Comparing speaking situations in three different language tests

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare learner outcome when five similar speaking situations were offered in the speaking subtest in Finnish, Swedish and English intermediate level tests in the Finnish National Certificates language testing system. The overall aim was to investigate the tasks by comparing learner outcomes across the three tests and to seek explanations for the outcome in the learners’ selfreported demographic, language, educational and professional background.The speaking situations were selected from the NC item bank meaning that they have undergone the Item Response Theory based analyses which indicate that the tasks function well in all tests. More information was needed to discover possible connections between performance and background information. Performance data and background factors were analysed using descriptive frequency and percent distribution. Cross-tabulation was used to analyse connections between variables. The tasks are discussed in terms of domains and language functions and their connection with the test takers’ background information. Results indicate that though there is some variation in the learner outcomes across languages, situational tasks can be used for different languages.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5128/ERYa9.01

Keywords

• second and foreign language testing, spoken language, validity, Finnish, Swedish, English tests