ERIC Number: EJ1234670
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1543-4303
EISSN: N/A
Exploring the Use of a Dual Language Assessment Task to Assess Young English Learners
Guzman-Orth, Danielle A.; Lopez, Alexis A.; Tolentino, Florencia
Language Assessment Quarterly, v16 n4-5 p447-463 2019
The purpose of this study was to create and prototype a dual language assessment task that allows young English learners to use their entire cadre of linguistic resources (language and non-verbal resources) to obtain information about their emergent language abilities. We developed a dual language assessment task in which students described a picture, predicted a story, and retold a story. This task allows students to translanguage, that is, to use all their linguistic resources in ways that fit their communicative needs, and the students' responses are scored regardless of the language(s) or communicative strategies that are used. In this paper, we report our findings concerning how 17 kindergarten Spanish-speaking English learners in the United States interacted with the dual language assessment task, whether and how they used their language (e.g., English and Spanish) and non-verbal (e.g., body movements, gestures, gazes, visual cues, posture, drawings, signs) resources, and what we learned about their cross-linguistic emergent language abilities.
Descriptors: Bilingualism, English Language Learners, Language Tests, Task Analysis, Second Language Learning, Code Switching (Language), Native Language, Language Usage, Spanish Speaking, Nonverbal Communication, Freehand Drawing, Scoring, Kindergarten, Computer Assisted Testing, Spanish, Bilingual Education Programs, Immersion Programs, English (Second Language)
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A