Abstract not available.

M.A. (Applied Linguistics) / The South African English Academy requested that an investigation be undertaken on the feasibility of producing a battery of English proficiency tests in the four modes (listening, speaking, reading and writing) which are free of ethnic labels. For the purpose of this study the aural and oral modes will be developed first as these are the two modes from which language arises. These tests are intended to be universal language tests which will be appropriate for both English first and second language learners. They will be undertaken with mother tongue standards as the first point of departure. It is proposed that mother tongue speakers represent the "universal" standard to which second language speakers aspire, although we are fully aware that native speakers show considerable variation in ability. First language norms will be taken as the norm of performance for this study because it assumed that this is what most second language learners would aspire to. This study will attempt to provide a valid and reliable measuring instrument to facilitate the correct placement of pupils in schools where English is the medium of instruction. Of particular importance is the fact that these are not tests of absolute competence, but are tests of progressive competence. No pupil is a failure, the pupils performance is measured on a continuum of six levels in the senior primary phase. This will enable the teacher to assist each pupil to progress at his own pace according to his own ability. There is a very definite need for performance tests in English since tests of communicative competence in English that are "universal in nature" are not available in South Africa. A standardised test battery aimed at measuring the language proficiency (of the heterogeneous population at the senior primary level) across all four language modes, does not exist in South Africa. The problem is to .develop tests with tasks at the appropriate level for a heterogeneous population and produce evidence regarding their validity. Although subjective and objective assessment methods are commonly used, the merits of the one method as opposed to the other are still debated. The importance of investigating the relationship between the multiple-choice aural test (by means of objective and indirect assessment) and the productive oral test (by means of subjective and direct assessment) cannot be underestimated.

No description available.

Strategic competence, or the cognitive resources necessary for utilizing language knowledge, is widely recognized as an essential component of second language (L2) ability. However, research on strategic competence in the context of L2 speaking assessment has been limited, and findings have been inconsistent, making it challenging to discern the nature of strategic competence and its relationship with L2 speaking performance. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine the cognitive dimension of L2 academic speaking ability and its role in L2 speaking performance. In an effort to capture a broadened construct of L2 academic speaking ability through the assessment of a real-world academic speaking competency that calls for the L2 learner’s use of language, topical, and cognitive resources, the current study utilized a scenario-based academic speaking test (i.e., SBEST) to assess the test-takers’ ability to orally present their ideas on a disciplinary topic. The SBEST was administered to 155 adult English language learners. The test scenario simulated an online journalism class, and the culminating task of the scenario required the test-takers’ participation in an online discussion forum. The test-takers were asked to listen to audio-visual materials on a specific topic related to journalism and perform a series of coherently sequenced strategy tasks leading up to the scenario goal. The strategy tasks were designed to elicit and assess the test-takers’ use of eight different cognitive and metacognitive strategies. The performances on the strategy tasks were scored and quantitatively analyzed using a variety of data analysis procedures (e.g., mean comparison, multiple regression, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling) to investigate the functionality of the test instrument and its underlying constructs, explore the nature of test-taker performance, and examine the effects of strategic competence on L2 speaking performance. The findings indicated that the SBEST is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing academic speaking ability where L2, topical, and cognitive resources are required to effectively demonstrate the target academic speaking competency. The test-takers also exhibited improvement in their speaking performance, especially with regard to their disciplinary topical knowledge, suggesting that the SBEST facilitated learning. Additionally, the results provided supporting evidence that strategic competence is an integral component of L2 academic speaking ability and a significant contributor to L2 speaking performance. Finally, the study demonstrated that strategic competence can be appropriately addressed, operationalized, and possibly even scored in L2 assessments.