Validating self-reported language proficiency by testing performance in an immigrant community: the Wellington Indo-Fijians

Abstract

The Wellington Indo-Fijians are recent immigrants to New Zealand, having arrived in the country after the 1987 Fiji military coups. A performance test was developed and implemented to validate self-reported first language proficiency of 35 teenagers in this immigrant community. The main drawback of self-report studies is the likelihood of gathering inaccurate data, particularly if the first language, like Fiji Hindi in this community, is preliterate and perceived by the community members as a lower-status, less useful language than English. The performance test consisted of an oral interview, a listening comprehension test and a vocabulary test. The results of the performance test correlated strongly with the self-report data, thereby demonstrating the validity of the self-report scale. Significant differences between oral performances and self-reports as well as general trends in data suggested, however, that the respondents were often reporting their oral Fiji Hindi ability at a level higher than their judged level of performance.