Assessing Speaking in Context
Expanding the Construct and its Applications
M Rafael Salaberry editor Alfred Rue Burch editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Multilingual Matters
Published:23rd Jul '21
Should be back in stock very soon
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£34.95(9781788923804)
Argues that the complexity of interactional competence should be taken into account in language testing practices
This book takes a critical perspective of research on assessing speaking in second and foreign languages. Chapters focus on the complexity brought about by actual interactional competence in speaking tasks and discuss how testing and assessment models and practices can incorporate recent research on the dynamic and situated nature of language use.
This edited volume investigates the nature and possible applications of an expanded and reconceptualized theoretical construct of speaking as a dynamic socially-constructed endeavour. It addresses both theoretical perspectives and methodological procedures to define and circumscribe the assessment of contextualized speaking. The chapters focus on the complexity brought about by actual interactional competence in speaking tasks and discuss how testing and assessment models and practices can incorporate recent research findings on the inherently dynamic and situated nature of language use. The volume presents research on language assessment in a variety of languages other than English, including French, Chinese and Japanese. It also examines the role that embodied action (gaze, gesture, orientation to materials and texts in the environment) plays in assessment practices, an area that has heretofore remained under-explored.
Chapter 6 is free to download as an open access publication. You can access it here: https://zenodo.org/record/5163340#.YQvJ0IhKjcs
A refreshingly provocative collection challenging traditional large-scale approaches to oral language assessment. A convincing case is made for how assessment of interactive communication requires small-scale efforts. The volume concludes that the assessment of interactive communication in all its sociolinguistic grandeur requires new approaches to test construction and ratings, as well as revised thinking as to how results are to be utilized. * Andrew D. Cohen, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, USA *
This exciting collection of diverse perspectives from leading experts in L2 speaking assessment consolidates new thinking on the construct of interactional competence. Tackling the theoretical and practical implications of embracing a broader speaking construct, it is essential reading for researchers and practitioners in classroom or large-scale testing contexts. * Sally O’Hagan, University of Melbourne, Australia *
...the book offers much of value to readers who recognise the importance of developing interactional competence for second language learners, including students who need English for academic purposes. It will be of greater interest to researchers and practitioners who have a commitment to assessing this component of communicative competence, especially when the EAP students they work with need to acquire professional skills in oral interaction to a high degree, such as majors in business, law and the health sciences.
-- John Read, University of Auckland, New Zealand * Journal of English for Academic Purposes 55 (2022) *...this volume contributes to the literature by focusing on both established and new speaking test instruments and presenting cutting-edge research with fine-grained analysis, thus serving as illuminating and inspiring cases for future investigation.
-- Ying Chen and Qi Lu Ocean, University of China * Papers in Language Testing and Assessment Vol. 10, Issue 2, 2021 *ISBN: 9781788923811
Dimensions: 234mm x 156mm x 21mm
Weight: 628g
328 pages