[EDLING:516] Re: Lit. on development of distractots of language tests

[Hyun-Sook Kang]

Hi there,

I’m writing to share information/experiences of using distractors in language
testing. It seems likely that distractors have often been used in
grammaticality or acceptability judgment tests so as to avoid response bias
and/or guess work. In particular, researchers working within the framework of
the UG theory provide both grammatical and ungrammatical sentences carrying
target forms and also distractors targeting some other forms to
test “implicit” knowledge of language representations and rules by means of
grammaticality judgment tests. As a result, test-takers would not notice what
language forms they are being tested on. I am sure there are a large number of
empirical studies using distractors, but here are some of them I encountered:

-- Use of distractors in grammaticality or acceptability judgment tests:

Ayoun, D. (2001). The role of negative and positive feedback in the second
language acquisition of the Passe Compose and Imparfait. Modern Language
Journal, 85, 226-243.

Gass, S., Svetics, I., & Lemelin, S. (2003). Differential effects of
attention. Language Learning. 53:3, 497-545.

-- Use of distractors in communicative tasks:

Leeman, J. (2003). Recasts and second language development: Beyond negative
evidence. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 25, 37-63.

If you want to dig up more empirical studies within the framework of the UG
theory (mostly talking about the properties and representations of
interlanguage), I’d recommend you to look up “Second Language Research”. If
you want to get empirical studies on development, instruction, processing,
etc. in language learning, then I’d suggest you to look up “Studies in Second
Language Acquisition”, “Language Learning”, “Modern Language Journal”, and the
like.

That’s about it, and hope this helps,
Hyun-Sook


Quoting Tobias Haug <tobias.haug at signlang-assessment.info>:

 Dear all,

 happy new year.

 Does someone on this list know references (journal articles, books)
 that deal specifically with the development of distractors in
 language tests? Please reply directly to my email address. Thanks a
 lot in advance. (sorry for possible cross-postings).

 regards, Tobias
 --

 --

 Tobias Haug

 Fax: +49-69-79 12 500 37
 tobias.haug at signlang-assessment.info
 http://www.signlang-assessment.info
 http://www.projekt.gebaerdensprachtest.de





--
Hyun-Sook Kang
Ph.D. candidate in Educational Linguistics
Graduate School of Education
University of Pennsylvania
Homepage: http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~hyunkang
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." --
 Gandhi