Proficiency: Panacea, Framework, Process? A Reply to Kramsch, Schulz, and, Particularly, to Bachman and Savignon

Lowe, Pardee

doi:10.2307/326818

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Evidence for our claim may be seen in the following remarks by Lowe (1986) and Higgs (1986). Lowe writes, "But one document [the Guidelines] cannot be all things to all people-to test designers, to raters, to course developers, to materials writers, to classroom teachers, to administrators" (p. 392).…”

Section: Individual Speakersmentioning

confidence: 57%

Proficiency

Lantolf

Frawley

1988

Stud Sec Lang Acq

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In this article we argue against a definitional approach to oral proficiency and in favor of a principled approach based on sound theoretical considerations. We first identify four problematic trends in the oral proficiency movement as it is currently conceived: the tail wagging the dog, false authenticity, premature institutionalization, and the psychometric posture. Thereafter, we offer the rudiments of a principled theory of oral proficiency, based on the theory of higher forms of human cognitive activity developed by the Vygotskyan school of psycholinguistics. The theory compels us to bring into focus such factors as open systems, the individual speaker, functional systems, and intersubjectivity. From this perspective, we argue that if the construct of oral proficiency is to have any significance at all for language teaching and testing, researchers must come to understand what it means for real speakers (natives as well as nonnatives) to interact with other real speakers in the everyday world of human activity rather than in the world circumscribed by language tests.

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Section: Individual Speakersmentioning

confidence: 57%

Proficiency

Lantolf

Frawley

1988

Stud Sec Lang Acq

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“…Similar criteria appear in the government scales. Lowe (1986) stated that "[tlhe ILR approach has permitted successful use of the WENS (well educated native speaker) concept as the ultimate criterion in government for over thirty years" (p. 394).…”

Section: Native Speaker Criterionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Oral Proficiency Interview: A Research Agenda

Chalhoub‐Deville

Fulcher

2003

Foreign Language Annals

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Many researchers and practitioners maintain that ACTFL's efforts to improve instructional practices and promote proficiency assessments tied to descriptors of what learners can do in real life have contributed significantly to second language teaching and testing. Similar endeavors in the area of research, however, are critically needed. Focusing on the oral proficiency interview (OPI), this article argues that ACTFL has a responsibility to its stakeholders to initiate a research program that generates a coherent combination of logical and empirical evidence to support its OPI interpretations and practices. The article highlights a number of high‐priority areas—including delimiting purposes, examining interview discourse, documenting rater/interlocutor behavior, explicating the native speaker criterion, and investigating the OPI's impact on language pedagogy—that should be incorporated into the research agenda.

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“…Kramsch (1986) joined the attack on the guidelines, essentially but elegantly restating the century-old argument (Latham, 1877) that their specificity narrowed the range of teaching, by encouraging people to teach only what could be tested. Lowe (1986), with long experience in government oral proficiency testing, answered the critics, defending the Guidelines, but agreeing that some further study and research was needed.…”

Section: The Actfl Proficiency Guidelinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language Testing in The Modern Language Journal

Spolsky

2000

The Modern Language Journal

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The Modern Language Journal published on average two articles a year dealing with language tests in its first 80 years. This probably reflects the actual (if not the desirable) level of interest in language testing of the language teaching profession. For the early years, before more specialized journals appeared, it gives an excellent picture of the history of the field in the United States. Later, the coverage became spottier, but there continued to appear a number of important articles especially on topics like prognosis and aptitude tests, the cloze test, oral testing, and the controversy over the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. As a whole, the articles show a valuable concern with the use rather than the form of language tests.

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Proficiency: Panacea, Framework, Process? A Reply to Kramsch, Schulz, and, Particularly, to Bachman and Savignon

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Proficiency

Proficiency

The Oral Proficiency Interview: A Research Agenda

Language Testing in The Modern Language Journal

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