In this article one aspect of the many interfaces between second language (L2)
learning and L2 testing is examined. The aspect that is examined is the oral
interaction - the dialogue - that occurs within small groups. Discussed from within
a sociocultural theory of mind, the point is made that, in a group, performance is
jointly constructed and distributed across the participants. Dialogues construct
cognitive and strategic processes which in turn construct student performance,
information which may be invaluable in validating inferences drawn from test scores.
Furthermore, student dialogues provide opportunities for language learning, i.e.,
opportunities for the joint construction of knowledge. It is suggested that an
examination of the content of these dialogues can provide test developers with
targets for measurement. Other implications for L2 testing are also discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anton, M.
and
DiCamilla, F.1998:
Socio-cognitive functions of L1 collaborative interaction in the L2 classroom
. The Canadian Modern Language Review54,
314-342
.
2.
Bachman, L. F.
and
Cohen, A. D.
, editors, 1998: Interfaces between second language
acquisition and language testing research.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
.
3.
Banerjee, J.
and
Luoma, S.1997: Qualitative approaches to test validation. In
Clapham, C.
and
Corson, D.
, editors, Encyclopedia of language and education, Volume 7: Language
testing and assessment.
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic
, 275-287.
4.
Berry, V. 2000: An investigation into how individual differences in
personality affect the complexity of language test tasks. Unpublished PhD thesis,
King’s College, University of London.
5.
Chapelle, C.1998: Construct definition and validity inquiry in SLA
research. In
Bachman, L. F.
and
Cohen, A. D.
, editors, Interfaces between second language acquisition and language
testing research.
Cambridge, Cambridge University press
, 32-70.
6.
Cole, M.1996: Cultural psychology.
Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press
.
7.
Fulcher, G.1996:
Testing tasks: issues in task design and the group oral
. Language Testing13,
23-51
.
8.
Gass, S.1997: Input, interaction and the second language learner.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
.
9.
Green, A.1998: Verbal protocol analysis in language testing research: a
handbook.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
.
10.
Halliday, M. A. K.
and
Matthiessen, C. M. I. M.1999: Construing experience through meaning: a language-based
approach to cognition.
London: Cassell
.
11.
Hilsdon, J.1991: The group oral exam: advantages and limitations.
In
Alderson, J. C.
and
North, B.
, editors, Language testing in the 1990s.
London: Modern English Publications and the
British Council
, 189-197.
12.
Kowal, M.
and
Swain, M.1994:
Using collaborative language production tasks to promote
students’ language awareness
. Language Awareness3,
73-93
.
13.
Kowal, M.
and
Swain, M.1997: From semantic to syntactic processing: how can we promote
metalinguistic awareness in the French immersion classroom? In
Johnson, R. K.
and
Swain, M.
, editors, Immersion education: international perspectives.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
, 284-309.
14.
Kramsch, C.1995:
The applied linguist and the foreign language teacher: can they talk to
each other?Australian Review of Applied Linguistics18,
1-16
.
15.
Lantolf, J. P.
, editor, 2000a: Sociocultural theory and second language
learning.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
.
16.
Lantolf, J. P.2000b:
Second language learning as a mediated process
. Language Teaching33,
79-96
.
17.
Lantolf, J. P.
and
Appel, G.
, editors, 1994: Vygotskian approaches to second language
research.
Norwood, NJ: Ablex
, 1-32.
18.
Lazarton, A.1992:
The structural organization of a language interview: a conversation
analytic perspective
. System20,
373-386
.
19.
Lumley, T.
and
Brown, A.1996: Specific-purpose language performance tests: task and
interaction. In
Wigglesworth, G.
and
Elder, C.
, editors, The language testing cycle: from inception to washback.
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, Series S, Number 13, 105-136.
20.
McNamara, T.1997:
‘Interaction’ in second language performance
assessment: whose performance?Applied Linguistics18,
446-466
.
21.
Pica, T.1994:
Research on negotiation: what does it reveal about second-language learning
conditions, processes and outcomes?Language Learning44,
493-527
.
22.
Pica, T.
,
Kanagy, R.
and
Falodun, J.1994: Choosing and using communication tasks for second language
instruction. In
Crookes, G.
and
Gass, S.
, editors, Tasks and language learning: integrating theory and
practice.
Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual Matters
, 9-34.
23.
Purpura, J. E.1998: The development and construct validation of an instrument
designed to investigate selected cognitive background characteristics of
test-takers. In
Kunnan, A. J.
, editor, Validation in language assessment.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
, 111-139.
24.
Shohamy, E.
,
Donitsa-Schmidt, S.
and
Waizer, R.
1993:
The effect of the elicitation mode on the language samples obtained on oral tests
. Paper presented at the Language Testing Research
Colloquium, Cambridge, UK. Available from the authors.
25.
Shohamy, E.
,
Reves, T.
and
Bejarano, Y.1986:
Introducing a new comprehensive test of oral proficiency
. English Language Teaching Journal40,
212-220
.
26.
Skehan, P.1998: A cognitive approach to language learning.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
.
27.
Reprinted in
Savignon, S.
and
Berns, M.
, editors, Initiatives in communicative language teaching.
Reading, MA: Addison Wesley
, 185-201.
28.
Swain, M.1995: Three functions of output in second language
learning. In
Cook, G.
and
Seidlhofer, B.
, editors, Principle and practice in applied linguistics: studies in
honour of H.G. Widdowson.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
, 125-144.
29.
Swain, M.2000: The output hypothesis and beyond: mediating acquisition
through collaborative dialogue. In
Lantolf, J. P.
, editor, Sociocultural theory and second language learning.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
, 97-114.
30.
Swain, M.
and
Lapkin, S.1998:
Interaction and second language learning: two adolescent French immersion
students working together
. Modern Language Journal82,
320-337
.
31.
Swain, M.
and
Lapkin, S.2000a: Focus on form through collaborative dialogue: exploring
task effects. In
Bygate, M.
,
Skehan, P.
and
Swain, M.
, editors, Researching pedagogic tasks: second language learning,
teaching, and testing.
London: Longman
, 99-118.
32.
Swain, M.
and
Lapkin, S.2000b:
Task-based second language learning: the uses of the first language
. Language Teaching Research4,
253-276
.
33.
Swain, M.
and
Lapkin, S.
2001:
What learners notice in their reformulated writing, what they learn from
it, and their insights into the process
. Paper presented at the AAAL Annual Conference,
St. Louis, MI. Available from the authors.
34.
UCLES (University of Cambridge Local Examinations syndicate)1996: First certificate in English handbook.
Cambridge. UCLES
.
35.
van Lier, L.1989:
Reeling, writhing, drawling, stretching, and fainting in coils: oral
proficiency interviews as conversation
. TESOL Quarterly23,
489-508
.
36.
van Lier, L.2000: From input to affordance: social-interactive learning from
an ecological perspective. In
Lantolf, J. P.
, editor, Sociocultural theory and second language learning.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
, 245-259.
37.
Vygotsky, L. S.1978: Mind in society: the development of higher psychological
processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
38.
Vygotsky, L. S.1987: Thought and speech. In
Rieber, R. W.
and
Carton, A. S.
, editors, The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky: Volume 1.
New York: Plenum
, 243-285.
39.
Webb, N. W.1993:
Collaborative group versus individual assessment in mathematics: processes
and outcomes
. Educational Assessment1,
131-152
.
40.
Wells, G.1999: Dialogic inquiry: towards a sociocultural practice and theory
of education.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
.
41.
Wertsch, J. V.1980:
The significance of dialogue in Vygotsky’s account of social,
egocentric, and inner speech
. Contemporary Educational Psychology5,
150-162
.
42.
Wertsch, J. V.1985: Vygotsky and the social formation of mind.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
43.
Wertsch, J. V.1991: Voices of the mind: a sociocultural approach to mediated
action.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
44.
Wesche, M.
and
Paribakht, S.2000:
Reading-based exercises in second language vocabulary learning: an
introspective study
. Modern Language Journal84,
196-213
.
45.
Young, R.
2000:
Interactional competence: challenges for validity
. Paper presented at a joint symposium of the Language Research
Colloquium and the American Association for Applied Linguistics,
Vancouver, British Columbia.
46.
Young, R.
and
He, A.1998: Talking and testing: discourse approaches to the assessment of
oral proficiency.
Amsterdam, PA: John Benjamins
.
