30.974, Books: Rethinking the Second Language Listening Test: Field

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-30-974. Fri Mar 01 2019. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 30.974, Books: Rethinking the Second Language Listening Test: Field

Moderator: Malgorzata E. Cavar (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Student Moderator: Jeremy Coburn
Managing Editor: Becca Morris
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Everett Green, Sarah Robinson, Peace Han, Nils Hjortnaes, Yiwen Zhang, Julian Dietrich
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Please support the LL editors and operation with a donation at:
           https://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/

Editor for this issue: Jeremy Coburn <jecoburn at linguistlist.org>
================================================================


Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2019 15:04:48
From: Janet Joyce [jjoyce at equinoxpub.com]
Subject: Rethinking the Second Language Listening Test: Field

 


Title: Rethinking the Second Language Listening Test 
Subtitle: From Theory to Practice 
Series Title: British Council Monographs on Modern Language Testing  

Publication Year: 2019 
Publisher: Equinox Publishing Ltd
	   http://www.equinoxpub.com/
	

Book URL: https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/rethinking-second-language/ 


Author: John Field

Electronic: ISBN:  9781781797167 Pages: 168 Price: ----   Comment: see website
Hardback: ISBN:  9781781797143 Pages: 168 Price: U.S. $ 100
Paperback: ISBN:  9781781797150 Pages: 168 Price: U.S. $ 29.95


Abstract:

"Rethinking the Second Language Listening Test" argues that the key to more
valid testing of second language listening lies in a better understanding of
the nature of the skill and of the signal that listeners have to decode. Using
this information as a point of departure, it takes a critical look at many of
the myths and conventions behind listening tests and provides practical
suggestions as to the ways in which they might be rethought.

The book begins with an account of the various processes that contribute to
listening in order to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by second
language learners. The information feeds in to a new set of descriptors of
listening behaviour across proficiency levels and informs much of the
discussion in later chapters. The main body of the book critically examines
the various components of a listening test, challenging some of the false
assumptions behind them and proposing practical alternatives. The discussion
covers: the recording-as-text, the recording-as-speech, conventions of test
delivery, standard task formats and item design. Major themes are the critical
role played by the recorded material and the degree to which tests impose
demands that go beyond those of real-world listening. The following section
focuses on two types of listener with different needs from the general
candidate: those aiming to demonstrate academic or professional proficiency in
English and young language learners, where level of cognitive development is
an issue for test design. There is a brief reflection on the extent to which
integrated listening tests reflect the reality of listening events. The book
concludes with a report of a study into how feasible it is to identify the
information load of a listening text, a factor potentially contributing to
difficulty.
 



Linguistic Field(s): Language Acquisition


Written In: English  (eng)

See this book announcement on our website: 
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=134573




------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*****************    LINGUIST List Support    *****************
Please support the LL editors and operation with a donation at:

              The IU Foundation Crowd Funding site:
       https://iufoundation.fundly.com/the-linguist-list

               The LINGUIST List FundDrive Page:
            https://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/
 


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-30-974	
----------------------------------------------------------