An Analysis of Results from the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview and the Chinese Proficiency Test Before and After Intensive Instruction in Chinese as a Foreign Language

1995 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanren Ke ◽  
Daniel J. Reed
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Proficiency Test ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Oral Proficiency Interview ◽  
Intensive Instruction ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Analysis Of Results

Het Meten van Spreekvaardigheid in de Vreemde Taal

1987 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 83-90
Author(s):  
Joost Dekkers
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Proficiency Test ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Direct Bearing ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
The Way ◽  
Oral Proficiency Test

The way in which a test (in this case one to measure the speaking skill in a foreign language) is administered has a direct bearing on the testee's achieve-ment. This article discusses a particular type of oral proficiency test. This test, originally developed by Nienhuis, employs visual stimuli. It will be shown that a slight change in the instruction which accompanied the original test leads to significant higher scores.

The Use of Situation Tests as Measures of Communicative Ability

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Raffaldini
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Communicative Skills ◽  
American University ◽  
Grammatical Competence ◽  
Oral Proficiency Interview ◽  
Communicative Ability ◽  
Alternative Measures

In recent years, universities and secondary schools have increasingly used the ACTFL/ETS Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) to measure the ability of learners to communicate in a foreign language. This article discusses the OPI in relation to current models of communicative skills and argues that the OPI fails to measure important aspects of communicative ability. Two Situation Tests, one written and one oral, are proposed as alternative measures of communicative ability and are described in detail. The two tests as well as the OPI were administered to American university students who had spent a year abroad studying French. This article reports on the changes in the communicative skills of the students during the year after their return to the United States. Statistical comparisons between the OPI and the Situation Tests are presented showing that the OPI is primarily a measure of grammatical competence. The article concludes with the claim that Situation Tests can provide a more complete assessment of communicative ability than the OPI.

scholarly journals Measuring the Effects of a Semester Abroad on Students’ Oral Proficiency Gains: A Comparison of At Home and Study Abroad

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Jochum
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Oral Proficiency Interview ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Proficiency Scores ◽  
Test Level ◽  
At Home

This study investigates oral proficiency gains among study-abroad (SA) and at-home (AH) students over the course of one semester. Using the Oral Proficiency Interview by Computer (OPIc), students (N=18) were assessed before and after studying Spanish either on-campus or abroad. Findings revealed that while both groups’ mean proficiency scores improved, the SA group showed significant pre-post improvement. The percentage of students who improved at least one proficiency level was 44% for the AH group and 89% among SA participants, whose minimum post-test level was Intermediate-Mid. Only two students (SA group), however, reached the Advanced-Low level. Results outline some of the implications and limitations associated with semester-long study abroad and increased oral proficiency and offer suggestions for future research. 

scholarly journals The effect of vocabulary size in oral productions on the speaking proficiency of EFL learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 150-154
Author(s):  
Ehsan Kazemi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Oral Proficiency Interview ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Freshman Students ◽  
Listening And Speaking ◽  
Experimental Group

This study investigates the effect of using a bigger vocabulary size in oral classroom presentations on the speaking proficiency of students in English as a foreign language. The study was conducted with 30 freshman students doing their listening and speaking course in Semnan University. For the entire course of 12 weeks, the students in the experimental group were asked to present their productions in terms of the vocabulary they employed, which was also the focus of the teacher’s evaluation in each session. At the end of the course, they were interviewed for their proficiency in speaking. The descriptive and inferential calculations were done based on a modified version of an oral proficiency interview scale suggested by Penny Ur. The answers were recorded and their fluency and accuracy were graded. The results suggest that students with a vocabulary-rich production improved their speaking proficiency in English more than other students did.   Keywords: Vocabulary size, speaking proficiency, production, fluency, accuracy, interview.    

Improving Communicative Competence Levels of Pre-Service Teachers Through Spoken-Based Reflection Instruction

2021 ◽  
pp. 002205742110445
Author(s):  
Chinaza Solomon Ironsi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Listening And Speaking ◽  
Speaking Skills

This study investigated the use of spoken-reflection instruction to improve the communicative competence level of English as Foreign Language learners in a second language acquisition classroom. A listening and speaking test was administered before and after the study to determine the participants’ level of speaking competence. A quantitative research design was adopted for the study. A 3-credit unit language course was designed and implemented for the study. The course was built on the core principles of reflective practice. Participants were taught using the normal language teaching method and spoken-based reflection instruction. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 65 English as Foreign Language learners who willingly participated in the study. At the end of the course, a questionnaire was used to obtain information from the participants about their perceptions of using spoken-based reflection instruction to improve their speaking skills. In addition, participants were administered a Reflection-Listening, and Speaking Skills Test before and after each experimental phase to determine whether their listening and speaking skills had improved. Most learners found the use of spoken reflections to be a fun way to learn. However, they expressed anxiety about doing teacher-student reflection because they felt intimidated by the presence of their language teacher, although sending recordings of their reflections to their teachers was more convenient than interacting with them on a one-to-one basis.

scholarly journals Rhetorical, Metacognitive, and Cognitive Strategies in Teacher Candidates’ Essay Writing

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Claudio Díaz Larenas ◽  
Lucía Ramos Leiva ◽  
Mabel Ortiz Navarrete
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Writing Intervention ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Before And After

This paper reports on a study about the rhetoric, metacognitive, and cognitive strategies pre-service teachers use before and after a process-based writing intervention when completing an argumentative essay. The data were collected through two think-aloud protocols while 21 Chilean English as a foreign language pre-service teachers completed an essay task. The findings show that strategies such as summarizing, reaffirming, and selecting ideas were only evidenced during the post intervention essay, without the use of communication and socio-affective strategies in either of the two essays. All in all, a process-based writing intervention does not only influence the number of times a strategy is used, but also the number of students who employs strategies when writing an essay—two key considerations for the devising of any writing program.

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