Annotated Bibliography and Literature Survey Assessment of Language

Annotated Bibliography and Literature Survey: Assessment of Language Proficiency in the Health and Social Services Sector Research Report Presented by Juliane Bertrand November 24, 2005

Terms of Reference Survey the following: 1) ESL proficiency tests for adults working in a professional environment, with emphasis on health and social services workers 2) Materials generated by each such test 3) Studies on ESL proficiency assessment

Main ESL Proficiency Tests • Administered directly by the design agency - Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) - Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) - ETS Test of Professional English (ETS TOPE) • Administered by the client institution - Institutional Testing Program (TOEFL ITP) - Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) - Secondary Level English Proficiency Test (SLEP) - Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP) - Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT)

Description of ESL Proficiency Tests

Conditions for Language Proficiency Testing

Strengths / Weaknesses

Canadian Tests • Canadian Test of English for Scholars and Trainees (Can. TEST) Positives - Assesses the four language skills - Uses authentic material Negatives - Administered only in Toronto, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Halifax - Not geared to the needs of health and social services workers

Canadian Tests • Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) Positives - Assesses the four language skills - Referenced to nursing tasks Negatives - Administered only in Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg

Canadian Tests • Can. TEST • CELBAN • Cost: about $200, at testtaker’s expense + travel to a city where the test is administered • Cost: $300 plus taxes, at test -taker’s expense + travel to a city where the test is administered • Duration: 3 hrs 30 min

Other Assessment Instruments • Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) - Set standards for the four language skills - Centred on the test-taker’s social and professional activities - Lay the ground for designing tests for specific job sectors (e. g. CELBAN) • Portfolio - Tracks the learner’s progress - Avoids psychological factors that could affect test performance - Requires ongoing assessment

Materials Generated by these Tests • Works on theory and practice - More than 70 research reports published by ETS (e. g. TOEFL, TOEIC, SLEP, TSE) since 1977 - Numerous CCLB documents describing theoretical bases of Canadian language standards, the characteristics of those standards, and resulting ideas for activities - Technical manuals on administering language proficiency tests; charts to help interpret test results

Materials Generated by these Tests • Validity studies - Frequently re-assessed for standardized tests - Difficult to produce for locally administered tests given widely varying test management procedures - CELBAN = a first study suggests a positive link between success with CELBAN and with. TOEFL (CCLB, 2004)

Materials Generated by these Tests • Testimonials from institutions using these tests - Overall satisfaction with TOEFL and TOEIC - TOEFL unsatisfactory for nurses - CELBAN = a study on nurse and administrator satisfaction should be undertaken in 2006

Studies on ESL Proficiency Assessment • Background - Prior to the communicative approach, language proficiency was the sole focus of assessment. - Integrated test introduced - Leading works: Lado, Robert (1961). Language Testing, London, Longmans, xxiv + 390 p. Valette, R. M. (1967). Modern Language Testing: A Handbook, New York, Harcourt, Brace & World. Cooper, R. L. (1968). “An elaborated language testing model, ” in Problems in Foreign Language Testing: Proceedings of a Conference. Language Learning, 18, p. 57 -73. Spolsky, B. (1978). Approaches to Language Testing: Advances in Language Testing, Series 2, Arlington, VA, Center for Applied Linguistics.

Studies on ESL Proficiency Assessment • Present trends - With the communicative approach, assessment covers all language skills. - Introduction of alternatives to the standardized test and of tests referenced to quasi-authentic tasks. - Leading works: Canale, M. and M. Swain (1980). “Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing, ” Applied Linguistics, 1, p. 1 -47. Bachman, L. (1990). Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing, Oxford University Press. Celce-Murcia, Z. Dörnyei, S. Thurrell (1995). Communicative competence: A pedagogically motivated model with content specifications. Issues of Applied Linguistics, 6 (2), p. 5 -35. Milanovic, Michael and Nick Saville (Eds. ) (1996). Performance Testing, Cognition and Assessment. Selected papers from the 15 th Language Testing Research Colloquium, Cambridge and Arnhem, Cambridge University Press, coll. “ Studies in Language Testing 3, ” 314 p.

Conclusion • None of the tests surveyed can be used to assess proficiency in English as a second language for all job categories in the health and social services sector. • CELBAN, designed with reference to CLB, seems to be a model to follow. It is consistent with current language acquisition theories (e. g. emphasis on language objectives rather than specific grammatical constructs and on the use of authentic tasks).