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A research project concentrating on the assessment of spoken language funded by the University of Helsinki

Korpilampi

The theoretical part of the research project concentrates on the concept of language competence and on questions of empirical assessment of language competence. The aim is to improve the reliability of assessment procedures in Finnish comprehensive and upper secondary schools as well as in institutions of higher learning.

The project includes validating the CEF (Common European Framework of Reference for languages) scales of language proficiency modified for the Finnish National Core Curricula both theoretically and empirically. To support the existing empirical research, new research is needed to find out:

  • how unanimously speech samples are placed on the different levels of the proficiency scales by experts and

  • how the different aspects of spoken language described in the scales (fluency, pronunciation, range and accuracy) vary from one level to another when taking into account the specific communicative purpose of the test task, whether the task is done as a dialogue or a monologue, with whom the test is done and whether a repetition of the test improves the testee’s results?

The established conceptual background of the quality features inherent in language testing research is re-evaluated both in terms of recent linguistic and pedagogical knowledge. Until now, language testing research has paid little attention to sociocultural factors, which is why this project aims to examine how and how much the sociocultural features of the testees and their contexts are reflected in their speech and what kinds of differences there are between speech acts of different levels.

Possible research questions include:

  • How unanimously do experts place speech samples on the different levels of the proficiency scales?

  • How do the holistic and analytic assessments compare with each other?

  • How do fluency, pronunciation, range and accuracy of speech develop from one level to another both qualitatively and quantitatively?

  • How does cultural communication manifest in the speech samples?

  • What kind of feedback do testees give on the tasks?

  • What kind of feedback do the ones who assess the speech samples give on the tasks?

  • How do the testees’ speech samples develop across time?

  • Do the testees’ test results and features of the speech sample vary according to who the test is done with and if yes, how?

The project group includes staff and students from the following departments (only staff included in the list):