[EDLING:526] Re: Lit. on development of distractots of language tests

[Tobias Haug]

HI, thanks a lot for the info. the references
you've suggested are indeed very helpful.

cheers, tobias

>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


--

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