A qualitative approach to the validation of oral language tests

the long version

"Language testers have generally come to recognize the limitations of traditional statistical methods for validating oral language tests and have begun to consider more innovative approaches to test validation. These approaches promise to illuminate the assessment process itself, rather than just assessment outcomes i.e., ratings. One such approach is conversation analysis (CA), a rigorous empirical methodology developed by sociologists, which employs inductive methods in order to discover and describe the systematic properties of conversation. These include sequential organization, turntaking, repair, preference structure, and topic management. CA offers a systematic approach for analyzing spoken interaction from a qualitative perspective, allowing one to make observations about discourse while at the same time interacting with it. This book aims to provide language testers with a background in the CA framework and a fuller understanding of CA in the specific context of oral language test validation." "Although not a 'how-to' text, practice exercises are provided which enable the reader to become familiar with the CA data transcription system, and to have an opportunity to view and to analyze authentic oral test data."--Jacket.