Testing Heritage Learners

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Testing Heritage Learners

• Which test provides the best results?
• Ray Clifford, 23 June 02

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Why are we asking the question?

• Some say that proficiency tests such as the OPI
  are inappropriate tests for heritage learners.
• Others say the OPI and the ACTFL/ILR rating
  criteria are appropriate for everyone.

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Which is the best term, Bilingual, Native, or
Heritage Speaker?

• All of these terms describe categories of
  individuals.
• Each term represents a range of abilities rather
  than a specific level of proficiency in a
  language.
• The terms are used inconsistently and may
  overlap.

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Points to Ponder

• Can native speakers also be bilinguals?
• Are bilinguals always considered to be native
  speakers of two languages?
• Are heritage speakers considered to be native
  speakers?
• Are there some people who speak no language well?

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What Makes Someonea Native Speaker?

• Place of birth?
• The first language acquired?
• The language of the parents?
• A minimum number of years living in the society?
• The level of education attained in the society
  where the language is spoken?

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First Language Development Factors

• Maturation and cognitive development
• Experience and education

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Cognitive versus LinguisticStudent Errors

• Without the Greeks we wouldnt have history.
• A myth is a female moth.
• Actually, Homer was not written by Homer but by
  another man of that name.
• Germinate To become a naturalized German.
• The pistol of a flower is its only protection
  against insects.
• The abominable cavity contains the bowls, of
  which there are five a, e, i, o, and u.

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Impact of Maturation and Cognitive
Developmenton Language Development
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The following three charts are fromBias in
Mental Testing,by Arthur R. JensenThe Free
Press, Macmillan Publishing.786 pages, 1980.
ASVAB Factor Analysis, page 220 Mental Age and
Chronological Age, page 104 Knowledge and
Reasoning Development, page 106
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Summary of MaturationsImpact on Language

• Verbal ability is highly correlated with the
  growth of cognitive ability.
• Mental ability grows rapidly from birth to about
  age 16, then the rate of growth levels off.
• About age 8 there is a sharp increase in ability
  to answer questions requiring recall of factual
  information.
• Ability to answer questions requiring the
  understanding of relationships develops more
  slowly and doesnt level off until age 12.

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Impact of Experienceand Education on Language
Development
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Reading Scale European Commission

• Functional reading
• Locate information in highly formatted texts such
  as schedules, signs, directories.
• Referential reading
• Acquire new information from news, descriptions,
  science reports.
• Reflective reading
• Extend ones world view, cultivate the mind by
  reading literature, popular science articles,
  reviews.
• Critical reading
• Evaluate editorials, critical essays, persuasive
  texts.

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Reading Scale Council of EuropeCommon European
Framework

• A1 Can understand very short, simple texts a
  single phrase at a time.
• A2 Can understand short, simple texts on
  familiar topics.
• B1 Can read straightforward factual texts.
• B2 Can read factual texts with a large degree
  of independence, but may have difficulty with
  low-frequency items.
• C1 Can understand in detail lengthy, complex
  texts.
• C2 Can interpret critically virtually all forms
  of the written language including abstract,
  structurally complex, or highly colloquial
  writings.

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Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

• Memorization of facts.
• Comprehension and use of words and phrases.
• Application of skills to create and understand
  new communications.
• Analysis and definition of factual relationships
  in paragraph length communications.
• Synthesis of concepts to produce and comprehend
  abstract ideas and hypothetical situations.
• Evaluation and persuasion through refined use of
  professional, literary, and rhetorical skills.

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Summary of Educations Impact on Language
Development.

• Lifes activities support the cognitive
  development of lower cognitive levels.
• Formal education builds on those levels.
• Attaining the highest levels of language and
  cognitive skills usually requires sustained
  schooling such as completion of a higher
  education degree program.

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What would happen if

• A learner stopped using the language at age 8?
• A learners experience in the language were
  limited to factual communications?
• A learners education switched to a different
  language in the 4th grade?

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What Makes Someonea Heritage Speaker?

• For the most part, they speak or hear the
  heritage language spoken at home, but they
  receive all of their education in the official or
  majority language of the countries in which they
  live. They thus become literate only in the
  majority language.
• Guadalupe Valdés, Introduction, in Volume I,
  Spanish for Native Speakers, Harcourt College
  Publishers. 108 pages, 2000.

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Testing and TeachingHeritage Learners

• Assessment methods should match the reason for
  giving the test.
• Screening for job assignments.
• Placement into instructional programs.
• Planning individualized instruction.

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What Determines Whether aTest Is Appropriate?

• The person to be tested?
• Or
• The purpose for which the test is being
  administered?

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Testing Application Matrix
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Screening for Job Assignments

• Skill modality ratings based on the ILR scale are
  non-compensatory in that all conditions of a
  given level must be met to earn that rating.
• Therefore, an ILR rating is useful for job
  placement, because it represents a conservative
  guarantee that the test candidate has the level
  of proficiency needed for a given job.
• However, a summary ILR proficiency rating cannot
  recognize the individual strengths that may be
  present in a heritage speakers ability profile.

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Level 3 / Superior A Summary

• Content areas to be included
• Practical, social, professional, and abstract
  topics such as economics, culture, and science. 
• Communication tasks to be accomplished
• Use extended, cohesive discourse to support
  opinions, to hypothesize, to defend policies, and
  to clarify points of disagreement.
• Accuracy expectations
• Without searching for words or phrases, can use
  the language clearly and relatively naturally to
  elaborate concepts freely and make ideas easily
  understandable to native speakers.

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Proficiency Level Summary
LEVEL
FUNCTION/TASKS
CONTEXT/TOPICS
ACCURACY
All expected of an educated NS
Accepted as an educated NS
All subjects
5
Tailor language, counsel, motivate, persuade,
negotiate
Wide range of professional needs
Extensive, precise, and appropriate
4
Errors never interfere with communication
rarely disturb
Support opinions, hypothesize, explain, deal with
unfamiliar topics
Practical, abstract, special interests
3
Concrete, real-world, factual
Intelligible even if not used to dealing with
non-NS
Narrate, describe, give directions
2
Intelligible with effort or practice
1
Q A, create with the language
Everyday survival
0
Memorized
Random
Unintelligible
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Placement into instructional programs. (Macro
Diagnosis)

• The major components of the ILR scale are
• Communication tasks to be accomplished.
• Specified topical domains.
• Accuracy statements.
• Assigning a separate rating to each of these
  components creates a macro skill profile.
• Although this three-factor, macro profile is not
  very detailed, it could be useful in grouping
  learners into classes of students with similar
  needs.

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Course Design

• Depending on the diversity found in the
  population, multiple instructional tracks may be
  needed.
• These tracks may be based on
• Communicative functions.
• Topical / lexical domains.
• Language structure and accuracy of communication.

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Proficiency Level Summary
LEVEL
FUNCTION/TASKS
CONTEXT/TOPICS
ACCURACY
All expected of an educated NS
Accepted as an educated NS
All subjects
5
Tailor language, counsel, motivate, persuade,
negotiate
Wide range of professional needs
Extensive, precise, and appropriate
4
Errors never interfere with communication
rarely disturb
Support opinions, hypothesize, explain, deal with
unfamiliar topics
Practical, abstract, special interests
3
Concrete, real-world, factual
Intelligible even if not used to dealing with
non-NS
Narrate, describe, give directions
2
Intelligible with effort or practice
1
Q A, create with the language
Everyday survival
0
Memorized
Random
Unintelligible
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Planning Individualized Instruction. (Micro
Diagnostics)

• The ILR scale can also be used as the basis for
  conducting individualized diagnostic assessments.
• Strengths and deficiencies can be noted as they
  relate to the candidates performance on the
  communication tasks found in the ILR scale.

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Planning Individualized Instruction. (Micro
Diagnostics)

• For instance, the test candidate performing tasks
  at Level 3 might display the following pattern
• Native-like pronunciation.
• Inappropriate choice of register.
• Lack of lexical precision.
• Etc.
• From this type of analysis, an individualized
  learning plan could be developed for each learner
  based on their personal strengths and weaknesses.

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Proficiency Level Summary
LEVEL
FUNCTION/TASKS
CONTEXT/TOPICS
ACCURACY
All expected of an educated NS
Accepted as an educated NS
All subjects
5
Tailor language, counsel, motivate, persuade,
negotiate
Wide range of professional needs
Extensive, precise, and appropriate
4
Errors never interfere with communication
rarely disturb
Support opinions, hypothesize, explain, deal with
unfamiliar topics
Practical, abstract, special interests
3
Concrete, real-world, factual
Intelligible even if not used to dealing with
non-NS
Narrate, describe, give directions
2
Intelligible with effort or practice
1
Q A, create with the language
Everyday survival
0
Memorized
Random
Unintelligible
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When testing heritage language learners, is the
glass half emptyor half full?
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When testing heritage language learners, is the
glass half emptyor half full?

• The answer will depend on
• The breadth and depth of the learners
  experiences.
• The size of the glass.

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Choosing the Correct GlassRequires Knowing Its
Purpose

• Water glass
• Wine glass
• Brandy snifter

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Choosing the Correct TestRequires Knowing Its
Purpose

• Screening for job assignments.
• Placement into instructional programs.
• Planning individualized instruction.

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Testing Application Matrix
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Testing Application Matrix
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Testing is Beneficial

• Heritage learners generally have substantial, if
  sometimes uneven, language skills.
• Optimum utilization of those skills requires
  informed decision making.
• Language tests can provide the desired
  information.

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However

• Different tests and testing approaches yield
  different data.
• The type of information needed establishes the
  testing purpose.

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Conclusion

• It is the purpose of the test not the person
  to be tested that should determine the type of
  test to be administered.