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Language Testing Bytes

Edited by:

Glenn Fulcher (University of Leicester, UK)
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Podcasts to accompany the journal Language Testing from SAGE
     
 

Language Testing Bytes is a podcast to accompany the SAGE journal Language Testing. Three or four times per year, we will release a podcast in which we discuss topics related to a particular issue of the journal. This may be an interview with a contributor to the journal, or another expert in the field. You can download the podcast from this website, from ltj.sagepub.com, or you can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes.

Coming Soon: The next podcast will accompany a special issue on Assessment Literacy. The guest editor, Ofra Inbar, will introduce the topic for us in issue 14 of LTB.




Current Journal Content

What makes speech sound fluent? The contributions of pauses, speed and repairs
by Bosker, H. R., Pinget, A.-F., Quene, H., Sanders, T., de Jong, N. H.

The oral fluency level of an L2 speaker is often used as a measure in assessing language proficiency. The present study reports on four experiments investigating the contributions of three fluency ...

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Partial dictation as a measure of EFL listening proficiency: Evidence from confirmatory factor analysis
by Cai, H.

Partial dictation is a measure of EFL listening proficiency that can be easily constructed, administered, and scored by EFL teachers. However, it is controversial whether this form of test measures...

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Measuring authorial voice strength in L2 argumentative writing: The development and validation of an analytic rubric
by Zhao, C. G.

Although a key concept in various writing textbooks, learning standards, and writing rubrics, voice remains a construct that is only loosely defined in the literature and impressionistically assess...

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Raters' L2 background as a potential source of bias in rating oral performance
by Winke, P., Gass, S., Myford, C.

Based on evidence that listeners may favor certain foreign accents over others (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Major, Fitzmaurice, Bunta, & Balasubramanian, 2002; Tauroza & Luk, 1997) and that language-test...

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Effects of L1 definitions and cognate status of test items on the Vocabulary Size Test
by Elgort, I.

This study examines the development and evaluation of a bilingual Vocabulary Size Test (VST, Nation, 2006). A bilingual (English–Russian) test was developed and administered to 121 intermediate pro...

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Detecting native language group differences at the subskills level of reading: A differential skill functioning approach
by Li, H., Suen, H. K.

Differential skill functioning (DSF) exists when examinees from different groups have different probabilities of successful performance in a certain subskill underlying the measured construct, give...

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Manuscript Submission Information


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Language Testing is an international peer reviewed journal that publishes original research on language testing and assessment. Since 1984 it has featured high impact papers covering theoretical issues, empirical studies, and reviews. The journal's wide scope encompasses first and second language testing and assessment of English and other languages, and the use of tests and assessments as research and evaluation tools. Many articles also contribute to methodological innovation and the practical improvement of testing and assessment internationally. In addition, the journal publishes submissions that deal with policy issues, including the use of language tests and assessments for high stakes decision making in fields as diverse as education, employment and international mobility. The journal welcomes the submission of papers that deal with ethical and philosophical issues in language testing, as well as technical matters. Also of concern is research into the washback and impact of language test use, and ground-breaking uses of assessments for learning. Additionally, the journal wishes to publish replication studies that help to embed and extend our knowledge of generalisable findings in the field. Language Testing is committed to encouraging interdisciplinary research, and is keen to receive submissions which draw on theory and methodology from different fields of applied linguistics, as well as educational measurement, and other relevant disciplines.


                 


                               




How to put the podcast onto your iPod

  1. Decide which of the podcasts below you would like to listen to. Right click on the link, and select 'save target as' to download it into a folder on your computer.
  2. Open iTunes. Click on 'file' and then 'new playlist'. Name your playlist 'Language Testing Bytes'.
  3. Click on the playlist from the iTunes menu.
  4. Open the folder in which you saved the podcast, then drag the podcast from the folder and drop it into the playlist.
  5. Syncronize your iPod.
  6. When you next access your iPod go to the Language Testing Bytes playlist to play the podcast.

Alternatively, just pop it on whichever mp3 player you currently use, or subscribe to the SAGE Podcast on iTunes.

Current Issue

Issue 13: Paula Winke and Susan Gass on Rater Bias

Rater bias is something that language testers have known about for a long time, and have tried to control through training and the use of rating scales. But investigations into the source and nature of bias is relatively recent. In issue 30(2) of the journal Paula Winke, Susan Gass, and Caroly Myford share their research in this field, and the first two authors from Michigan State University join us on Language Testing Bytes to discuss rater bias.

Download:

 Rater Bias

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Previous Issues

Issue 12: Alan Davies on Assessing Academic English

In 2008 Alan Davies' book Assessing Academic English was published by Cambridge University Press. In issue 30(1) of Language Testing it is reviewed by Christine Coombe. With a strong historical narrative, the book raises many of the enduring issues in assessing English for study in English medium institutions. In this podcast we explore some of these with Professor Davies.

Download:

 Assessing Academic English

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Issue 11: Ana Pellicer-Sanchez and Norbert Schmitt on Yes-No Vocabulary Tests

In this issue of the podcast we return to vocabulary testing, after the great introduction provided by John Read in Issue 5. This time, we welcome Ana Pellicer-Sanchez and Norbert Schmitt, to talk about the popular Yes-No Vocabuluary Test. Their recent research looks at scoring issues and potential solutions to problems that have plagued the test for years. Their paper in issue 29(4) of the journal contains the details, but in the podcast we discuss the key issues for vocabulary assessment.

Download:

 Yes-No Vocabulary Tests

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Issue 10: Kathryn Hill on Classroom Based Assessment

Classroom Based Assessment is an increasingly important topic in language education, and in issue 29(3) of Language Testing we publish a paper by Kathryn Hill and Tim McNamara entitled "Developing a comprehensive, empirically based research framework for classroom-based assessment". The research in this paper is based on the first author's PhD dissertation, and so we asked Kathryn Hill to join us on Language Testing Bytes to talk about developments in the field.

Download:

 Classroom Based Assessment

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Issue 9: Luke Harding on Accent in Listening Assessment

Issue 29(2) of the journal contains a paper entitled "Accent, listening assessment and the potential for a shared-L1 advantage: A DIF perspective", by Luke Harding. In this podcast we explore why it is that most listening tests use a very narrow range of standard accents, rather than the many varieties that we are likely to encounter in real-world communication.

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 Accents in Listening Assessment

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Issue 8: Tan Jin and Barley Mak on Confidence Scoring

In Issue 29(1) of the journal three authors from the Chinese University of Hong Kong have a paper on the application of fuzzy logic to scoring speaking tests. This is termed 'confidence scoring', and the first two authors join us on Language Testing Bytes to explain a little more about their novel approach.

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 Confidence Scoring

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Issue 7: Mark Wilson on Measurement Models

Mark Wilson delivered the Messick Memorial Lecture at the Language Testing Research Colloquium in Melbourne, 2006, on new developments in measurement models to take into account the complexity of language testing. In Language Testing 28(4) we publish the paper based on this lecture, and Mark joins us on Language Testing Bytes to talk about his work in this area.

Download:

 Standards-Based Testing

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Issue 6: Craig Deville and Micheline Chalhoub-Deville on Standards-Based Testing

Standards-Based Testing is highly controversial for its social and educational impact on schools and bilingual communities, and the technical aspects that rely to a significant extent on expert judgment. In issue 28(3) we discuss the issues surrounding Standards-Based Testing in the United States with the guest editors of a special issue on this topic. The collection of papers that they have brought together, along with reviews of recent books on the topic, and test review, constitute a state of the art volume for the field.

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 Standards-Based Testing

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Issue 5: John Read on Vocabulary

The journal has seen a flurry of articles on vocabulary testing in recent months, and issue 28(2) is no exception, with Marta Fairclough's paper on the lexical recognition task. It seemed like an appropriate moment to conisder why vocabulary is receiving so much attention, and so we turned to Professor John Read of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, to give us an overview of current research and activity within the field.

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 John Read on Vocabulary

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Issue 4: Khaled Barkaoui and Melissa Bowles on Think Aloud Protocols

In Language Testing 28(1), 2011, Khaled Barkaoui has an article on the use of think-alouds to investigate rater processes and decisions as they rate essay samples. The focus is not on the raters, but on whether the research method is a useful tool for the purpose. In this podcast he explains his findings, and their importance. We are then joined by Melissa Bowles who has recently published The Think-Aloud Controversy in Second Language Research, to explain precisely what the problems and possibilities of think-alouds are in language testing research.

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 Khaled Barkaoui and Melissa Bowles on Think Aloud Protocols

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Issue 3: Jim Purpura on Grammar

Language Testing 27(4), 2010, contains an article by Carol Chapelle and colleagues on testing productive grammatical ability. We thought this would be an excellent opportunity to look at what is going on in the field of assessing grammar, and what issues currently face the field. Jim Purpura agreed to talk to us on Language Testing Bytes.

 Jim Purpura on Testing Grammar

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Issue 2: Xiaoming Xi on Automated Scoring

Language Testing 27(3), 2010, is a special issue guest edited by Xiaoming Xi on the automated scoring of writing and speaking tests. In this podcast she talks about why the automated scoring of speaking and writing tests is such a hot topic, and explains the possibilities, limitations and current research issues in the field.

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 Xiaoming Xi on Automated Scoring

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Issue 1: Mike Kane on Validation

In Language Testing 27(2), 2010, Mike Kane contributed a response to an article on fairness in language testing. We thought this was an excellent opportunity to ask him about his approach to validation, and how he sees 'fairness' fitting into the picture.

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 Mike Kane on Validation

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