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Chapter 9. Task design and validity evidence for assessment of L2 pragmatics in interaction

  • Soo Jung Youn
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Task-Based Approaches to Teaching and Assessing Pragmatics
This chapter is in the book Task-Based Approaches to Teaching and Assessing Pragmatics

Abstract

This study examines how clear communicative goals and authentic interaction are ensured in task-based pragmatic assessment practices, particularly in designing role-play assessment tasks and developing task-appropriate rating criteria. Employing a concurrent mixed methods design, conversation analysis (CA) and multi-faceted Rasch measurement were used to investigate whether task-independent interactional features are elicited from role-play interactions and how interaction-specific rating categories function quantitatively. The CA findings indicated that various interactional organizations emerged from role-play task interactions as examinees oriented to the different degree of imposition and contextual variables embedded in the role-plays. Further, the interactional features included in the rating criteria created a substantial amount of variance in distinguishing varying degrees of pragmatic performance. The findings are discussed in terms of designing valid pragmatic assessment tasks and what features need to be included in developing rating criteria to ensure the validity evidence of task-based pragmatic assessment.

Abstract

This study examines how clear communicative goals and authentic interaction are ensured in task-based pragmatic assessment practices, particularly in designing role-play assessment tasks and developing task-appropriate rating criteria. Employing a concurrent mixed methods design, conversation analysis (CA) and multi-faceted Rasch measurement were used to investigate whether task-independent interactional features are elicited from role-play interactions and how interaction-specific rating categories function quantitatively. The CA findings indicated that various interactional organizations emerged from role-play task interactions as examinees oriented to the different degree of imposition and contextual variables embedded in the role-plays. Further, the interactional features included in the rating criteria created a substantial amount of variance in distinguishing varying degrees of pragmatic performance. The findings are discussed in terms of designing valid pragmatic assessment tasks and what features need to be included in developing rating criteria to ensure the validity evidence of task-based pragmatic assessment.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgement vii
  4. Series editors’ preface ix
  5. Chapter 1. Task-based approaches to teaching and assessing pragmatics 1
  6. Part I. Teaching pragmatics through tasks
  7. Chapter 2. Learning of Korean honorifics through collaborative tasks 27
  8. Chapter 3. Effects of task supported language teaching on learners’ use and knowledge of email request mitigators 55
  9. Chapter 4. Task complexity effects on interaction during a collaborative persuasive writing task 83
  10. Part II. Using tasks to elicit pragmatics language use
  11. Chapter 5. Task modality effects on Spanish learners’ interlanguage pragmatic development 113
  12. Chapter 6. Developing pragmatic competence through tasks in EFL contexts 137
  13. Chapter 7. Independently measuring cognitive complexity in task design for interlanguage pragmatics development 159
  14. Chapter 8. Pragmatics, tasks, and technology 191
  15. Part III. Task-based assessment of pragmatics
  16. Chapter 9. Task design and validity evidence for assessment of L2 pragmatics in interaction 217
  17. Chapter 10. The effects of task type and L2 proficiency on discourse appropriacy in oral task performance 247
  18. Chapter 11. Assessing functional adequacy of L2 performance in a task-based approach 265
  19. Chapter 12. Pragmatics in task-based language assessment 287
  20. Bio notes 305
  21. Index 311
https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.10.09you

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgement vii
  4. Series editors’ preface ix
  5. Chapter 1. Task-based approaches to teaching and assessing pragmatics 1
  6. Part I. Teaching pragmatics through tasks
  7. Chapter 2. Learning of Korean honorifics through collaborative tasks 27
  8. Chapter 3. Effects of task supported language teaching on learners’ use and knowledge of email request mitigators 55
  9. Chapter 4. Task complexity effects on interaction during a collaborative persuasive writing task 83
  10. Part II. Using tasks to elicit pragmatics language use
  11. Chapter 5. Task modality effects on Spanish learners’ interlanguage pragmatic development 113
  12. Chapter 6. Developing pragmatic competence through tasks in EFL contexts 137
  13. Chapter 7. Independently measuring cognitive complexity in task design for interlanguage pragmatics development 159
  14. Chapter 8. Pragmatics, tasks, and technology 191
  15. Part III. Task-based assessment of pragmatics
  16. Chapter 9. Task design and validity evidence for assessment of L2 pragmatics in interaction 217
  17. Chapter 10. The effects of task type and L2 proficiency on discourse appropriacy in oral task performance 247
  18. Chapter 11. Assessing functional adequacy of L2 performance in a task-based approach 265
  19. Chapter 12. Pragmatics in task-based language assessment 287
  20. Bio notes 305
  21. Index 311
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