At the interface between language testing and second language acquisition PDF
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University of Iowa Iowa Research Online Theses and Dissertations Spring 2011 At the interface between language testing and second language acquisition: communicative language ability and test-taker characteristics Lin Gu University of Iowa Copyright 2011 LIN GU This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/972 Recommended Citation Gu, Lin. "At the interface between language testing and second language acquisition: communicative language ability and test-taker characteristics." PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thesis, University of Iowa, 2011. https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.f75a1duv Follow this and additional works at:https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd Part of theFirst and Second Language Acquisition Commons AT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN LANGUAGE TESTING AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE ABILITY AND TEST-TAKER CHARACTERISTICS by Lin Gu An Abstract Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Second Language Acquisition in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa May 2011 Thesis Supervisors: Associate Professor Judith E. Liskin-Gasparro Associate Professor Timothy N. Ansley 1 ABSTRACT The present study investigates the nature of communicative language ability as manifested in performance on the TOEFL iBT® test, as well as the relationship between this ability with test-takers’ study-abroad and learning experiences. The research interest in the nature of language ability is shared by the language testing community, whereas understanding the factors that affect language acquisition has been a focus of attention in the field of second language acquisition (Bachman & Cohen, 1998). This study utilizes a structural equation modeling approach, a hybrid of factor analysis and path analysis, to address issues at the interface between language testing and second language acquisition. The purpose of this study is two-fold. The first has a linguistic focus: to provide empirical evidence to enhance our understanding of the nature of communicative language ability by examining the dimensionality of this construct in both its absolute and relative senses. The second purpose, which has a social and cultural orientation, is to investigate the possible educational, social, and cultural influences on the acquisition of English as a foreign language, and the relationships between test performance and test- taker characteristics. The results revealed that the ability measured by the test was predominantly skill- oriented. The role of the context of language use in defining communicative language ability could not be confirmed due to a lack of empirical evidence. As elicited by the test, this ability was found to have equivalent underlying representations in two groups of test- takers with different context-of-learning experiences. The common belief in the superiority of the study-abroad environment over learning in the home country could not be upheld. Furthermore, both study-abroad and home-country learning were proved to 2 have significant associations with aspects of the language ability, although the results also suggested that variables other than the ones specified in the models may have had an impact on the development of the ability being investigated. From a test validation point of view, the results of this study provide crucial validity evidence regarding the test’s internal structure, this structure’s generalizability across subgroups of test-takers, as well as its external relationships with relevant test- taker characteristics. Such a validity inquiry contributes to our understanding of what constitutes the test construct, and how this construct interacts with the individual and socio-cultural variables of foreign language learners and test-takers. Abstract Approved: _________________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor _________________________________________________ Title and Department _________________________________________________ Date _________________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor _________________________________________________ Title and Department ________________________________________________ Date AT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN LANGUAGE TESTING AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE ABILITY AND TEST-TAKER CHARACTERISTICS by Lin Gu A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Second Language Acquisition in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa May 2011 Thesis Supervisors: Associate Professor Judith E. Liskin-Gasparro Associate Professor Timothy N. Ansley Copyright by LIN GU 2011 All Rights Reserved Graduate College The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ____________________________ PH.D. THESIS _____________ This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of Lin Gu has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Second Language Acquisition at the May 2011 graduation. Thesis Committee: ________________________________________ Judith E. Liskin-Gasparro, Thesis Supervisor ________________________________________ Timothy N. Ansley, Thesis Supervisor ________________________________________ Helen H. Shen ________________________________________ Lia M. Plakans ________________________________________ Bonnie S. Sunstein To my loved ones: 献给我亲爱的: Mother 母亲 卓志华 女士 Father 父亲 顾生根 先生 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Liskin-Gasparro, for her guidance, help, and encouragement in every phase of this dissertation study. Without her belief in me and her unfailing support, I would not have been able to see this study to its completion. I am also indebted to Dr. Ansley for his insightful comments and challenging questions. The training I received from studying in his department helped me tremendously to conceptualize and implement this research project. Sincere thanks also go to Dr. Plakans, Dr. Shen, and Dr. Sunstein for their warm encouragement throughout the conduct of this study. I would like to thank the Graduate College of the University of Iowa and Educational Testing Service for funding this research project, and to thank Educational Testing Service for permissions granted to use their copyrighted test material and data. Last, but not least, I wish to express my deep gratitude to my parents, to Mary, and to Walker for their support and love. iii ABSTRACT The present study investigates the nature of communicative language ability as manifested in performance on the TOEFL iBT® test, as well as the relationship between this ability with test-takers’ study-abroad and learning experiences. The research interest in the nature of language ability is shared by the language testing community, whereas understanding the factors that affect language acquisition has been a focus of attention in the field of second language acquisition (Bachman & Cohen, 1998). This study utilizes a structural equation modeling approach, a hybrid of factor analysis and path analysis, to address issues at the interface between language testing and second language acquisition. The purpose of this study is two-fold. The first has a linguistic focus: to provide empirical evidence to enhance our understanding of the nature of communicative language ability by examining the dimensionality of this construct in both its absolute and relative senses. The second purpose, which has a social and cultural orientation, is to investigate the possible educational, social, and cultural influences on the acquisition of English as a foreign language, and the relationships between test performance and test- taker characteristics. The results revealed that the ability measured by the test was predominantly skill- oriented. The role of the context of language use in defining communicative language ability could not be confirmed due to a lack of empirical evidence. As elicited by the test, this ability was found to have equivalent underlying representations in two groups of test- takers with different context-of-learning experiences. The common belief in the superiority of the study-abroad environment over learning in the home country could not be upheld. Furthermore, both study-abroad and home-country learning were proved to iv
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