The advent of the theory of communicative competence raised new issues for language teaching and testing. The importance of communicative ability is emphasized in language teaching. Therefore test that could reflect a...The advent of the theory of communicative competence raised new issues for language teaching and testing. The importance of communicative ability is emphasized in language teaching. Therefore test that could reflect a student's communicative competence need to be constructed. Communicative testing is such a potentially effective approach.This paper is concerned with the theoretical basis of communicative testing, its distinguishing features and the construction of oral proficiency tests, so as to demonstrate how the theory of communicative testing is built into practical tests.展开更多
With a growing number of foreign language studies on proficiency outcomes,it is imperative to address the challenge of measuring students’proficiency development in a language program where standardized proficiency t...With a growing number of foreign language studies on proficiency outcomes,it is imperative to address the challenge of measuring students’proficiency development in a language program where standardized proficiency testing is not readily available.This article reports administering a Chinese elicited imitation test(EIT)by an instructor to track students’global oral proficiency development in a small language program in a mid-size U.S.public university.The test results from the EIT of second language(L2)Chinese suggest that this tool can provide the instructor with valuable insights into students’oral proficiency.This study also discusses the potential practical value of using this EIT in a language program with limited resources for standardized proficiency assessment.The hope is that this study will encourage language educators who are not already doing so to start using empirical evidence from a valid and reliable proficiency measurement tool to reflect on,improve,and guide their instructional practices.展开更多
文摘The advent of the theory of communicative competence raised new issues for language teaching and testing. The importance of communicative ability is emphasized in language teaching. Therefore test that could reflect a student's communicative competence need to be constructed. Communicative testing is such a potentially effective approach.This paper is concerned with the theoretical basis of communicative testing, its distinguishing features and the construction of oral proficiency tests, so as to demonstrate how the theory of communicative testing is built into practical tests.
文摘With a growing number of foreign language studies on proficiency outcomes,it is imperative to address the challenge of measuring students’proficiency development in a language program where standardized proficiency testing is not readily available.This article reports administering a Chinese elicited imitation test(EIT)by an instructor to track students’global oral proficiency development in a small language program in a mid-size U.S.public university.The test results from the EIT of second language(L2)Chinese suggest that this tool can provide the instructor with valuable insights into students’oral proficiency.This study also discusses the potential practical value of using this EIT in a language program with limited resources for standardized proficiency assessment.The hope is that this study will encourage language educators who are not already doing so to start using empirical evidence from a valid and reliable proficiency measurement tool to reflect on,improve,and guide their instructional practices.
