Presented by Juliane Bertrand November 24, 2005

1. Annotated Bibliography and Literature Survey:Assessment of Language Proficiencyin the Health and Social Services SectorResearch Report Presented by Juliane Bertrand November 24, 2005

2. Terms of Reference Survey the following: 1) ESL proficiency tests for adults working in a professional environment, with emphasis on health and social services workers 2) Materials generated by each such test 3) Studies on ESL proficiency assessment

3. Main ESL Proficiency Tests • Administered directly by the design agency- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)- Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) - Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) - ETS Test of Professional English (ETS TOPE) • Administered by the client institution- Institutional Testing Program (TOEFL ITP) - Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) - Secondary Level English Proficiency Test (SLEP) - Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP) - Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT)

4. Description of ESL Proficiency Tests

5. Conditions forLanguage Proficiency Testing

6. Strengths / Weaknesses

7. Canadian Tests • Canadian Test of English for Scholars and Trainees (CanTEST)Positives - Assesses the four language skills- Uses authentic materialNegatives- Administered only in Toronto, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Halifax - Not geared to the needs of health and social services workers

8. Canadian Tests • Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN)Positives- Assesses the four language skills- Referenced to nursing tasksNegatives - Administered only in Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg

9. CanTEST Cost: about $200, at test-taker’s expense+ travel to a city where the test is administered Duration: 3 hrs CELBAN Cost: $300 plus taxes, at test-taker’s expense + travel to a city where the test is administered Duration: 3 hrs 30 min Canadian Tests

10. Other Assessment Instruments • Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) - Set standards for the four language skills- Centred on the test-taker’s social and professional activities- Lay the ground for designing tests for specific job sectors (e.g. CELBAN) • Portfolio- Tracks the learner’s progress- Avoids psychological factors that could affect test performance- Requires ongoing assessment

11. Materials Generated by these Tests • Works on theory and practice- More than 70 research reports published by ETS (e.g. TOEFL, TOEIC, SLEP, TSE) since 1977- Numerous CCLB documents describing the theoretical bases of Canadian language standards, the characteristics of those standards, and resulting ideas for activities- Technical manuals on administering language proficiency tests; charts to help interpret test results

12. Materials Generated by these Tests • Validity studies- Frequently re-assessed for standardized tests- Difficult to produce for locally administered tests given widely varying test management procedures- CELBAN = a first study suggests a positive link between success with CELBAN and withTOEFL (CCLB, 2004)

13. Materials Generated by these Tests • Testimonials from institutions using these tests- Overall satisfaction with TOEFL and TOEIC- TOEFL unsatisfactory for nurses- CELBAN = a study on nurse and administrator satisfaction should be undertaken in 2006

14. Studies on ESL Proficiency Assessment • Background - Prior to the communicative approach, language proficiency was the sole focus of assessment.- Integrated test introduced- Leading works:Lado, Robert (1961). Language Testing, London, Longmans, xxiv + 390 p.Valette, R. M. (1967). Modern Language Testing: A Handbook, New York, Harcourt, Brace & World. Cooper, R. L. (1968). “An elaborated language testing model,”inProblems in Foreign Language Testing: Proceedings of a Conference. Language Learning, 18, p. 57-73. Spolsky, B. (1978). Approaches to Language Testing: Advances in Language Testing, Series 2, Arlington, VA, Center for Applied Linguistics.

15. Studies on ESL Proficiency Assessment • Present trends - With the communicative approach, assessment covers all language skills.- Introduction of alternatives to the standardized test and of tests referenced to quasi-authentic tasks.- Leading works:Canale, M. and M. Swain (1980). “Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing,” Applied Linguistics, 1, p. 1-47.Bachman, L. (1990). Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing, Oxford, Oxford University Press.Celce-Murcia, Z. Dörnyei, S. Thurrell (1995). Communicative competence: A pedagogically motivated model with content specifications. Issues of Applied Linguistics, 6 (2), p. 5-35. Milanovic, Michael and Nick Saville (Eds.) (1996). Performance Testing, Cognition and Assessment. Selected papers from the 15th Language Testing Research Colloquium, Cambridge and Arnhem, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, coll. “ Studies in Language Testing 3,” 314 p.

16. Conclusion • None of the tests surveyed can be used to assess proficiency in English as a second language for all job categories in the health and social services sector. • CELBAN, designed with reference to CLB, seems to be a model to follow. It is consistent with current language acquisition theories (e.g. emphasis on language objectives rather than specific grammatical constructs and on the use of authentic tasks).