LTRC 2009

9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Workshops

HLM: Aspen Ampitheatre
Listening: Larkspur

9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Workshops

Listening:  Pike’s Peak
Standard Setting: Aspen Ampitheatre

4:00 – 4:30 pm

BREAK

5:00 – 6:00 pm

Evergreen Ballroom

Newcomers’ panel

 Greet newcomers, discuss schedule

6:00 pm

Reception

8:30 – 8:45 am

Welcome to LTRC

Chairs

8:45 – 8:50 am

In memorium: Donna Ilyin

Charles Stansfield

8:50 – 9:00 am

Messick Lecture Introduction

Craig Deville, Measurement Incorporated

9:00 –10:00 am

Messick Lecture

L. Shepard

10:00 – 10:05 am

Messick Award Presentation

Educational Testing Service

10:05 – 10:15 am

BREAK

10:15 – 11:45 am

Paper Session 1

Yi-Ching Pan, National Pingtung Institute of Commerce, The University of Melbourne
The Social Impact of English Certification Exit Requirements

Kedeesa Abdul Kadir, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Addressing Transparency and Accountability through a Strong Program of Validity Inquiry: The Malaysian Public Service Experience

Evelina Galaczi, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations
The role of quantitative and qualitative methodologies in the development of rating scales for speaking

11:45 am – 1:15 pm

Lunch

LAQ Executive Board Meeting Larkspur Room

1:15 – 2:45 pm
POSTER SESSIONS

ATRIUM

• Seongmee Ahn, Michigan State University; Ok-Sook Park, Michigan State University; Daniel Reed, Michigan State University
  Development and Validation of a Web-based Multimedia Korean Oral Proficiency Test

• Beverly Baker, McGill University
  The Development of an English Proficiency Test for Teacher Certification in Quebec

• Annie Brown, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
  The development of an on-line training and marking program for the assessment of writing

• Martyn Clark, Center for Applied Second Language Studies
  Issues in developing a proficiency-based assessment in multiple languages

• Jeremy Cross, University of Melbourne
  Listening tests as research tools: tackling transparency in test design and validation

• Larry Davis, University of Hawai'i at Manoa; Anne Lazaraton, University of Minnesota
  Construction of a proficiency identity within paired oral assessment: Insights from discourse

• Tomoko Fujita, Tokai University
  Creating valid in-house can-do descriptors for a listening course

• Gene Halleck, Oklahoma State University
  Examining collaboration in Oral Proficiency Interviews

• Heejeong Jeong, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Language testing courses taught by non-language testers: Is this a concern?

• Summer Loomis, The University of Texas at Austin
  Developing a Placement Test for Academic Arabic for Upper High School and University Students

• Lu Lu, The University of Hong Kong
  The Distance between Student Writers' Intentions of Expression and Teacher Raters' Expectations in Argumentative Essay Rating

• Kaizhou Luo, Binhai College of Nankai University, METS Office; Ting Huang, METS Office; Mariam Jones, American Academic Alliance
  Assessing the language proficiency of Chinese nursing students and professionals: A brief introduction to METS (for Nurses)

• David MacGregor, Center for Applied Linguistics
  Predicting Item Difficulty: A Rubrics-Based Approach

• Hye Shin, Teachers College
  Developing a Contextual Approach to Learning L2 Prosody using ToBI Conventions

• Toshihiko Shiotsu, Kurume University
  An Analysis of the Sentence Span Task for L2 Learners

• Emily Svendsen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jiin Yap, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Effect of guidelines during a consensus discussion in standard-to-standard alignment

• Alan Urmston, Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Felicia Fang, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  Selling a language assessment to skeptical stakeholders: The GSLPA

• Margaret van Naerssen, Immaculata University
  Testifying in legal cases: Test your knowledge, flexibility, and creativity!

• JoDee Walters, Bilkent University
  A test to reveal incremental acquisition of vocabulary knowledge

• Hui-chun Yang, University of Texas Austin
  Response Strategies and Performance on an Integrated Writing Test

• Kiyomi Yoshizawa, Kansai University
  The effect of different anchor tests on equating quality

• Yujing Zheng, Chongqing Jiaotong University; Gu, Xiangdong, Chongqing Jiaotong University
  A retrospection study on the construct validity of TOEFL listening comprehension tests with multiple-choice format

2:45 – 4:15 pm

Paper Session 2

Hongwen Cai, University of California at Los Angeles
Clustering to inform standard setting in an oral test for EFL learners

Ute Knoch, University of Melbourne
Investigating the effectiveness of individualized feedback to rating behavior on a longitudinal study

Jennifer Zhang, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Exploring rating process and rater belief: Transparentizing rater variability

4:30 – 6:30 pm

Symposium 1

Investigating the impact of assessment for migration purposes

• Elana Shohamy and Nick Saville, Organizers

• Piet Van Avermaet, Centre for Intercultural Education, University of Ghent and Max Spotti, Tilburg University

• Nick Saville and Szilvia Papp, University of Cambridge, ESOL Examinations

• Lorenzo Rocca and Giuliana Grego Bolli, Universita per Stranieri, Perugia

• Elana Shohamy, Tzahi Kenza and Nathalie Assias, Tel Aviv University

Discussant: Tim McNamara, University of Melbourne

7:00 – 10:00 pm

ILTA Executive Board Meeting Larkspur Room

Time

Session Type

Details

8:30 – 8:45 am

Welcome, etc.

Chairs

8:45 – 10:15 am

Paper Session 3

Pauline Rea-Dickins, University of Bristol; Matt Poehner, Pennsylvania State University; Constant Leung, King's College London; Lynda Taylor, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations; Elana Shohamy, Tel Aviv University
From the Periphery to the Centre in Applied Linguistics: the case for situated language assessment

Gary Ockey, Utah State University
The extent to which differences in L2 group oral test scores can be attributed to different rater perceptions or different test taker performance

Jiyoon Lee,University of Pennsylvania
The analysis of test takers’ performances under their test-interlocutor influence in a paired speaking assessment

10:15 – 10:30 am

BREAK

10:30 am – 12:00 pm

Paper Session 4

Atta Gebril, The United Arab Emirates University; Lia Plakans, The University of Texas at Austin
Towards a transparent construct of reading-to-write assessment tasks: The interface between discourse features and proficiency

Yao Hill, University of Hawai’i at Manoa; Ou Lydia Liu, Educational Testing Service
DIF investigation of TOEFL iBT Reading Comprehension: Interaction between content knowledge and language proficiency

William Grabe, Northern Arizona University; Xiangying Jiang, Northern Arizona University
Completion as an Assessment Tool of L2 Reading Comprehension: Building a Validity Argument

12:00 – 2:00 pm

Lunch

 ILTA Meeting Larkspur Room

2:00 – 3:30 pm
Works in Progress

Evergreen A, B

• Rachel Brooks, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  Native versus non-native raters' evaluations of high-level English

• Youngshin Chi, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Construct validation of listening comprehension test: effects of task and the relationship between listeners' cognitive awareness and proficiency in listening comprehension

• Yeonsuk Cho, Educational Testing Service; Brent Bridgeman, Educational Testing Service
  The relationship of TOEFL scores to success in American universities: How high is high enough?

• Christian Colby-Kelly, McGill University
  Bridging the gap: Assessment for learning in a Quebec classroom

• Douglas Altamiro Consolo, UNESP
  Melissa Baffi-Bonvino, UNESP
  Oral proficiency assessment in a pre-service EFL teacher education programme: transparency on the validation of vocabulary descriptors

• Sumi Han, Seoul National University
  Factors influencing the pragmatic development Korean study-abroad learners

• Ching-Ni Hsieh, Michigan State University
  Weiping Wu,The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  Learning outcomes and the focus of the assessment tool

• Genesis Ingersoll, Center for Applied Linguistics
  Anne Donovan, Center for Applied Linguistics
  Developing an oral assessment protocol and rating rubric for applicants to the English for Heritage Language Speakers program

• Guodong Jia, Renmin University of China
  Computer-based and internet-delivered College English Test in China: IB-CET in progress

• Erin Kearney, Yale University
  Adapting the European language portfolio to an integrated language and discipline study program

• Claudia Kunschak, Shantou University
  Reform from within: A collaborative effort at transparency, reliability and validity in assessment

• Chih-Kai (Cary) Lin, Georgetown University
  ESL writing assessment: Does the selection of rating scale matter?

• Margaret E.Malone, Center for Applied Linguistics
  Megan Montee, Center for Applied Linguistics
  The Internet-Based TOEFL and test user beliefs

• Johanna Motteram, The University of Adelaide
  "Tone" and language test rating scale descriptors

• John Read, University of Auckland
  Toshihiko Shiotsu, Kurume University
  Developing new lexical measures for diagnostic assessment

• Sultan Turkan, University of Arizona
  Relationship Among the test, curriculum, and teacher content representations in an EFL setting

• Viphavee Vongpumivitch, National Tsing Hua University
  Vocabulary knowledge and its use in EFL speaking and writing test performance

• Elvis Wagner, Temple University
  Tina Hu, Temple University
  Video discourse completion tasks for the testing of L2 pragmatic competence

• Jing Wei,UMCP
  Cheng-Chiang (Julian) Chen, UMCP
  Using integrative task-based assessment to examine the effectiveness of task-based language teaching

• Huijie Xu, Zhejiang University of Technology
  Ying Zheng, Queen's University
  Applying protocol analysis in analyzing language test validity: A case study

3:30 – 5:30 pm

Symposium 2

• Guoxing Yu and Yasuyo Sawaki, Organizers

• Yasuyo Sawaki & Thomas Quinlan, Educational Testing Service, USA and Yong-Won Lee, Seoul National University, Korea

• Sara Cushing Weigle & WeiWei Yang, Georgia State University, USA

• Mark Wolfersberger, Brigham Young University - Hawaii, USA, Guoxing Yu, University of Bristol, UK,

Discussant: Alister Cumming, OISE, University of Toronto, Canada

8:30 – 8:45 a.m

Announcements

8:45 – 10:15 am

Paper Session 5

Talia Isaacs, McGill University; Ron Thomson, Brock University
Judgments of L2 Comprehensibility, accentedness and fluency: The listeners’ perspective

Ryan Downey, Pearson; Alistair van Moere, Pearson
In the ear of the beholder Dependence of comprehensibility on language background of speaker and listener

Nivja DeJong, University of Amsterdam
Temporal aspects of perceived speaking fluency

10:15 – 10:30 am

BREAK

10:30 am – 12:00 pm

Paper Session 6

Anja Römhild, University of Nebraska; Dorry Kenyon, Center for Applied Linguistics;David MacGregor, Center for Applied Linguistics
Assessing domain-general and domain-specific academic English language proficiency

Lorena Llosa, New York University; Sarah W. Beck, New York University;
Cecilia G. Zhao, New York University
Defining the construct of academic writing to inform the development of a diagnostic assessment

Rob Schoonen, University of Amsterdam; Nivja De Jong, University of Amsterdam; Margarita Steinel, University of Amsterdam; Arjen Florijn, University of Amsterdam; Jan Hulstijn, University of Amsterdam
Profiles of Linguistic Ability at Different Levels of the European Framework: Can They Provide Transparency?

12:00 – 1:30 pm

Lunch: meeting

Language Testing Executive Board Larkspur Room

1:30 – 3:00 pm

Paper Session 7

Don Rubin, University of Georgia; Okim Kang, Northern Arizona University; Lucy Pickering, Georgia State University
Relative impact of rater characteristics versus speaker suprasegmental features on oral proficiency scores
 
Yo In’nami, Toyohashi University of Technology; Rie Koizumi, Tokiwa University
A meta-analysis of multitrait-multimethod studies in language testing research: Focus on language ability and Chelle’s (1998) construct definition and interpretation

Lynda Taylor, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations
Telling our story: Reflections on the place of learning, transparency, responsibility and collaboration in the language testing narrative

3:00 – 5:00 pm

Symposium 3

The discourse of assessments: Addressing linguistic complexity in content and English language proficiency tests through linguistic analyses

• Jim Bauman, Organizer

• Jim Bauman, Center for Applied Linguistics

• Laura Wright, Center for Applied Linguistics

• David MacGregor, Center for Applied Linguistics

• Abbe Spokane, Center for Applied Linguistics

• Meg Montee, Center for Applied Linguistics

5:00 – 5:20 pm

Wrap-up

Sara Weigle
Meg Malone