ERIC Number: EJ1257490
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Sep
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1695-2618
EISSN: N/A
Assessing Spanish Proficiency of Online Language Learners after Year 1
Aldrich, Rosalie S.; Moneypenny, Dianne Burke
The EUROCALL Review, v27 n2 p28-39 Sep 2019
Online (OL) second language (L2) courses are becoming more widely offered in the United States; however, little information exists about the effectiveness of OL L2 courses beyond one semester or course. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess Spanish students' oral proficiency after completing one year of OL only L2 courses. At the end of year one, students (n=65) completed the Versant exam, which scored overall level of oral proficiency as well as four sub-categories: pronunciation, fluency, sentence formation, and vocabulary production. The results showed that 40% of OL Spanish students met the ACTFL benchmark of Intermediate-Low, while 49% scored Novice-High, one level below the benchmark. A portion (15%) of students not reaching Intermediate-Low scored within a few points of the benchmark. A majority of the students also met the benchmark for pronunciation and fluency, but not for sentence formation or vocabulary production. These results show that it is possible for students enrolled exclusively in online Spanish language classes to meet benchmarks. Thus, OL language students can and should be held to the same standards of oral proficiency as their peers in seated classrooms.
Descriptors: Language Proficiency, Spanish, Student Evaluation, Electronic Learning, Second Language Learning, Online Courses, Oral Language, Delivery Systems, Undergraduate Students, Language Tests
European Association for Computer-Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL). EUROCALL Headquarters, School of Modern Languages, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK. Tel: +34-67-943-1283; Web site: http://www.eurocall-languages.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A