Theses Doctoral

Examining assistance in a scenario-based test of L2 argumentative speaking ability: A learning-oriented approach for assessing complex competencies in language education.

Beltran Zuniga, Jorge Luis

The current study explored the assessment of English Language Learners’ argumentative speaking ability. Specifically, the study involved the development and administration of a scenario-based test that aimed to measure learners’ ability to display competency in L2 argumentative speaking ability by building an argument from factual evidence and presenting it to a simulated audience. In addition, the study aimed to examine whether embedding assistance in the test can help overcome gaps in background knowledge.

Following a mixed-methods approach, results from the test administration were analyzed using robust statistical analyses (e.g., MG-Theory, Rasch Analysis, Multiple Regression) and qualitative analysis of the responses (e.g., rhetorical moves and theme-based analysis). A learning-oriented approach (Purpura & Turner, 2018) to assessment as a design and validation framework was used to interpret qualitative and quantitative evidence.

It is hoped that this research project will shed light on the assessment of a foreign language within complex tasks and will help understand the affordances of implementing embedded assistance in language assessment.

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More About This Work

Academic Units
Arts and Humanities
Thesis Advisors
Purpura, James Enos
Degree
Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University
Published Here
February 21, 2024