Language and Culture in the Multi-Ethnic Community: Spoken-Language Assessment

In Language Assessment Across Modalities: Paired-Papers on Signed and Spoken Language Assessment, volume editors Tobias Haug, Wolfgang Mann, and Ute Knoch bring together—for the first time—researchers, clinicians, and practitioners from two different fields: signed language and spoken language. The volume examines theoretical and practical issues related to 12 topics ranging from test development and language assessment of bi-/multilingual learners to construct issues of second-language assessment (including the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR]) and language assessment literacy in second-language assessment contexts. Each topic is addressed separately for spoken and signed language by experts from the relevant field. This is followed by a joint discussion in which the chapter authors highlight key issues in each field and their possible implications for the other field. What makes this volume unique is that it is the first of its kind to bring experts from signed and spoken language assessment to the same table. The dialogues that result from this collaboration not only help to establish a shared appreciation and understanding of challenges experienced in the new field of signed language assessment but also breathes new life into and provides a new perspective on some of the issues that have occupied the field of spoken language assessment for decades. It is hoped that this will open the door to new and exciting cross-disciplinary collaborations.

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Discussion of Issues Related to Assessment of Signed or Spoken Language Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

10.1093/oso/9780190885052.003.0013 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 145-152

Author(s):

Amy Kissel Frisbie ◽

Aaron Shield ◽

Deborah Mood ◽

Nicole Salamy ◽

Jonathan Henner

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Developmental Disorders ◽

Language Assessment ◽

Spoken Language ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Pragmatic Language ◽

Signed Language ◽

Pragmatic Language Skills ◽

Language Assessments ◽

Hearing Children

This chapter is a joint discussion of key items presented in Chapters 4.1 and 4.2 related to the assessment of deaf and hearing children on the autism spectrum . From these chapters it becomes apparent that a number of aspects associated with signed language assessment are relevant to spoken language assessment. For example, there are several precautions to bear in mind about language assessments obtained via an interpreter. Some of these precautions apply solely to D/HH children, while others are applicable to assessments with hearing children in multilingual contexts. Equally, there are some aspects of spoken language assessment that can be applied to signed language assessment. These include the importance of assessing pragmatic language skills, assessing multiple areas of language development, differentiating between ASD and other developmental disorders, and completing the language evaluation within a developmental framework. The authors conclude with suggestions for both spoken and signed language assessment.

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Discussion on Scoring Issues in Second Signed or Spoken Language Assessment

10.1093/oso/9780190885052.003.0028 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 329-332

Author(s):

Tobias Haug ◽

Ute Knoch ◽

Wolfgang Mann

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Nonverbal Communication ◽

Rasch Analysis ◽

Language Assessment ◽

Spoken Language ◽

Rater Training ◽

Signed Language ◽

Language Assessments ◽

New Research

This chapter is a joint discussion of key items related to scoring issues related to signed and spoken language assessment that were discussed in Chapters 9.1 and 9.2. One aspect of signed language assessment that has the potential to stimulate new research in spoken second language (L2) assessment is the scoring of nonverbal speaker behaviors. This aspect is rarely represented in the scoring criteria of spoken assessments and in many cases not even available to raters during the scoring process. The authors argue, therefore, for a broadening of the construct of spoken language assessment to also include elements of nonverbal communication in the scoring descriptors. Additionally, the importance of rater training for signed language assessments, application of Rasch analysis to investigate possible reasons of disagreement between raters, and the need to conduct research on rasting scales are discussed.

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Incorporating Uncertainty into Deep Learning for Spoken Language Assessment

10.18653/v1/p17-2008 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrey Malinin ◽

Anton Ragni ◽

Kate Knill ◽

Mark Gales

Keyword(s):

Deep Learning ◽

Language Assessment ◽

Spoken Language

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Discussion of Issues Related to Language Assessment Literacy in Second Signed and Spoken Languages

10.1093/oso/9780190885052.003.0034 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 395-400

Author(s):

Eveline Boers-Visker ◽

Kathrin Eberharter ◽

Annemiek Hammer ◽

Luke Harding ◽

Benjamin Kremmel

Keyword(s):

Language Assessment ◽

Spoken Language ◽

The Other ◽

Core Area ◽

Assessment Literacy ◽

Collaborative Process ◽

Signed Languages ◽

Recent Scholarship ◽

New Development ◽

Considerable Body

This chapter is a joint discussion of key items related to language assessment literacy related to signed and spoken language assessment that were discussed in Chapters 11.1 and 11.2, and the implications that these issues might have on the other field. It is clear that language assessment literacy (LAL) in the context of signed languages—(S)LAL by the authors—is still in a very nascent form. Although in the field of spoken language assessment there is a tendency to discuss LAL as being a “new” development and recent scholarship suggests that issues and constructs remain undertheorized, there is a considerable body of literature on LAL oriented toward spoken language (as surveyed in the Chapter 11.1), to the extent that LAL is now a core area of research and scholarship in the field. This is in sharp contrast with the paucity addressing LAL in the context of signed languages. This chapter is the result of a collaborative process during which the two sets of authors read each other’s chapters and responded to a set of guided questions. The result is the synthesis of this dialogic process.

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Discussion on New Technologies in Spoken and Signed Language Assessment

10.1093/oso/9780190885052.003.0037 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 431-436

Author(s):

Sarah Ebling ◽

Phuong Nguyen ◽

Volker Hegelheimer ◽

Necati Cihan Camgöz ◽

Richard Bowden

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

New Technologies ◽

Language Assessment ◽

Spoken Language ◽

Management Systems ◽

Language Recognition ◽

Interactional Competence ◽

Signed Language ◽

Technological Developments

This chapter discusses the implications of second language (L2) spoken assessment technologies and signed language assessment technologies. Specifically, the authors discuss how signed language recognition technology can be applied for the assessment of interactional competence in L2 spoken language assessment. The chapter outlines assessment management systems and the improvement of signed language recognition and animation technologies as important steps to support L2 signed language assessment. The authors also propose directions for future technological developments in both spoken language and signed language assessment. This chapter is a joint discussion of key items related to the use of new technologies in signed and spoken language assessment that were discussed in Chapters 12.1 and 12.2.

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Language and Culture in Testing

The ITC International Handbook of Testing and Assessment ◽

10.1093/med:psych/9780199356942.003.0021 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 300-317 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Franziska Schwabe ◽

Alina A. von Davier ◽

Micheline Chalhoub-Deville

Keyword(s):

Linguistically Diverse ◽

Language Assessment ◽

Test Construction ◽

Language Minority ◽

Diverse Populations ◽

Cultural Backgrounds ◽

Language And Culture ◽

Target Populations ◽

The World ◽

Work Done

Testing culturally and linguistically diverse populations challenges test developers and test users across the world. In the context of educational and psychological tests, validity and fairness issues associated with developing these tests have increased substantially due to significant changes in the test takers’ demographics. This chapter focuses on four interrelated issues pertaining to language and culture in testing (LCT): test purposes, constructs to be measured, target populations, and test construction and data analysis. All issues are discussed in the light of fairness and validity for test takers from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Special attention is given to language-minority test takers. The chapter combines research results from different perspectives with a special emphasis on work done in the fields of language assessment and psychometrics. Examples of language and educational content assessments are provided and discussed from different perspectives.

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