Topical knowledge in L2 speaking assessment: Comparing independent and integrated speaking test tasks

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heng-Tsung Danny Huang ◽  
Shao-Ting Alan Hung ◽  
Lia Plakans
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Speaking Test ◽  
Oral Responses ◽  
Speaking Assessment ◽  
Path Analyses ◽  
L2 Speaking ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Topical Knowledge ◽  
Integrated Tasks ◽  
Independent Tasks

Integrated speaking test tasks (integrated tasks) provide reading and/or listening input to serve as the basis for test-takers to formulate their oral responses. This study examined the influence of topical knowledge on integrated speaking test performance and compared independent speaking test performance and integrated speaking test performance in terms of how each was related to topical knowledge. The researchers derived four integrated tasks from TOEFL iBT preparation materials, developed four independent speaking test tasks (independent tasks), and validated four topical knowledge tests (TKTs) on a group of 421 EFL learners. For the main study, they invited another 352 students to respond to the TKTs and to perform two independent tasks and two integrated tasks. Half of the test takers took the independent tasks and integrated tasks on one topic combination while the other half took tasks on another topic combination. Data analysis, drawing on a series of path analyses, led to two major findings. First, topical knowledge significantly impacted integrated speaking test performance in both topic combinations. Second, the impact of topical knowledge on the two types of speaking test performances was topic dependent. Implications are proposed in light of these findings.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Formative Assessment in Speaking Test on Saudi Students’ Performance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nesreen Alahmadi ◽  
Musaad Alrahaili ◽  
Doniazad Alshraideh
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Speaking Test ◽  
Saudi Students ◽  
Constructive Feedback ◽  
Speaking Assessment ◽  
Core Module ◽  
The Impact

The current research takes place at the English language department at Taibah University, Saudi Arabia, where all students are enrolled in undergraduate studies and must study English language course as a core module in their first year. One of the most challenging tests faced by Saudi students in their studies, is the summative speaking test. The test is consisting of three tasks in which students required to go through them all. Accordingly, there is a need to seek approaches to enhance students’ performance in the speaking test. In other words, formative assessment has not been used to overcome the challenges faced by the Saudi students at Taibah University in the speaking test. This research aims to investigate whether a formative speaking assessment has a significant impact on students’ performance in the summative test. Also, it aims to monitor student learning and to provide constructive feedback that can be used by teachers to improve students’ learning and help the students to identify their strengths and weaknesses in speaking skills. This study concludes that formative assessment helps Saudi students to overcome the challenges they face in speaking test. It is also recommend constructive feedback to improve their speaking performance.

scholarly journals Impact of repeated nasal sampling on detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua M. Levy ◽  
Jennifer K. Frediani ◽  
Erika A. Tyburski ◽  
Anna Wood ◽  
Janet Figueroa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Diagnostic Assays ◽  
Negative Findings ◽  
High Concordance ◽  
Repeated Sample ◽  
Multiple Samples ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe impact of repeated sample collection on COVID-19 test performance is unknown. The FDA and CDC currently recommend the primary collection of diagnostic samples to minimize the perceived risk of false-negative findings. We therefore evaluated the association between repeated sample collection and test performance among 325 symptomatic patients undergoing COVID-19 testing in Atlanta, GA. High concordance was found between consecutively collected mid-turbinate samples with both molecular (n = 74, 100% concordance) and antigen-based (n = 147, 97% concordance, kappa = 0.95, CI = 0.88–1.00) diagnostic assays. Repeated sample collection does not decrease COVID-19 test performance, demonstrating that multiple samples can be collected for assay validation and clinical diagnosis.

scholarly journals Feedback on underperformance in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The impact on subsequent neuropsychological test performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen J. Roor ◽  
Hans Knoop ◽  
Brechje Dandachi-FitzGerald ◽  
Maarten J.V. Peters ◽  
Gijs Bleijenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The Impact of Increasing Prevalence, False Omissions, and Diagnostic Uncertainty on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Test Performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald J. Kost
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
False Positives ◽  
Test Quality ◽  
False Negatives ◽  
Predictive Values ◽  
Sensitivity Specificity ◽  
Tier 3 ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Context. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test performance depends on predictive values in settings of increasing disease prevalence. Geospatially distributed diagnostics with minimal uncertainty facilitate efficient point-of-need strategies. Objectives. To use original mathematics to interpret COVID-19 test metrics; assess Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorizations and Health Canada targets; compare predictive values for multiplex, antigen, polymerase chain reaction kit, point-of-care antibody, and home tests; enhance test performance; and improve decision-making. Design. PubMed/newsprint generated articles documenting prevalence. Mathematica and open access software helped perform recursive calculations, graph multivariate relationships, and visualize performance by comparing predictive value geometric mean-squared patterns. Results. Tiered sensitivity/specificity comprise: T1) 90%, 95%; T2) 95%, 97.5%; and T3) 100%, ≥99%. Tier 1 false negatives exceed true negatives at >90.5% prevalence; false positives exceeded true positives at <5.3% prevalence. High sensitivity/specificity tests reduce false negatives and false positives yielding superior predictive values. Recursive testing improves predictive values. Visual logistics facilitate test comparisons. Antigen test quality falls off as prevalence increases. Multiplex severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2)*Influenza A/B*Respiratory-Syncytial Virus (RSV) testing performs reasonably well compared to Tier 3. Tier 3 performance with a Tier 2 confidence band lower limit will generate excellent performance and reliability. Conclusions. The overriding principle is select the best combined performance and reliability pattern for the prevalence bracket. Some public health professionals recommend repetitive testing to compensate for low sensitivity. More logically, improved COVID-19 assays with less uncertainty conserve resources. Multiplex differentiation of COVID-19 from Influenza A/B-RSV represents an effective strategy if seasonal flu surges next year.

scholarly journals Good, Bad, and Ugly: Partner Support and Quality of Life Among Couples Facing Skin Cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 430-430
Author(s):  
Laura Butner-Kozimor ◽  
Jyoti Savla
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Perceived Support ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Path Analyses ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Negative Support

Abstract When older adults in partnered relationships face a skin cancer diagnosis of one partner, couples may rely on one another for support. Previous studies have found that perceived support can influence one’s adjustment to the stressors associated with the skin cancer diagnosis, as well as influence the overall quality of life. Using dyadic data from 30 older couples (Mage = 70; SD = 7.25), this study examined positive and negative relationship-focused support strategies each partner provided and effects on the dyad’s quality of life. Dyadic path analyses simultaneously examined the impact of support received by one’s partner and its association with their own quality of life (actor effects) and their partner’s quality of life (partner effects). Positive support received by either partner, in the form of active engagement, was not associated with quality of life. In contrast, negative support in the form of protective buffering received from supporting partners was associated with poorer quality of life for themselves (β = -.37, p = .05) as well as for partners with skin cancer (β = -.43, p = .01). Similarly, overprotection, also a negative support strategy, by supporting partners was associated with poorer quality of life for partners with skin cancer (β = -.63, p < .001). Findings illustrate that not all types of support are beneficial for the overall couple relationship and couple outcomes. Implications for practice and interventions for older couples facing a cancer diagnosis will be discussed.

An Exploration of the Relationships Between Different Reading Strategies and IELTS Test Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Rob Kim Marjerison ◽  
Pengfei Liu ◽  
Liam P. Duffy ◽  
Rongjuan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Reading Tests ◽  
Reading Processes ◽  
Academic Reading ◽  
Correlational Design ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Test Outcomes ◽  
Us University

This study explores which types of IELTS Academic Reading strategies are used, and the impact of these strategies on test outcomes. The study was a quantitative research, using descriptive-correlational design based on data collected from students at Sino-US University in China. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The method used in this study was a partial replication the work of a previous researcher's exploration of the reading processes learners engage in when taking IELTS Reading tests. Participants first finished an IELTS reading test, and then completed a written retrospective protocol. The analysis reveals that there is a moderately positive relationship between the choice of text preview strategy (from 1 to 5) and the outcome. A pattern was identified that using expeditious reading strategies to initially locate information, and more careful reading strategies to identify answers to the question tasks was common among high-scoring participants.

scholarly journals The impact of pre-task planning on speaking test performance for English-medium university admission

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan O’Grady
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Planning Time ◽  
University Admission ◽  
The Impact

This study investigated the impact of different lengths of pre-task planning time on performance in a test of second language speaking ability for university admission. In the study, 47 Turkish-speaking learners of English took a test of English language speaking ability. The participants were divided into two groups according to their language proficiency, which was estimated through a paper-based English placement test. They each completed four monologue tasks: two picture-based narrative tasks and two description tasks. In a balanced design, each test taker was allowed a different length of planning time before responding to each of the four tasks. The four planning conditions were 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes. Trained raters awarded scores to the test takers using an analytic rating scale and a context-specific, binary-choice rating scale, designed specifically for the study. The results of the rater scores were analysed by using a multifaceted Rasch measurement. The impact of pre-task planning on test scores was found to be influenced by four variables: the rating scale; the task type that test takers completed; the length of planning time provided; and the test takers’ levels of proficiency in the second language. Increases in scores were larger on the picture-based narrative tasks than on the two description tasks. The results also revealed a relationship between proficiency and pre-task planning, whereby statistical significance was only reached for the increases in the scores of the lowest-level test takers. Regarding the amount of planning time, the 5-minute planning condition led to the largest overall increases in scores. The research findings offer contributions to the study of pre-task planning and will be of particular interest to institutions seeking to assess the speaking ability of prospective students in English-medium educational environments.

How can leader humor enhance subordinates’ service creativity? The moderator of subordinates’ SFIT and the mediator of role modeling

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 865-882
Author(s):  
Leiqing Peng ◽  
Shaohui Lei ◽  
Yulang Guo ◽  
Fei Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Service Industry ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Role Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moderated Mediation Model ◽  
Path Analyses ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeAs an essential personality charm of leaders, humor can bring a series of positive outcomes to both users and receivers. However, there is also evidence that the impact of leaders’ humor (LH) is constrained by individuals, teams and organizational factors. The aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between LH and subordinates’ service creativity. Based on social learning theory and previous literature on LH, this paper identifies role modeling as the mediator and suggests that subordinates’ sensitivity to favorable interpersonal treatment (SFIT) moderates these relationships.Design/methodology/approachIn order to test the proposed moderated mediation model, this study employed hierarchical multiple regression and path analyses with valid data of 348 samples.FindingsResults revealed that LH positively affects role modeling and service creativity of subordinates, while subordinates' SFIT positively moderates the relationship between LH and subordinates' service creativity via role modeling.Practical implicationsIn compliance with these findings, this research suggests that enterprises should pay attention to the role of humor from middle managers and strengthen managers' role modeling through multiple measures to establish a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere in the workplace.Originality/valueBuilt on the conceptual framework, this study contributes to the literature on LH and employees’ service creativity by treating role modeling as the mechanism and SFIT as the moderator. This research is one of the first few empirical studies to investigate the relationship between LH and service creativity of service personnel in the service industry.

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