Validating the scoring inference of the Japanese OPI ratings: the use of extended turns, connective expressions, and discourse organization
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2014-08
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University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Adopting Kane's (2006) argument-based approach to validity as a guiding framework, this study examined the scoring inference of the OPI ratings based on the level descriptions in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, with a focus on the "text type" criterion. The Guidelines state that Intermediate speakers typically produce "sentences" while Advanced speakers are capable of using "connected discourse of paragraph length" (ACTFL, 2012c, pp. 5--8). However, there is little empirical evidence to support such characterizations. In an attempt to fill this gap, this conversation analytic study investigated the appropriateness of the text type criterion by examining how Intermediate and Advanced candidates participated in turn-taking in the OPI and responded to the OPI's narration and description tasks, which were designed to elicit a "connected discourse of paragraph length." The focal data consisted of audio/video recordings of 15 face-to-face Japanese OPIs. From a larger pool of OPI data collected for program assessment research by the College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, three OPIs for each of the five (sub)levels ranging from Intermediate-Low to Advanced-Mid were randomly selected and transcribed. The study found that while the candidates at higher proficiency levels tended to demonstrate superior ability to use connective expressions in their discourse, the level descriptions concerning the text type criterion did not necessarily match actual candidate performance, especially for the lower proficiency levels (Intermediate-Low/Mid). The problems seemed to reside in the Guidelines' failure to recognize the candidates' interactional competence to produce sequentially appropriate actions in an orderly manner, as well as the use of units of analysis for writing (e.g., sentences, paragraphs) to describe oral proficiency. Further research is called for in order to collect more empirical evidence to inform future revisions of the Guidelines.
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English language--Spoken English--Examinations, English language--Study and teaching--Japanese speakers, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
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Theses for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (University of Hawaii at Manoa). East Asian Languages and Literatures (Japanese).
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