CALPER Language Assessment

Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research at The Pennsylvania State University

Resources

ONLINE SITES

Introduction to Oral Proficiency Levels by the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (COERLL), University of Texas at Austin. The website is designed to help Spanish language teachers gain an understanding of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines for Speaking and to practice evaluating proficiency levels of Spanish speakers.

Language Testing Resources Website by Glenn Fulcher. Blog entries, testing news, conference info, audios and videos and more.

Understanding Assessment: A Guide for Foreign Language Educators by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) is a tutorial on language testing for foreign language educators.  It is designed to help new users of the CAL’s Foreign Language Assessment Directory (FLAD) and it is also an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn more about language testing.

Virtual Assessment Center by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), University of Minnesota. The Virtual Assessment Center (VAC) is a series of web-based learning modules that provides teachers with background information, step-by-step guidance, and many practical resources on developing proficiency-based second language assessments for the classroom.


 

ASSESSMENT (GENERAL)

Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bachman, L. F. and A. D. Cohen (1998). Interfaces between second language acquisition and language testing research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Carduner, J. (2002). Using classroom assessment techniques to improve foreign language composition courses. Foreign Language Annals, 35, 543-553.

Cheng, L. (2005). Changing language teaching through language testing: A washback study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Genesee, F., & Upshur, J. A. (1996). Classroom-based evaluation in second language education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hancock, C. (1994). Alternative assessment and second language study: What and why? Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) Digest

Klee, C. A., & Tedick, D. J. (1997). The undergraduate Foreign Language Immersion Program in Spanish at the University of Minnesota. In S. B. Stryker, & B. L. Leaver (Eds.), Content-based instruction in foreign language education: Models and methods (pp. 141-173). Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.

McNamara, T. (2000). Language testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Moss, P. (1996). Enlarging the dialogue in educational measurement: Voices from interpretive research traditions. Educational Researcher, 25, 20-28.

Purpura, J. (2016). Second and foreign language assessment. The Modern Language Journal, 100, Supplement 1, 190-208.

Rea-Dickins, P. (2004). Understanding teachers as agents of assessment. Language Testing, 21, 249-258.

Ross, S. (2005). The impact of assessment method on foreign language proficiency growth. Applied Linguistics, 26, 317-342.

Shohamy, E. (1998). Inside the “black box” of classroom language tests. Studia Anglica Posnaniensia 33, 343-352.

Shohamy, E. (1999). Critical language testing. In B. Spolsky (Ed.), Concise encyclopedia of educational linguistics. New York: Elsevier.

Shohamy, E. (2001). The power of tests: A critical perspective on the uses of language tests. New York: Longman.

Simoes, A. R. M., & Papanastasiou, E. C. (2002). Evaluating the usefulness and properties of a subjective assessment of Brazilian Portuguese. Hispania, 85, 618-628.

Snow, M. A. (1998). Trends and issues in content-based instruction. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 18, 243-267.

Stoller, F. L. (2004). Content-Based Instruction: Perspectives on curriculum planning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 261-283.

Turner, J. (1997). Creating content-based language tests: Guidelines for teachers. In M. A. Snow & D. M. Brinton (Eds.), The content-based classroom: Perspectives on integrating language and content (pp. 187-200). White Plains, NY: Longman.

Weigle, S. C., & Jensen, L. (1997). Issues in assessment for content-based instruction. In M. A. Snow & D. M. Brinton (Eds.), The content-based classroom: Perspectives on integrating language and content (pp. 201-212). White Plains, NY: Longman.

 

DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT*

*you can find a more extensive reference list on Dynamic Assessment at http://calper.la.psu.edu/content/dynamic-assessment-resources

Brown, A. & Ferrara, R. A. (1985). Diagnosing zones of proximal development.” In J.V. Wertsch (Ed.), Culture, communication and cognition. Vygotskian perspectives. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

Budoff, M. (1987). The validity of learning potential assessment. In C. S. Lidz (Ed.), Dynamic assessment: An interactive approach to evaluating learning potential. New York: The Guilford Press.

Carlson, J.S., & Weidl, K.H. (1992). Principles of dynamic assessment: The application of a specific model. Learning and Individual Differences, 4, 153-166.

Elliott, J.G. (2003). Dynamic assessment in educational settings: Realizing potential. Educational Review, 55, 15-32.

Feuerstein, R., Rand, Y., Hoffman, M. B., & Miller, R. (1980). Instrumental enrichment. Baltimore, MD: University Park Press.

Guthke, J. (1982). The Learning Test Concept—An alternative to the traditional static intelligence test. The German Journal of Psychology, 6, 306-324.

Guthke, J. (1992). Learning tests. The concept, main research findings, problems, and trends. Learning and Individual Differences, 4, 137-151.

Kozulin, A., & Garb, E. (2002). Dynamic assessment of EFL text comprehension of at-risk students. School Psychology International, 23, 112-127.

Lantolf, J. P. (2009). Dynamic Assessment: The dialectical integration of instruction and assessment. Language Teaching 42, 355-368.

Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2004). Dynamic assessment: Bringing the past into the future. Journal of Applied Linguistics 1 , 49-74.

Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2004). Dynamic assessment in the language classoom. (CALPER Professional Development Document CPDD 0411). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University, Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research.

Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2006). Dynamic assessment in the foreign language classroom: A teacher’s guide. University Park, PA: CALPER Publications.

Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 12: Pedagogy, 2: dynamic assessment, pp. 327-357.

Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2007). Dynamic assessment. In E. Shohamy, & N. Hornberger (Eds.), The encyclopedia of language and education, 2nd edition, Vol. 7: Language testing and assessment (pp. 273-285). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2011). Dynamic assessment in the classroom: Vygotskian praxis for second language development. Language Teaching Research, 15, 11-33.

Lidz, C. S. (1991). Practitioner’s guide to dynamic assessment. New York: Guilford.

Poehner, M. E. (2005). Dynamic assessment among advanced L2 learners of French. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Poehner, M. E. (2007). Beyond the test: L2 dynamic assessment and the transcendence of mediated learning.The Modern Language Journal, 91 , 323-340.

Poehner, M. E. (2008). Both sides of the conversation: The interplay between mediation and learner reciprocity in dynamic assessment. In J. P. Lantolf & M. E. Poehner (Eds.), Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 33-56). London: Equinox.

Poehner, M. E. (2008). Dynamic assessment: A Vygotskyan approach to understanding and promoting second language development. Berlin: Springer.

Poehner, M. E. (2009). Dynamic assessment as a dialectic framework for classroom activity: Evidence from second language (L2) learners. Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 8, 252-268.

Poehner, M. E. (2009). Group dynamic assessment: Mediation for the L2 classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 43, 471-491.

Poehner, M. E. (2011). Dynamic assessment: Fairness through the prism of mediation. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 18.

Poehner, M. E. (2011). Validity and interaction in the ZPD: Interpreting learner development through L2 dynamic assessment. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 21, 244-263.

Poehner, M. E. & Ableeva, R. (2011). Dynamic Assessment. From display of knowledge to engagement in the activity of development. In D. Tsagari & I. Csepes (Eds.), Classroom-based language assessment. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

Poehner, M. E., & Lantolf, J. P. (2003). Dynamic assessment of L2 development: Bringing the past into the future. (CALPER Working Paper Series, No. 1). The Pennsylvania State University: Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research.

Poehner, M. E., & Lantolf, J. P. (2005). Dynamic assessment in the language classroom. Language Teaching Research 9, 1-33.

Poehner, M. E., & Lantolf, J. P. (2010). Vygotsky’s teaching-assessment dialectic and L2 education: The case for dynamic assessment. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 17, 312-330.

Poehner, M. E., & Lantolf, J. P. (2013) Bringing the ZPD into the equation: Capturing L2 development during computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA). Language Teaching Research, 17, 323-342.

Poehner, M. E., & Van Compernolle, R. A. (2011). Frames of interaction in dynamic assessment: Developmental diagnoses of second language learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 18 .

Sternberg, R.J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2002). Dynamic testing. The nature and measurement of learning potential. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

CORPUS-BASED ASSESSMENT

Belz, J. A. (2004). Learner corpus analysis and the development of foreign language proficiency. System, 32, 577-591.

Belz, J. A. (2006). At the intersection of telecollaboration, learner corpus analysis, and L2 pragmatics: Considerations for language program direction. In J. Belz & S. Thorne (Eds.), Internet-mediated intercultural foreign language education (pp. 207-246). Boston, MA.: Thomson Heinle.

Bernardini, S. (2004). Corpora in the classroom: An overview and some reflections on future developments. In J. Sinclair (Ed.), How to use corpora in language teaching (pp. 5-36). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.

Cobb, T. (2003). Analyzing late interlanguage with learner corpora: Québec replications of three European studies. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 59, 393-422.

Coniam, D. (2004). Concordancing oneself: Constructing individual textual profiles. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 9, 271-298.

Hasselgren, A. (2002). Learner corpora and language testing: Small words as markers of learner fluency. In S. Granger; J. Hung, & S. Petch-Tyson (Eds.). (2002), Computer-learner corpora, second language acquisition, and foreign language teaching. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.

Meunier, F. (2002). The pedagogical value of native and learner corpora in EFL grammar teaching. In S. Granger; J. Hung, & S. Petch-Tyson. (Eds.). (2002), Computer-learner corpora, second language acquisition, and foreign language teaching. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.

Pereira, L. A. S. (2004). The use of concordancing in the teaching of Portuguese. In J. Sinclair (ed.), How to use corpora in language teaching (pp. 109-122). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.

Seidlhofer, B. (2002). Pedagogy and local learner corpora: Working with learning-driven data. In S. Granger; J. Hung, & S. Petch-Tyson. (Eds.). (2002), Computer-learner corpora, second language acquisition, and foreign language teaching. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.

Tsui, A. (2004). What teachers have always wanted to know – and how corpora can help. In J. Sinclair (ed.), How to use corpora in language teaching (pp. 39-61). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

d’Anglejan, A., Harley, B., & Shapson, S. (1990). Student evaluation in a multidimensional core French curriculum. The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langes vivantes ,47, 107-124.

Gibbons, P. (2003). Mediating language learning: Teacher interactions with ESL students in a content-based classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 37, 247-273.

Leung, C,. & Mohan, B. (2004). Teacher formative assessment and talk in classroom contexts: Assessment as discourse and assessment of discourse. Language Testing, 21, 335-359.

Rea-Dickins, P., & Gardner, S. (2000). Snares and silver bullets: Disentangling the construct of formative assessment. Language Testing, 17, 215-241.

Torrance, H., & Pryor, (1998). Investigating formative assessment: Teaching, learning and assessment in the classroom. Buckingham: Open University Press.

 

PERFORMANCE AND PROJECT-BASED ASSESSMENT

Babanoury, C. (2006). Collaborative company research projects: A blueprint for language, culture, and content learning, The Journal of Language for International Business, 17, 15-28.

Brown, J. D., Hudson, T. D., Norris, J. M., & Bonk, W. (2002). An investigation of second language task-based performance assessments. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai‘i Press.

Chalhoub-Deville, M. (2001). Task-based assessments: Characteristics and validity evidence. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing. London: Longman.

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Fried-Booth, D.L. (2002). Project work. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Newell, R.J. (2003). Passion for learning: How project-based learning meets the needs for 21st century students. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Phillips, J. (2004). Assessment in an on-line foreign language methods course. Paper presented at the NFLRC Symposium on Distance Education, Distributed Learning, and Language Instruction.

Skehan, P. (2001). Tasks and language performance assessment. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing. London: Longman.

Slater, T., Beckett, G. H., & Aufderhaar, C. (2006). Assessing projects as second language and content learning. In G. Beckett & P. C. Miller (Eds.), Project-based second and foreign language education: Past, present, and future (pp. 241-260). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

Stoller, F. L. (2002). Project work: A means to promote language and content. In J. C. Richards & W. A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching. An anthology of current practice (pp. 107-119). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Yu, G. (2013). Performance assessment in the classroom. In A. J. Kunnan (Ed.), The companion to language assessment (pp. 615630). Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons.

 

SELF, PEER, AND PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT

Amores, M. J. (1997). A new perspective on peer-editing. Foreign Language Annals, 30, 513-522.

Blain, S., & Painchaud, G. (1999). The impact of verbal feedback by peers on written composition improvement among fifth-year immersion French students. The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 56, 73-98.

Brantmeier, C. (2005). Nonlinguistic variables in advanced second language reading: Learners’ self-assessment and enjoyment. Foreign Language Annals, 38, 494-504.

Brantmeier, C. (2006). Advanced L2 learners and reading placement: self-assessment, CBT, and subsequent performance. System, 34, 15-35.

Boud, D. (1995). Enhancing learning through self-assessment. Abingdon, UK: RoutledgeFalmer. [general, not language self-assessment]

Cheng, W., & Warren, M. (2005). Peer assessment of language proficiency. Language Testing, 22, 93-121.

Christiansen, H. & Laplante, B. (2004). Second language pre-service teachers as learners: The language portfolio project. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 60, 439-455.

Ekbatani, G. (2000). Moving toward learner-directed assessment. In G. Ekbatani & H. Pierson (Eds.), Learner-directed assessment in ESL (pp. 1-11). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Genesee, F., & Upshur, J. A. (1996). Classroom-based evaluation in second language education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Chapter 6: Portfolios and conferences.]

Little, D. (2005). The Common European Framework and the European Language Portfolio: Involving learners and their judgments in the assessment process. Language Testing, 22, 321-336.

Padilla, A. M., Aninao, J. C., & Sung, H. (1996). Development and implementation of student portfolios in foreign language programs. Foreign Language Annals, 29, 429-438. doi: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1996.tb01254.x/full

Patri, M. (2002). The influence of peer feedback on self- and peer-assessment of oral skills. Language Testing, 19, 109-131.

Rivers, W. P. (2001). Autonomy at all costs: An ethnography of metacognitive self-assessment and self-management among experienced language learners. The Modern Language Journal, 85, 279-290.

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