The Art of Non-conversation

This insightful book explores the validity of the Oral Proficiency Interview for assessing speaking ability, proposing a new sociocultural model for language proficiency evaluation.

In The Art of Non-Conversation, Marysia Johnson delves into the intricate components that contribute to speaking ability, particularly focusing on the validity of the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) as an assessment tool. The OPI is a widely recognized instrument utilized by various institutions, including the Foreign Language Institute and the Defense Language Institute, to measure second and foreign language proficiency. Johnson's work critically examines whether the OPI effectively captures the nuances of communicative competence in real-world interactions.

By leveraging insights from discourse and conversational analysis, the author seeks to uncover the nature of the OPI's communicative speech event. She evaluates the construct validity of the OPI through the lens of Messick’s definition of validity, providing a comprehensive analysis of its effectiveness. Johnson discusses various models of speaking ability, including communicative competence and interactional competence models, as well as a framework based on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of learning, which emphasizes the role of context in language acquisition.

Ultimately, The Art of Non-Conversation proposes a new model for assessing language proficiency that is informed by sociocultural theory. This innovative approach considers the sociocultural and institutional contexts in which language is learned, offering a fresh perspective on how we evaluate speaking ability. Johnson's work is a valuable resource for educators, linguists, and anyone interested in the complexities of language assessment.