Co-constructed interaction in a paired speaking test : the rater's perspective

The definition and operationalisation of interactional competence in speaking tests that entail co-construction of discourse is an area of language testing requiring further research. This article explores the reactions of four trained raters to paired candidates who oriented to asymmetric patterns of interaction in a discussion task. Through an analysis of candidate discourse combined with rater notes, stimulated verbal recalls, rater discussions and scores awarded for interactional effectiveness, the article examines the extent to which raters compensate or penalise candidates for their role in co-constructing asymmetric interactional patterns. The article argues that key features of the interaction are perceived by the raters as mutual achievements, and it further suggests that the awarding of shared scores for interactional competence is one way of acknowledging the inherently co-constructed nature of interaction in a paired speaking test.

Interactional competence in a paired speaking test : features salient to raters

Paired speaking tests are now commonly used in both high-stakes testing and classroom assessment contexts. The co-construction of discourse by candidates is regarded as a strength of paired speaking tests, as candidates have the opportunity to display a wider range of interactional competencies, including turn taking, initiating topics and engaging in extended discourse with a partner, rather than an examiner. However, the impact of the interlocutor in such jointly negotiated discourse and the implications for assessing interactional competence are areas of concern. This article reports on the features of interactional competence that were salient to four trained raters of 12 paired speaking tests through the analysis of rater notes, stimulated verbal recalls and rater discussions. Findings enabled the identification of features of the performance noted by raters when awarding scores for interactional competence, and the particular features associated with higher and lower scores. A number of these features were seen by the raters as mutual achievements, which raises the issue of the extent to which it is possible to assess individual contributions to the co-constructed performance. The findings have implications for defining the construct of interactional competence in paired speaking tests and operationalising this in rating scales.

Discourse and assessment

Many contemporary currents in applied linguistics have favored discourse studies within assessment; there have been calls for cross-fertilization with other areas within applied linguistics, critiques of the positivist tradition within language testing research, and the growing impact of Conversation Analysis (CA) and sociocultural theory. This chapter focuses on the resulting increase in discourse-based studies of oral proficiency assessment techniques. These studies initially focused on the traditional oral proficiency interview but have since been extended to new test formats, including paired and group interaction. We discuss the research carried out on a number of factors in the assessment setting, including the role of the interlocutor, candidate, and rater, and the impact of tasks, task performance conditions, and rating criteria. Recent research has also concentrated more specifically on the assessment of pragmatic competence and on the applications of technology within the assessment of spoken language, including the comparability of semidirect and direct methods for such assessment and the use of computer corpora.

Developing speaking assessment tasks to reflect the 'social turn' in language testing

Interactional competence has emerged as a focal point for language testing researchers in recent years. In spoken communication involving two or more interlocutors, the co-construction of discourse is central to successful interaction. The acknowledgement of co-construction has led to concern over the impact of the interlocutor and the separability of performances in speaking tests involving interaction. The purpose of this article is to review recent studies of direct relevance to the construct of interactional competence and its operationalisation by raters in the context of second language speaking tests. The review begins by tracing the emergence of interaction as a criterion in speaking tests from a theoretical perspective, and then focuses on research salient to interactional effectiveness that has been carried out in the context of language testing interviews and group and paired speaking tests.

Interaction in a Paired Speaking Test : the Rater's Perspective

Paired speaking tests are increasingly used in both low-and high-stakes second language assessment contexts. Until recently, very little was known about the way in which raters interpret and apply descriptors relating to interactional competence to a performance that is co-constructed. This book presents a study which explores the interactional features of a paired speaking test that were sailient to raters and the extent to which raters viewed the performance as separable. The study shows that raters use their own frames of reference to interpret descriptors and that they viewed certain features of the performance as mutual accomplishments. The book takes us 'beyond scores', and in doing so, contributes to the growing body of research on paired speaking tests.

Assessment of oral proficiency in EAP programs : a case for pair interaction

Reliability and validity in the testing of spoken language are essential in order to assess learners' English language proficiency as evidence of their readiness to begin courses in tertiary institutions. Research has indicated that the task chosen to elicit language samples can have a marked effect on both the nature of the interaction, including the power differential, and assessment, raising the issue of ethics. This exploratory studey, with a group of 32 students from the Peoples's Republic of China preparing for tertiary study in Singapore, compares test-takers' reactions to the use of an oral proficiency interview and a pair interaction.

A web-based system for visualizing upper limb motor performance of Parkinson’s disease patients

Objective To design, develop and set up a web-based system for enabling graphical visualization of upper limb motor performance (ULMP) of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients to clinicians. Background Sixty-five patients diagnosed with advanced PD have used a test battery, implemented in a touch-screen handheld computer, in their home environment settings over the course of a 3-year clinical study. The test items consisted of objective measures of ULMP through a set of upper limb motor tests (finger to tapping and spiral drawings). For the tapping tests, patients were asked to perform alternate tapping of two buttons as fast and accurate as possible, first using the right hand and then the left hand. The test duration was 20 seconds. For the spiral drawing test, patients traced a pre-drawn Archimedes spiral using the dominant hand, and the test was repeated 3 times per test occasion. In total, the study database consisted of symptom assessments during 10079 test occasions. Methods Visualization of ULMP The web-based system is used by two neurologists for assessing the performance of PD patients during motor tests collected over the course of the said study. The system employs animations, scatter plots and time series graphs to visualize the ULMP of patients to the neurologists. The performance during spiral tests is depicted by animating the three spiral drawings, allowing the neurologists to observe real-time accelerations or hesitations and sharp changes during the actual drawing process. The tapping performance is visualized by displaying different types of graphs. Information presented included distribution of taps over the two buttons, horizontal tap distance vs. time, vertical tap distance vs. time, and tapping reaction time over the test length. Assessments Different scales are utilized by the neurologists to assess the observed impairments. For the spiral drawing performance, the neurologists rated firstly the ‘impairment’ using a 0 (no impairment) – 10 (extremely severe) scale, secondly three kinematic properties: ‘drawing speed’, ‘irregularity’ and ‘hesitation’ using a 0 (normal) – 4 (extremely severe) scale, and thirdly the probable ‘cause’ for the said impairment using 3 choices including Tremor, Bradykinesia/Rigidity and Dyskinesia. For the tapping performance, a 0 (normal) – 4 (extremely severe) scale is used for first rating four tapping properties: ‘tapping speed’, ‘accuracy’, ‘fatigue’, ‘arrhythmia’, and then the ‘global tapping severity’ (GTS). To achieve a common basis for assessment, initially one neurologist (DN) performed preliminary ratings by browsing through the database to collect and rate at least 20 samples of each GTS level and at least 33 samples of each ‘cause’ category. These preliminary ratings were then observed by the two neurologists (DN and PG) to be used as templates for rating of tests afterwards. In another track, the system randomly selected one test occasion per patient and visualized its items, that is tapping and spiral drawings, to the two neurologists. Statistical methods Inter-rater agreements were assessed using weighted Kappa coefficient. The internal consistency of properties of tapping and spiral drawing tests were assessed using Cronbach’s α test. One-way ANOVA test followed by Tukey multiple comparisons test was used to test if mean scores of properties of tapping and spiral drawing tests were different among GTS and ‘cause’ categories, respectively. Results When rating tapping graphs, inter-rater agreements (Kappa) were as follows: GTS (0.61), ‘tapping speed’ (0.89), ‘accuracy’ (0.66), ‘fatigue’ (0.57) and ‘arrhythmia’ (0.33). The poor inter-rater agreement when assessing “arrhythmia” may be as a result of observation of different things in the graphs, among the two raters. When rating animated spirals, both raters had very good agreement when assessing severity of spiral drawings, that is, ‘impairment’ (0.85) and irregularity (0.72). However, there were poor agreements between the two raters when assessing ‘cause’ (0.38) and time-information properties like ‘drawing speed’ (0.25) and ‘hesitation’ (0.21). Tapping properties, that is ‘tapping speed’, ‘accuracy’, ‘fatigue’ and ‘arrhythmia’ had satisfactory internal consistency with a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.77. In general, the trends of mean scores of tapping properties worsened with increasing levels of GTS. The mean scores of the four properties were significantly different to each other, only at different levels. In contrast from tapping properties, kinematic properties of spirals, that is ‘drawing speed’, ‘irregularity’ and ‘hesitation’ had a questionable consistency among them with a coefficient of 0.66. Bradykinetic spirals were associated with more impaired speed (mean = 83.7 % worse, P < 0.001) and hesitation (mean = 77.8% worse, P < 0.001), compared to dyskinetic spirals. Both these ‘cause’ categories had similar mean scores of ‘impairment’ and ‘irregularity’. Conclusions In contrast from current approaches used in clinical setting for the assessment of PD symptoms, this system enables clinicians to animate easily and realistically the ULMP of patients who at the same time are at their homes. Dynamic access of visualized motor tests may also be useful when observing and evaluating therapy-related complications such as under- and over-medications. In future, we foresee to utilize these manual ratings for developing and validating computer methods for automating the process of assessing ULMP of PD patients.

Practice tests for IGCSE English as a second language : listening and speaking.

El libro contiene 4 test prácticos completos con formato de examen para los ejercicios 3, 4 y 5 de la prueba Cambridge IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) de inglés como segundo idioma. Los test permiten desarrollar las técnicas de examen de los alumnos familiarizándose con el formato de los ejercicios de comprensión y pruebas orales, y con el tipo de temas que pueden encontrar en el examen oficial. El nivel de la prueba es intermedio e intermedio-alto.

Practice tests for IGCSE English as a second language : listening and speaking book 2.

El libro contiene test prácticos con formato de examen para los ejercicios 4 y 5 de la prueba Cambridge IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) de inglés como segundo idioma. Incluye cuatro tests de comprensión auditiva de nivel alto y veinte prácticas orales. Los test permiten desarrollar las técnicas de examen de los alumnos familiarizándose con el formato de los ejercicios de comprensión y pruebas orales, y con el tipo de temas que pueden encontrar en el examen oficial. El nivel de la prueba es intermedio e intermedio-alto.

Practice tests for IGCSE English as a second language : listening and speaking book 2 with key.

El libro contiene test prácticos con formato de examen para los ejercicios 4 y 5 de la prueba Cambridge IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) de inglés como segundo idioma. Contiene cuatro tests de comprensión auditiva de nivel alto y veinte prácticas orales. Los test permiten desarrollar las técnicas de examen de los alumnos familiarizándose con el formato de los ejercicios de comprensión y pruebas orales, y con el tipo de temas que pueden encontrar en el examen oficial. El nivel de la prueba es intermedio e intermedio-alto. Incluye la trascripción completa de los audios y las respuestas de los test de compresión auditiva.

Practice tests for IGCSE English as a second language : listening and speaking book 1 with key.

El libro contiene cuatro tests prácticos completos con formato de examen para los ejercicios 3, 4 y 5 de la prueba Cambridge IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) de inglés como segundo idioma. Los test permiten desarrollar las técnicas de examen de los alumnos familiarizándose con el formato de los ejercicios de comprensión y pruebas orales, y con el tipo de temas que pueden encontrar en el examen oficial. El nivel de la prueba es intermedio e intermedio-alto. Incluye la trascripción completa de los audios y las respuestas de los tests de compresión auditiva.

Practice tests for IGCSE English as a second language : listening and speaking (Book 1) . Audio CDs extended level.

Dos CDs audio aprobados por la Universidad Cambridge International Examinations para la preparación del examen IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) en la asignatura de 'Inglés como segundo idioma', y para ser usados junto al libro de texto 'Listening and speaking revised edition (Book 1)'. Los tests de compresión auditiva permitirán a los alumnos practicar la identificación de información concreta, la toma de notas esquemáticas y la compresión de significados, opiniones y actitudes más complejas.

Practice tests for IGCSE English as a second language : listening and speaking (book 2) . Audio CDs extenden level.

Dos CDs audio aprobados por la Universidad Cambridge International Examinations para la preparación del examen IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) en la asignatura de 'Inglés como segundo idioma', y para ser usados junto al libro de texto 'Listening and speaking book 2'. Contienen cuatro tests de compresión oral y auditiva que permitirán a los alumnos practicar la identificación de información concreta, la toma de notas esquemáticas y la compresión de significados, opiniones y actitudes más complejas.

Practice tests for IGCSE English as a second language : listening and speaking (book 1) . Audio CDs core level.

Dos CDs audio aprobados por la Universidad Cambridge International Examinations para la preparación del examen IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) en la asignatura de 'Inglés como segundo idioma' de nivel básico, y para ser usados junto al libro de texto 'Listening and speaking revised edition (book 1)'. Los tests de compresión oral y auditiva permitirán a los alumnos practicar la identificación de información concreta, la toma de notas esquemáticas y la compresión de significados, opiniones y actitudes más complejas.

Reproducibility of heart rate and rating of perceived exertion values obtained from different incremental treadmill tests

Objective The present study aimed to examine the reproducibility of heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) values obtained during different incremental treadmill tests. Equipment and methods Twenty male, recreational, endurance-trained runners (10-km running pace: 10–15 km·h−1) performed, in a counterbalanced order, three continuous incremental exercise tests with different speed increments (0.5 km·h−1, 1 km·h−1 and 2 km·h−1). Thereafter, each participant performed the three tests again, maintaining the same order as before. The reproducibility of the HR and RPE values were analyzed for all protocols during submaximal intensities (8, 10, 12, and 14 km·h−1). In addition, it was examined the reproducibility of maximal HR (HRmax) and peak RPE (RPEpeak). Results The variability of both the HR and RPE values showed a tendency to decrease over the stages during the incremental test and was not or slightly influenced by the incremental test design. The HR at 14 km·h−1 and HRmax presented the highest reproducibility (CV < 2%). In contrast, the submaximal RPE values showed higher variability indices (i.e., CV > 5.0%). In conclusion, the HR values were highly reproducible during the stages of the incremental test, in contrast to the RPE values that presented limited reproducibility.