13. The effectiveness of interactive group orals for placement testing
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Paula Winke
Abstract
In task-based language classes, teachers increasingly use interactive, peer-to-peer group orals to measure learners’ communicative competence. This chapter examines the reliability and validity of placing learners into task-based ESL listening and speaking classes based on their performances during task-based, peer-to-peer, group oral interactions. ESL learners (n = 128) took a 30-item, listening and speaking self-assessment exam. The self-assessment scores were used to create groups of three to five learners who carried out two group-oral tasks. The listening test and group-oral test scores were used in a k-cluster analysis to place learners into seven classes. I conclude by suggesting how practitioners can employ interactive, group orals as part of placement testing and how they positively contribute to interactive and task-based learning.
Abstract
In task-based language classes, teachers increasingly use interactive, peer-to-peer group orals to measure learners’ communicative competence. This chapter examines the reliability and validity of placing learners into task-based ESL listening and speaking classes based on their performances during task-based, peer-to-peer, group oral interactions. ESL learners (n = 128) took a 30-item, listening and speaking self-assessment exam. The self-assessment scores were used to create groups of three to five learners who carried out two group-oral tasks. The listening test and group-oral test scores were used in a k-cluster analysis to place learners into seven classes. I conclude by suggesting how practitioners can employ interactive, group orals as part of placement testing and how they positively contribute to interactive and task-based learning.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface xi
-
Part I. Interactions in L2 classrooms
- 1. Promoting attention to form through task repetition in a Korean EFL context 3
- 2. Language-related episodes during collaborative tasks 25
- 3. The impact of increasing task complexity on L2 pragmatic moves 45
- 4. Tasks and traditional practice activities in a foreign language context 71
- 5. Building explicit L2 Spanish knowledge through guided induction in small group and whole class interaction 89
- 6. Classroom interaction and learning opportunities across time and space 109
-
Part II. Interactions involving technology
- 7. The cyber language exchange 129
- 8. Using eye tracking as a measure of foreign language learners’ noticing of recasts during computer-mediated writing conferences 147
- 9. A corpus approach to studying structural convergence in task-based Spanish L2 interactions 167
- 10. Preemptive feedback in CALL 189
- 11. Learner perceptions of clickers as a source of feedback in the classroom 209
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Part III. Interactions in other educational settings
- 12. International engineering graduate students’ interactional patterns on a paired speaking test 227
- 13. The effectiveness of interactive group orals for placement testing 247
- 14. Interaction in conversation groups 269
- 15. Language production opportunities during whole-group interaction in conversation group settings 293
- Appendix 315
- Index 317
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface xi
-
Part I. Interactions in L2 classrooms
- 1. Promoting attention to form through task repetition in a Korean EFL context 3
- 2. Language-related episodes during collaborative tasks 25
- 3. The impact of increasing task complexity on L2 pragmatic moves 45
- 4. Tasks and traditional practice activities in a foreign language context 71
- 5. Building explicit L2 Spanish knowledge through guided induction in small group and whole class interaction 89
- 6. Classroom interaction and learning opportunities across time and space 109
-
Part II. Interactions involving technology
- 7. The cyber language exchange 129
- 8. Using eye tracking as a measure of foreign language learners’ noticing of recasts during computer-mediated writing conferences 147
- 9. A corpus approach to studying structural convergence in task-based Spanish L2 interactions 167
- 10. Preemptive feedback in CALL 189
- 11. Learner perceptions of clickers as a source of feedback in the classroom 209
-
Part III. Interactions in other educational settings
- 12. International engineering graduate students’ interactional patterns on a paired speaking test 227
- 13. The effectiveness of interactive group orals for placement testing 247
- 14. Interaction in conversation groups 269
- 15. Language production opportunities during whole-group interaction in conversation group settings 293
- Appendix 315
- Index 317
