Walters2009
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BibType | ARTICLE |
Key | Walters2009 |
Author(s) | F. Scott Walters |
Title | A Conversation Analysis: Informed Test of L2 Aural Pragmatic Comprehension |
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Tag(s) | EMCA, second language acquisition |
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Year | 2009 |
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Journal | TESOL Quarterly |
Volume | 43 |
Number | 1 |
Pages | 29–54 |
URL | Link |
DOI | 10.1002/j.1545-7249.2009.tb00226.x |
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Abstract
Speech act theory–based, second language pragmatics testing (SLPT) raises test-validation issues owing to a lack of correspondence with empirical conversational data. On the assumption that conversation analysis (CA) provides a more accurate account of language use, it is suggested that CA serve as a more empirically valid basis for SLPT development. The current study explores this notion by administering a pilot CA-informed test (CAIT) of listening comprehension to learners of English as second language (ESL) and to a control group of native speakers of English. The listening CAIT protocol involved participants' addressing multiple-choice items after listening to audiotaped conversational sequences derived from the CA literature. Statistical analyses of pilot-test responses, correlations of test score with participant demographic variables, and CA-informed, qualitative analyses of nonnative and native speaker responses with reference to operationalized pragmatic norms provided tentative evidence that the CAIT aural-comprehension measure possesses some utility in SLPT.
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