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ERIC Number: EJ1172162
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Apr
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0265-5322
EISSN: N/A
Young Learners' Response Processes When Taking Computerized Tasks for Speaking Assessment
Lee, Shinhye; Winke, Paula
Language Testing, v35 n2 p239-269 Apr 2018
We investigated how young language learners process their responses on and perceive a computer-mediated, timed speaking test. Twenty 8-, 9-, and 10-year-old non-native English-speaking children (NNSs) and eight same-aged, native English-speaking children (NSs) completed seven computerized sample TOEFL® Primary™ speaking test tasks. We investigated the children's attentional foci on different test components (e.g., prompts, pictures, and a countdown timer) by means of their eye movements. We associated the children's eye-movement indices (visit counts and fixation durations) with spoken performance. The children provided qualitative data (interviews; picture-drawings) on their test experiences as well. Results indicated a clear contrast between NNSs and NSs in terms of speech production (large score differences) as expected. More interestingly, the groups' eye-movement patterns differed. NNSs tended to fixate longer on and looked more frequently at the countdown timer than their NS peers, who were more likely to look at content features, that is, onscreen pictures meant to help with building up speech. Specifically, the NNSs' fixations on timers were likely to co-occur with hesitation phenomena (e.g., hemming; pausing; silence). We discuss (a) the potential effects of test-specific features on children's performance and (b) child-appropriate test accommodations and practices.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of English as a Foreign Language
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A