Rethinking the Second Language Listening Test argues that the key to more valid testing of second language listening lies in a better understanding of the nature of the skill and of the signal that listeners have to decode. Using this information as a point of departure, it takes a critical look at many of the myths and conventions behind listening tests and provides practical suggestions as to the ways in which they might be rethought. The book begins with an account of the various processes that contribute to listening in order to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by second language learners. The information feeds in to a new set of descriptors of listening behaviour across proficiency levels and informs much of the discussion in later chapters. The main body of the book critically examines the various components of a listening test, challenging some of the false assumptions behind them and proposing practical alternatives. The discussion covers: the recording-as-text, the recording-as-speech, conventions of test delivery, standard task formats and item design. Major themes are the critical role played by the recorded material and the degree to which tests impose demands that go beyond those of real-world listening. The following section focuses on two types of listener with different needs from the general candidate: those aiming to demonstrate academic or professional proficiency in English and young language learners, where level of cognitive development is an issue for test design. There is a brief reflection on the extent to which integrated listening tests reflect the reality of listening events. The book concludes with a report of a study into how feasible it is to identify the information load of a listening text, a factor potentially contributing to difficulty.
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Rethinking the Second Language Listening Test argues that the key to more valid testing of second language listening lies in a better understanding of the nature of the skill and of the signal that listeners have to decode.
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Introduction
A Cognitive Model for Testing Listening
1. What does expert listening consist of?
2. The second language listener
3. Cognitive profiling at different proficiency levels
Recorded Content
4. Recording as text
5. Recording as speech
Task Characteristics
6. Listening test conventions
7. Task formats
8. Items
Listener Roles
9. Special cases
10. Listening plus other skills
Postscript
11. Information load: an investigative study
12. Review and conclusions
Appendices
A. Sample processes
B. Sample scripts and tasks
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781781797143
Publisert
2019-03-01
Utgiver
Vendor
Equinox Publishing Ltd
Vekt
762 gr
Høyde
234 mm
Bredde
156 mm
Aldersnivå
UP, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
168