Assessing Oral Proficiency and Grammatical Errors: Secondary Analysis of DA Interview Data

1. Assessing Oral Proficiency and Grammatical Errors: Secondary Analysis of DA Interview Data Sun-Kwang Bae, Curriculum Development Division, DLIFLC David Moon, Technology Integration Division, DLIFLC This speech/presentation is authorized by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and the Department of Defense. Contents of this presentation are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, DoD, Department of the Army, or DLIFLC.

2. Presentation Outline • The Study Question • Background • The Study • Results • Discussions • Q & A

3. The Study Question What are the grammar structures/features that learners of Korean typically control at a given level of oral proficiency? [From the perspective of teaching & learning - 김지민 (2009); Corder (1981)]

4. Tasks that learners can handle at each level – ILR L1 Level 1 • Able to ask and answer simple questions related to everyday survival needs • Able to satisfy minimum courtesy requirements • Able to deal with routine everyday situations • Able to talk simply about self

5. Tasks that learners can handle at each level – ILR L2 Level 2 • Able to satisfy routine social demands and limited work requirements • Able to narrate and describe in all three time frames • Able to give detailed instructions/directions • Able to participate in conversations on current events as well as give detailed information about work, family and self

6. Tasks that learners can handle at each level – ILR L3 Level 3 • Able to participate in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social and professional topics • Able to support opinion in the FLO content areas • Able to hypothesize • Able to discuss concrete and abstract topics • Able to discuss topics of particular interest • Able to deal with unfamiliar situations

7. Structural control that learners are to have at each level – ILR L1 Level 1 • Structural accuracy is random or severely limited • Almost every utterance has errors in basic structures • Time concepts are vague • Can formulate some questions

8. Structural control that learners are to have at each level – ILR L2 Level 2 • Discourse is minimally cohesive • Grammatical structures are usually not very elaborate and not thoroughly controlled • Errors are frequent • Simple structure and basic grammatical relations are typically controlled

9. Structural control that learners are to have at each level – ILR L3 Level 3 • Effectively combines structure and vocabulary to convey meaning • Discourse is cohesive • Use of structural devices is flexible and elaborate • Errors occur in low frequency and highly complex structures, but structural inaccuracy rarely causes misunderstanding

10. The study: data collection Data Collection • Face-to-face diagnostic oral assessment interviews conducted by a pair of specialists (David Moon, EM, AS, JY, YR, NT) • During June 1999 – September 2000 • 55 students: L0+ (1), L1 (15), L1+ (18), L2 (14), L2+ (6), L3 (1) • The tool: Sample

11. The study: structural features examined Structural Features • Sentence patterns: Plain, Honorific, Quotation • Verb conjugations: Irregular, Special • Complex constructions: Passive, Attributive, Negation • Particles: Case, Locative, Instrumental, Auxiliary • Cardinal/Ordinal Number: Native, Sino-Korean agreement • Pronouns: Personal, Things, Places • Conjunctions: Basic, Advanced, Conjunctive Fillers

12. The result: sentence patterns Note: The figures are percentages “Satisfactory/Need Work/Not Applicable.”

13. The result: verb conjugations & complex structures Note: The figures are percentages “Satisfactory/Need Work/Not Applicable.”

14. The result: quotation Note: The figures are percentages “Satisfactory/Need Work/Not Applicable.”

15. The result: markers/particles Note: The figures are percentages “Satisfactory/Need Work/Not Applicable.”

16. The result: numbers + counters Note: The figures are percentages “Satisfactory/Need Work/Not Applicable.”

17. The result: pronouns Note: The figures are percentages “Satisfactory/Need Work/Not Applicable.”

18. The result: conjunctions Note: The figures are percentages “Satisfactory/Need Work/Not Applicable.”

19. The result: discourse skills Note: The figures are percentages “Satisfactory/Need Work/Not Applicable.”

20. Discussions: grammar features that learners begin to control at L1 & L1+ Level 1 • Personal pronouns • Present tense Level 1+ • Past tense • Negation (in statements & questions) • Case markers (subject, object, dative, locative) • Demonstrative pronouns (things & places) • Basic conjunctive endings

21. Discussions: grammar features that learners begin to control at L2 Level 2 • Negation in requests and suggestions • Irregular verbs and special verbs • Attributive forms • Instrumental and auxiliary particles • Numbers and their agreement with counters • Conjunctives and conversational fillers • Repair strategy in discourse • Negotiate meaning in discourse

22. Discussions: grammar features that learners begin to control at L2+ Level 2+ • Honorifics • Passive and causative • Quotations • Precise lexical selection • Paraphrase and restate The features that learners can’t control by L2+: • Advanced conjunctive endings

23. Implications & Applications Q & A

24. Contact Information Online Diagnostic Assessment for reading and listening skills: http://oda.dliflc.edu Contact: sunkwang.bae@dliflc.edu