Read the introduction to the article A psycholinguistic approach to oral language assessment

by Alistair Van Moere and do the tasks on the following page.

Introduction

This paper argues that mainstream oral language proficiency testing has persistently under-represented
a vital aspect of language acquisition, namely, the efficiency with which learners process language. It is
proposed that efficiency of processing, although it does not appear in most models of communicative
language competence, might be viewed as a language competence in its own right. It is further
proposed that processing competence (to borrow Skehan’s term, 1998:168) can be measured using
relatively simple, familiar language. That is, rather than attempting to evaluate the learner’s spoken
mastery of complex language structures or infrequent vocabulary by allowing them adequate time to
construct an utterance, we can instead evaluate the speed and accuracy with which a learner orally
processes familiar language, as this provides equally useful information about their L2 speaking
proficiency.

A browse through authoritative works in the field of language assessment reveals that psycholinguistic
mechanisms such as automaticity have been given little consideration. When automaticity is discussed it
tends to be at a theoretical level and not well integrated with the practicalities of test construct, task
characteristics, or performance measurement. The Council of Europe’s Framework of Reference (2001),
breathtaking in its inclusiveness of a wide range of skills and competencies, contains not a single
mention of automaticity or processing speed, preferring instead to deal with numerous grammatical
competencies (morphology, syntax, semantics, phonology, orthography) and sociolinguistic
competencies (linguistic markers of social relation, politeness conventions, expressions of folk wisdom,
register differences, dialect and accent). Although fluency is sometimes thought to encapsulate oral
automaticity in language assessment, this paper considers fluency as one observable manifestation of
automaticity; a fuller definition of automaticity includes psycholinguistic processing speed and the
interaction between observed fluency, complexity and accuracy of the speech act. The topic of oral
automaticity is poorly problematized in the language testing literature, and this disregard is very much
at odds with the research and literature on second language acquisition (SLA) and cognitive psychology.

This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews the literature with regard to theories of
automaticity, chunking, formulaic sequences, and practice in the L2 classroom. Section 3 introduces two
timed stimulus-response tasks, sentence repeats and sentence builds, and argues that these are valid
tasks for language proficiency assessment, both in terms of the psycholinguistic construct and their
relation to teaching and learning. Section 4 proposes a model for the measurement of processing
competence while performing these tasks, with fluency, accuracy and complexity as objective measures
of core language skills. Section 5 presents data demonstrating how the psycholinguistic construct can be
observed and measured. A discussion ensues in Section 6.
A. Which three sentences can you choose to create a summary of the introduction? Write the
numbers of the sentences in the correct order.

The first, the second, and the fourth

4,1.6

1. It suggests that efficiency of processing, although not typically included in language competence
models, should be viewed as a language competence in its own right.

2. Research in sentence processing has revealed that language is much more lexical, or formulaic, than
generative rule-based grammars formerly imagine?

3. There are competing theories about how exactly memory is used to encode language.

4. This article proposes a framework for incorporating the assessment of psycholinguistic constructs
into spoken language proficiency testing.

5. The role of working memory is also seen as fundamental to language acquisition.

6. The article presents a study that demonstrates how tasks such as sentence repetition and sentence
building can effectively evaluate processing competence and separate test takers based on
proficiency.

1. Это предполагает, что эффективность обработки информации, хотя она обычно не включается в модели языковой
компетенции, должна рассматриваться как самостоятельная языковая компетенция.
2. Исследования в области обработки предложений показали, что язык гораздо более лексичен или шаблонен, чем
раньше представляли себе порождающие грамматики, основанные на правилах. ?
3. Существуют конкурирующие теории о том, как именно память используется для кодирования языка.
4. В данной статье предлагается основа для включения оценки психолингвистических конструкций в тестирование
владения разговорной речью.
5. Роль рабочей памяти также считается фундаментальной для овладения языком.
6. В статье представлено исследование, которое демонстрирует, как такие задачи, как повторение предложений и
построение предложений, могут эффективно оценивать компетентность обработки и разделять тестируемых на основе
навыков.

B. Choose the correct answer to the questions:

1. What is the main focus of the article?

a) language processing efficiency is a language competence and can be assessed using stimulus-
response tasks

b) CEFR fails to assess speaking proficiency

c) new methods of assessing grammar and vocabulary should be developed

1. Чему посвящена статья?

а) эффективность языковой обработки является языковой компетенцией и может быть оценена с помощью задач
«стимул-реакция»
б) CEFR не может оценить уровень разговорной речи
в) должны быть разработаны новые методы оценки грамматики и словарного запаса
2. How does the proposed framework differ from traditional communicative approaches?

a) it evaluates the learner’s spoken mastery of complex language

b) it allows the learners adequate time to construct the utterance

c) it uses relatively simple, familiar language

2. Чем предлагаемая структура отличается от традиционных коммуникативных подходов?

а) оценивается устное владение учащимся сложным языком
б) это дает учащимся достаточно времени для построения высказывания
в) он использует относительно простой, знакомый язык

3.What is not included in CEFR (Council of Europe’s Framework of Reference)?

a)orthography

b) automaticity

c) register differences

3. Что не включено в CEFR (Руководство Совета Европы)?

а) орфография
б) автоматизм
в) регистрировать различия

4. According to the author, what is automaticity?

a) the same as fluency

b) processing speed and the interaction between observed fluency, complexity and accuracy of
the speech act
c) repeating sentences after the speaker

4. Что такое автоматизм по мнению автора?

а) то же, что беглость
б) скорость обработки и взаимодействие наблюдаемой беглости, сложности и точности речевого акта
в) повторение предложений за говорящим

5. Which tasks that can assess of processing competence are mentioned in the introduction?

a) sentence repeats and sentence builds

b) constructing new utterances
c) taking part in a polite conversation

5. Какие задачи, позволяющие оценить компетентность в обработке данных, упомянуты во

введении?
а) предложение повторяется и строит предложение
б) построение новых высказываний
в) участие в вежливой беседе
C. Mark the sentences True, False or Not Given:

Efficiency of processing is the most important language competence. Not Given

CEFR includes processing speed as one of language competences. False

Automaticity is described well in the works on language testing. False

The paper introduces two kinds of tasks to assess language processing competence. True

The paper explains that measuring processing competence is important for L2 teaching. True

C. Отметьте предложения «Верно», «Неверно» или «Не дано»:

Эффективность обработки информации является наиболее важной языковой компетенцией.
CEFR включает скорость обработки информации как одну из языковых компетенций.
Автоматизм хорошо описан в работах по языковому тестированию.
В статье представлены два вида задач для оценки компетентности в обработке речи.
В документе объясняется, что измерение вычислительной компетентности важно для преподавания L2.

Choose some phrases to complete the sentences. You won’t need all the phrases.

language acquisition language proficiency assessment stimulus-response tasks

core language skills automaticity grammatical competences processing speed

sociolinguistic competences language competence

1. CEFR is used in ……………… . language proficiency assessment

2. Sentence builds and sentence repeats are …… stimulus-response tasks ……….. .
3. In Cambridge exams the candidate’s mastery of ……… core language skills ……… is a sign of
a high level of ……… language acquisition language competence ………….
4. Understanding register differences is one of the important …… sociolinguistic competences
……….
5. Automaticity is defined by ……… processing speed ………. fluency, accuracy and complexity of
speech.
6. ……… grammatical competences ……….include morphology, syntax, semantics and
orthography.