【简介】

Language testers have generally come to recognise the limitations of traditional statistical methods for validating oral tests and have begun to consider more innovative approaches to test validation. These approaches, which are often more qualitatively oriented, promise to illuminate the assessment process itself, rather than just assessment outcomes, i.e. ratings or scores.

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 features such as sequential organisation, turntaking, repair, preference structure, and topic management. CA offers a systematic approach for analysing spoken interaction from a qualitative perspective, allowing one to make observations about discourse while at the same time interacting with it.

This volume

·introduces language testers to the basic principles of conversation analysis (CA)

·offers an accessible understanding of CA in the specific context of oral language test validation 

·provides practice exercises to familiarise readers with the Ca data transcription system, as well as the opportunity to view and analyse authentic oral test data

·demonstrates the value of qualitative discourse analytic approaches in oral assessment research.

The volume will be directly relevant to anyone involved in the validation of oral tests, and will also be of interest to academic researchers and students in the field of oral assessment more generally.

【出版说明】

语言测试作为语言教学的重要组成部分，一直是社会关注的焦点。近年来，我国学术界对语言测试研究的关注也在逐渐升温。国际上，学者们对语言测试的研究已经达到较高的水平，无论是从理论框架的形成到复杂数学模型的建构及其应用方面都取得了实质性的进展，而且在对有国际影响力的外语考试（如雅思、托福等）的信度、效度的研究方面也取得了不俗的成果，出版了不少优秀的著作。

英国剑桥大学出版社出版的‘Studies in Language Testing”是其中较有影响力的系列之一。丛书由剑桥语言测评中心策划推出，从测试领域的各个研究视角入手，展示了该领域研究的设计、数据收集和数据分析等环节的基础理论与实践操作，反映了测试领域的最新研究动态。

外教社从中精选9种，引进出版。这些图书中，有对语言测试听说读写等方面的效度和质性研究，也有对测试反拨效应及其对教学影响的研究，还有对雅思考试和欧洲语言共同参考框架的分析思考。希望丛书的出版可以为我国语言测试研究领域的发展和创新提供具有借鉴意义的启示，打开更广阔的研究思路。

 Series Editors note

 Preface

 Acknowledgments

 Chapter 1

 An overview of oral language assessment

 Introduction

 Outcome-based research on oral language assessment

 What are language assessment interviews?

 Past research on oral language assessment

 The ACTFL OPI

 Empirical studies on the OPI

 Research on other oral examinations

 The need for process-based research

 Discourse-based studies on oral language assessment

 Background

 Lazaratons research on ESL course placement interviews Participant behaviour in oral interviews

 Comparisons of interview behaviour with conversation Comparisons of test format

 Comparisons of test scores with produced discourse Rating scale construction and validation.

 Summary

 Conclusion

 Chapter 2

 Conversation analysis, institutional talk, and

 oral language assessment

 Approaches to discourse analysis

 Conversation analysis

 Background

 What is conversation analysis?

 What is conversation?

 Nonverbal behaviour in conversation

 An evaluation of conversation analysis

 Institutional talk

 What is an interview?

 The organization of the interview

 Summary

 Conclusion

 Chapter 3

 Data collection and transcription

 Data collection and selection

 Introduction

 Collecting audiotaped data

 Collecting videotaped data

 Selecting data for transcription/analysis

 Summary

 Data transcription

 Understanding transcription philosophy

 Understanding transcription goals

 Learning the conversation analysis transcription system Considering the mechanics of transcription

 Using the conversation analysis transcription system Transcribing languages other than English

 Transcribing nonverbal behaviour

 Summary

 Conclusion

 Chapter 4

 Data analysis and presentation

 Reflecting on six methodological issues Real, recorded data

 Unmotivated looking

 Units of analysis

 Single cases, collections, and deviant cases

 Sociological variables

 Coding and quantifying data

 Summary

 Working with interactive data

 Five analytic tools

 A worked example

 Summary

 Working with monologic data

 Rhetorical analysis

Functional analysis

 Structural analysis

 Summary

 Presenting data and reporting results

 Rationale

 Guidelines for presenting data

 A research report format

 Guidelines for evaluating other studies.

 Summary

 Conclusion

 Practice problems

 Chapter 5

 Some speaking test validation studies using this approach Test validity

 Background on Cambridge EFL examinations

 Overview

 The Cambridge approach

 Interlocutor behaviour in speaking tests

 Research on CASE

 Research on CAE

 Research on KET

 Comparative research on CAE-KET

 Summary

 Candidate behaviour in speaking tests

 Research on FCE

 Research on IELTS

 Summary

 Conclusion

 Chapter 6

 Summary and future directions

 References

 Appendices

 Appendix 1: Glossary of CA terms

 Appendix 2: Transcription notation symbols

 Appendix 3: Guidelines for Chapter 4 practice problems Author index

 Subject index