Acknowledgements Introduction PART ONE - BACKGROUND Introduction 1. Second language acquisition research: an overview PART TWO - THE DESCRIPTION OF LEARNER LANGUAGE Introduction 2. Learner errors and error analysis 3. Developmental patterns: order and sequence in second language acquisition 4. Variability in learner language 5. Pragmatic aspects of learner language PART THREE - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: EXTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 6. Social factors and second language acquisition 7. Input and interaction and second language acquisition PART FOUR - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: INTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 8. Language transfer 9. Cognitive accounts of second language acquisition 10. Linguistic universals and second language acquisition PART FIVE - EXPLAINING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 11. Individual learner differences 12. Learning strategies PART SIX - CLASSROOM SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 13. Classroom interaction and second language acquisition 14. Formal instruction and second language acquisition PART SEVEN - CONCLUSION Introduction 15. Data, theory, and applications in second language acquisition research Glossary Bibliography Author index Subject index

第二语言习得研究 = The study of second language acquisition

A cognitive approach to language learning

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/pdf/complexity-accuracy-and-fluency-in-second-language-373yakjxer.pdf

Complexity, accuracy and fluency in second language acquisition

In this book, the authors foreground an aspect of language testing that is usually not much discussed and is frequently considered an “advanced” topic: the social dimension of language testing. They see various social dimensions in language testing. There are socially oriented language tests, i.e., tests which assess learners’ ability to use language in social settings. These are primarily oral proficiency interviews and tests of second language pragmatics. But the authors also understand “social” as “societal” and look at the larger-scale impact of tests on individual learners or groups of learners by discussing fairness and bias in language testing. They also broaden their view and discuss the role of language testing in a macro-social context, e.g. as accountability measures in education systems, as gatekeeping instruments for migration, and as tools for constructing and defining social groups. Their discussion is anchored in traditional and more recent views of validity theory.

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Language testing: The social dimension

With genre now viewed as a fundamental element of writing, both second language writing and mainstream composition studies have seen an increased focus on the question of how writers learn genres. The purpose of this paper is to review key findings from 60 empirical studies that have investigated this question. To this point, research has typically studied genre learning as it occurs either through professional or disciplinary practice or through classroom instruction; almost no studies have looked at the same writers as they traverse these multiple domains. I therefore categorize studies as taking place in either ‘practice-based’ or ‘instructional’ settings and identify trends in the research findings from each setting. After examining one study which takes place in multiple settings, I tease out some of the commonalities and distinctions between learning in practice-based and instructional contexts and between first language and second language genre learning. On the basis of this comparative review of research, I suggest future directions for the interdisciplinary study of genre learning.

Language Testing に関する覚書

The study reported in this paper is an investigation of the nature of speaking proficiency in English as a second language in the context of a larger project to develop a rating scale for a new international test of English for Academic Purposes, TOEFL iBT (Brown et al. 2005). We report on a large-scale study of the relationship between detailed features of the spoken language produced by test-takers and holistic scores awarded by raters to these performances. Spoken test performances representing five different tasks and five different proficiency levels (200 performances in all) were analyzed using a range of measures of grammatical accuracy and complexity, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency. The results showed that features from each category helped distinguish overall levels of performance, with particular features of vocabulary and fluency having the strongest impact. Overall, the study contributes important insights into the nature of spoken proficiency as it develops and can be measured in rating scales for speaking, and has implications for methodological issues of the appropriateness of the use in language testing research contexts of measures developed in research on second language acquisition.

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Assessed Levels of Second Language Speaking Proficiency: How Distinct?

Whilst claims to validity for conversational oral interviews as measures of nontest conversational skills are based largely on the unpredictable or impromptu nature of the test interaction, ironica...

Interviewer variation and the co-construction of speaking proficiency:

This report documents two coordinated exploratory studies into the nature of oral English-for-academic-purposes (EAP) proficiency. Study I used verbal-report methodology to examine field experts' rating orientations, and Study II investigated the quality of test-taker discourse on two different Test of English as a Foreign Language™ (TOEFL®) task types (independent and integrated) at different levels of proficiency. Study I showed that, with no guidance, domain experts distinguished and described qualitatively different performances using a common set of criteria very similar to those included in draft rating scales developed for the tasks at ETS. Study II provided empirical support for the criteria applied by the judges. The findings indicate that raters take a range of performance features into account within each conceptual category and that holistic ratings are driven by all of the assessment categories rather than, as has been suggested in earlier studies, predominantly by grammar.

https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/RR-05-05.pdf

An examination of rater orientations and test-taker performance on english-for-academic-purposes speaking tasks

Speaking tasks involving peer-to-peer candidate interaction are increasingly being incorporated into language proficiency assessments, in both large-scale international testing contexts, and in sma...

Assessing paired orals: Raters’ orientation to interaction

Transplantation is the treatment of choice for children with end-stage renal disease However, the long-term quality of life and socioprofessional outcome for those with successful transplants have not previously been reported We studied these factors in patients transplanted when less than 18 years old who currently have greater than or equal to 10 years of graft function A total of 57 questionnaires were sent out; 57 (100%) responded [24 female and 33 male patients; average (+/- SD) age at tx = 10 +/- 5 years (09-177); average f/u = 156 +/- 3 years (10-26); current age = 26 +/- 5 years (12-38); 26 had greater than 1 transplant] Of the 57 respondents, 9 are less than 18 (all are in school); 48 are greater than or equal to 18 (7 in school, 37 employed, 4 unemployed); 12 are married, 1 engaged, and 2 divorced; and 9 have children While in school, 43 (75%) had participated in sports, 37 (65%) in other extracurricular activities; 7 (12%) were A and 33 (58%) B students; 15 (26%) received awards or scholarships For those working, the range of occupations is broad (average work week = 41 +/- 5 hr) Health-related absence from work has been nonexistent for 93% Health is rated as good to excellent by 91% and fair by 9% The future is regarded as hopeful or promising by 80% Similarly, 89% are satisfied with life in general; 95% said health never or seldom interferes with family life; 95% feel health and drug side effects are of no or minor concern in sexual relationships Only 3% feel health is a problem in maintaining a sexual relationship (41% are not sexually active) Only 4% stated that health often interferes with social life; 98% meet with friends on a regular basis; 76% are satisfied with personal relationships and 8% dissatisfied; 91% are satisfied with their ability to perform at work or school and 5% dissatisfied Of note, 32% are dissatisfied with body appearance Major concerns are short stature and brittle bones Major suggestions include education/support groups to deal with teasing at school and peer problems We conclude that transplanted children with long-term graft function have a favorable social and professional outcome Overall, quality of life seems excellent

Annie Brown

Papers

Assessed Levels of Second Language Speaking Proficiency: How Distinct?

Interviewer variation and the co-construction of speaking proficiency:

An examination of rater orientations and test-taker performance on english-for-academic-purposes speaking tasks

Assessing paired orals: Raters’ orientation to interaction

Long-term quality of life after kidney transplantation in childhood.