2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
English peer-to-peer interaction assessment system with online capability
| Project/Area Number |
23K00591
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| Research Institution | Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Science |
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Principal Investigator |
ダニエル ニューバリー 茨城県立医療大学, 保健医療学部, 教授 (10523954)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
熊本 早苗 岩手県立大学盛岡短期大学部, その他部局等, 准教授 (20374978)
PETERSEN JACOB 岩手大学, 国際教育センター, 准教授 (60853546)
HAMISH・FINBAR・ SMITH 岩手県立大学盛岡短期大学部, その他部局等, 講師 (70882926)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2023-04-01 – 2026-03-31
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| Keywords | interaction / interactional competence / speaking assessment / IC rating criteria / interaction rubric / assessor training / LMS training / EFL assessment |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Building on prior research that developed an interactionally-focused speaking assessment for Japanese university EFL students and an accompanying assessor training prototype, current work in this project is focused on standardizing the delivery of test task prompts. Specifically, task prompts were converted from presentation slides to videos, with instructions delivered in Japanese to address previous inconsistencies in examiner management that affected test outcomes and failure of test-takers to understand the assessment objectives. This video-based approach reduces the need for extensive examiner training and minimizes variations in testing, thereby enhancing the assessment`s usefulness in measuring test-takers` IC abilities. Initial trials with test-taker dyads confirmed the feasibility of this method, leading the researchers to pursue refinement of this method.
The development of assessor training addresses the relatively complex process of assessing interactional competence, which is not the usual focus of EFL speaking assessments. A prototype of the assessor training, started during the previous research grant, included videos of student performances and textual explanations of assessment criteria. More collaborative activities between assessors-in-training are being developed, as well as training devices such as interactive quizzes, and voiceover explanations of test-taker performances are being developed to improve the assessors' ability to evaluate IC competencies more effectively.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Students are currently being recruited to test the face-to-face task prompt design. Assessor training has advanced more than online test development, primarily due to the high costs associated with purchasing necessary equipment for the online test development. To avoid unnecessary expenditures, the research team is exploring existing studies in online test development. Meanwhile, the development of the online assessor training system commenced as scheduled, with recruitment of assessors set to begin in June.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Students are currently being recruited to test the face-to-face task prompt design, with testing of the video-delivery mode task prompt set to start at the end of May 2024. The development of multiple task prompts for the face-to-face test is aimed for completion by Fall 2024. The development of the online assessor training system began on schedule, with recruitment for this phase to begin in June. Development of the assessor training modules will follow the initiation of task prompt development. The ethics application necessary for starting online test development will also be submitted in June 2024. Upon ethics approval, subject recruitment to test the online-test delivery method is planned for Autumn, 2024.
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| Causes of Carryover |
Two researchers did not use any of their research funds because they did not participate in any conferences.
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