Aviation English proficiency is a core competency in the global air traffic controller profession. There is, however, growing concern about the current ineffective paper-based assessment methods and the severe lack of interactive online testing for such a critical profession, one that should be ideally assessed in an authentic task and situation (Alderson, 2010; Douglas, 2013). The tests, which lack validity and authenticity, cannot capture how knowledge of aviation English communication and strategic competence are used through valid means and, therefore, inevitably fail to predict how test takers actually perform in the target language use situations (Douglas, 2000). In the present study, the researcher examines the potential use of verbal report data produced by test takers interacting in a virtual testing environment. The research seeks to answer two specific questions: (a) What types of strategies are used in the virtual aviation English task performance? and (b) How can the assessed strategies be interpreted in relation to test takers’ performance? The analysis of the test takers’ verbal reports from stimulated recalls indicates that various cognitive, metacognitive, and communication strategies were used while performing the Virtual Interactive Tasks for Aviation English Assessment, and that there is a positive relationship between the total number of cognitive and metacognitive strategies adopted and the test scores. The findings suggest that the use of an immersive interface and simulated tasks in a virtual world could provide language learners with more authentic opportunities to perform the target tasks and promote strategic, as well as linguistic, competence.

中文翻译：

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虚拟世界中航空英语的创新评估：认知和元认知策略的窗口

航空英语能力是全球空中交通管制员职业的核心能力。然而，人们越来越担心当前无效的纸质评估方法以及严重缺乏对这一关键职业的交互式在线测试，理想情况下应该在真实的任务和情况下进行评估（Alderson，2010；Douglas，2013 ）。这些测试缺乏有效性和真实性，无法捕捉到航空英语交际知识和战略能力如何通过有效手段使用，因此不可避免地无法预测考生在目标语言使用情况下的实际表现（Douglas，2000）。在本研究中，研究人员检查了应试者在虚拟测试环境中交互产生的口头报告数据的潜在用途。该研究旨在回答两个具体问题：（a）虚拟航空英语任务执行中使用了哪些类型的策略？(b) 如何根据考生的表现来解释评估的策略？对受试者的刺激回忆口头报告的分析表明，在执行航空英语评估虚拟交互任务时，使用了各种认知、元认知和沟通策略，并且认知总数与元认知之间存在正相关关系。采用的策略和考试成绩。研究结果表明，在虚拟世界中使用沉浸式界面和模拟任务可以为语言学习者提供更真实的机会来执行目标任务并促进战略以及语言，