other than English often struggle with the demands of an academic programme at tertiary institutions where the medium of instruction is English. If their English language proficiency is inadequate, it may hamper their academic progress. Students feel that their command of English is unsatisfactory, and this causes tension and anxiety. This influences their motivation, self-confidence, self-image, and self-efficacy and serves as an affective filter which prevents comprehensible input necessary for successful learning. Therefore, a study amongst first-year university students was carried out to establish the relationship between language learning strategies, affective factors, and language proficiency. The aim was to find a connection between these three elements and to see whether they have an impact on each other. A combination of Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis and the Comprehensible Input Hypothesis was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The data were collected using a quantitative and qualitative method, a language proficiency test and a questionnaire based on language learning strategies and affective factors. The results show a positive correlation between compensation and affective strategies and language proficiency, which are directly linked to affective factors. It is essential for teachers to be aware of these factors, because they have a huge bearing on second language learning, academic development, and success. The conclusion is that affective factors can either enhance or hinder language proficiency, and that the use of language learning strategies have an influence on the outcome. This study contributes to the field of second language acquisition by creating an awareness of these factors in language education.