Assessing Speaking in Context: Expanding the Construct and its Applications(149 Second Language Acquisition)

This edited volume investigates the nature and possible applications of an expanded and reconceptualized theoretical construct of speaking as a dynamic socially-constructed endeavour. It addresses both theoretical perspectives and methodological procedures to define and circumscribe the assessment of contextualized speaking. The chapters focus on the complexity brought about by actual interactional competence in speaking tasks and discuss how testing and assessment models and practices can incorporate recent research findings on the inherently dynamic and situated nature of language use. The volume presents research on language assessment in a variety of languages other than English, including French, Chinese and Japanese. It also examines the role that embodied action (gaze, gesture, orientation to materials and texts in the environment) plays in assessment practices, an area that has heretofore remained under-explored. Chapter 6 is free to download as an open access publication under a CC BY NC ND licence. You can access it here: https://zenodo.org/record/5163340#.YQvJ0IhKjcs

Table of Contents:
Contributors Part 1: Conceptual and Theoretical Issues 1. M. Rafael Salaberry and Alfred Rue Burch: Assessing Speaking in Context: Expanding the Construct and the Applications 2. Carsten Roever and David Wei Dai: Reconceptualising Interactional Competence for Language Testing 3. India Plough: A Case for Nonverbal Behavior: Implications for Construct, Performance and Assessment Part 2: Collecting and Rating Speaking Data 4. Alfred Rue Burch and Gabriele Kasper: Task Instruction in OPI Roleplays 5. Soo Jung Youn and Shi Chen: Investigating Raters’ Scoring Processes and Strategies in Paired Speaking Assessment 6. Erica Sandlund and Pia Sundqvist: Rating and Reflecting: Displaying Rater Identities in Collegial L2 English Oral Assessment This chapter is open access under a CC BY NC ND licence and can be downloaded for free at https://zenodo.org/record/5163340#.YQvJ0IhKjcs Part 3: Designing Speaking Assessment Tests 7. Katharina Kley, Silvia Kunitz and Meng Yeh: Jiazhou? Is it California? Operationalizing Repair in Classroom-based Assessment 8. Remi Adam van Compernolle: Observing and Assessing Interactional Competence in Dynamic Strategic Interaction Scenarios 9. Shane Dunkle: Using Social Deduction Board Games to Assess and Strengthen Interactional Competence in ESL Learners 10. Dagmar Barth-Weingarten and Britta Freitag-Hild: Assessing Interactional Competence in Secondary Schools: Issues of Turn-taking Part 4: Using New Technologies to Assess Speaking 11. Jayoung Song and Wei-Li Hsu: Design and Implementation of a Classroom-based Virtual Reality Assessment 12. Noriko Iwashita, Lyn May and Paul Moore: Operationalising Interactional Competence in Computer-mediated Speaking Tests 13. M. Rafael Salaberry and Alfred Rue Burch: Assessing Speaking in the Post-COVID-19 Era: A Look Towards the Future Index

About the Author :
M. Rafael Salaberry is Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Humanities at Rice University, USA. His research interests include second language acquisition and use, multilingualism, bilingual education, assessment and teaching methodology. Together with S. Kunitz, he is the co-editor of Teaching and Testing Interactional Competence: Bridging Theory and Practice (2019, Routledge). Alfred Rue Burch is an Associate Professor at Kobe University, Japan. His research interests include conversation analysis, discursive psychology, second language acquisition and use, and task-based language teaching and testing.  

Review :
A refreshingly provocative collection challenging traditional large-scale approaches to oral language assessment. A convincing case is made for how assessment of interactive communication requires small-scale efforts. The volume concludes that the assessment of interactive communication in all its sociolinguistic grandeur requires new approaches to test construction and ratings, as well as revised thinking as to how results are to be utilized. This exciting collection of diverse perspectives from leading experts in L2 speaking assessment consolidates new thinking on the construct of interactional competence. Tackling the theoretical and practical implications of embracing a broader speaking construct, it is essential reading for researchers and practitioners in classroom or large-scale testing contexts. ...the book offers much of value to readers who recognise the importance of developing interactional competence for second language learners, including students who need English for academic purposes. It will be of greater interest to researchers and practitioners who have a commitment to assessing this component of communicative competence, especially when the EAP students they work with need to acquire professional skills in oral interaction to a high degree, such as majors in business, law and the health sciences. ...this volume contributes to the literature by focusing on both established and new speaking test instruments and presenting cutting-edge research with fine-grained analysis, thus serving as illuminating and inspiring cases for future investigation.