2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Validating a CEFR-informed Open Access English Placement Test
| Project/Area Number |
21K13083
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| Research Institution | Tezukayama University |
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Principal Investigator |
Bower Jack 帝塚山大学, 全学教育開発センター, 准教授 (90406687)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2021-04-01 – 2025-03-31
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| Keywords | placement testing / CEFR / CEFR-J |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In 2023, I presented analyses of my 2022 data at the JALT2023 International Conference in Tsukuba, Japan. At the conference, I had conversations with experts in the fields of language testing and vocabulary, which helped me plan the design of test items that will more validly separate test takers by CEFR level. I also continued the analysis of test results obtained in 2022 and began planning and designing better test item types, which should be able to overcome the problem of items based on the CEFR-J vocabulary list that were misordered when ranked by item difficulty level. Additionally, I made a submission to present the results of the 2022 data at the International Association of Applied Linguistics conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August 2024, and my application was accepted.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
4: Progress in research has been delayed.
Reason
Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain further results from trialing the placement test in 2023. Although the placement test was used to stream 2024 entering students from four departments at the university where I worked, my application to use the test results for research was rejected. Additionally, although I submitted an analysis of the 2022 results to an international journal, feedback from the journal referees indicated that my research was better suited for another journal.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In 2024, I plan to redesign the pilot test by updating item types and vocabulary selection based on the 2022 data analysis to address problems with items not ranking by CEFR level. I will also create a new pilot version to expand the proficiency range from CEFR A1 to B2, making the test more widely applicable. At my new research institution, I'll apply for permission to run this revised pilot test with my classes. Additionally, I will seek research collaborators to help administer the test at other Japanese universities. Furthermore, I will present my 2022 data results at the AILA conference for expert feedback and attend the Japan Language Testing Association conference for further consultation. Lastly, I will revise my article and submit it to a more suitable international journal.
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| Causes of Carryover |
In the next fiscal year, I plan to present at one international conference. English native speaker voice actors will also need to be hired to record new and revised listening test questions. Furthermore, I would like to conduct a pilot of the new version of the placement test with as many volunteers as possible and have those volunteers take a commercial test, so that I can make statistical comparisons between the tests. In addition, research funds will be used to download research articles and to purchase books for literature review for writing research articles.
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