Designing Listening Tests

This book examines the crucial role that sound file selection plays in assessing listening ability and introduces the reader to the procedure of textmapping, which explores how to exploit a sound file. The book discusses the role of the task identifier, the task instructions and the example, and analyses the strengths and weaknesses of different test methods. Guidelines for developing listening items, and procedures that can be used in peer review and task revision are also provided. A range of sample listening tasks illustrates the benefits of following the test development approach described in the book. Developing Listening Tests also provides insights into the advantages that field trials, statistical analyses and standard setting can offer the language test developer in determining how well their tasks work. This practical book will be of interest to researchers, language testers, testing commissions, and teachers engaged in assessing listening performance around the world.

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Reviews

“Rita Green has spent many years at the coalface of language test development and training in a variety of international contexts; this book is the sum of this experience. This book is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to develop listening tests: a highly practical, theoretically-grounded guide for teachers and practitioners everywhere. Green covers a range of important principles and approaches; one highlight is the introduction to the “textmapping” approach to working with sound files. This book is highly recommended for anyone involved in the development of listening tests.” (Luke Harding, Senior Lecturer, Lancaster University, UK)

“As she did in Statistical Analyses for Language Testers, Green combines her extensive experience as a language assessor with her outstanding skills as an educator in creating this authoritative introduction to listening assessment. The engaging, easy-to-follow style of DLT and the richness of practical advice and detailed, worked-through examples make this an invaluable handbook for anyone engaged in the design, validation, and implementation of listening tests.” (Jeffrey Steele, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Canada)

“This book focuses on how to design valid and reliable listening assessment tasks in a (foreign) language and is the result of the Rita Green’s extensive expertise in the field of language assessment. Through DLT, language test developers, language teachers, BA and MA pre-service and in-service students of language education and applied linguistics as well as university assessment experts are provided with not only evidence-based research findings, but also practical solutions which can be applied to assessing listening skills.” (Dr. Karmen Pižorn, Associate Professor, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)

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