ABSTRACT

As our understanding of the construct of oral communication (OC) has evolved, so have the possibilities of computer technology undertaking the delivery of tests that measure this ability. It is paramount to understand to what extent such developments lead to accurate, comprehensive, and useful assessment of OC. In this paper, we discuss five models of technology-delivered OC assessment that have appeared in the past three decades. We evaluate these models in terms of how well their respective methods aid in assessing OC. To achieve this aim, we use a framework which takes into account a contemporary view of OC ability, including the call for incorporating English as a lingua franca (ELF) considerations into English language assessment. The evaluation of the five models suggests strengths and weaknesses of each that should be considered when determining which is used for a particular purpose.

摘要

随着我们对口头交流 (OC) 结构的理解不断发展，计算机技术进行测量这种能力的测试的可能性也在不断发展。了解此类发展在何种程度上导致对 OC 进行准确、全面和有用的评估至关重要。在本文中，我们讨论了过去 30 年出现的五种技术交付 OC 评估模型。我们根据它们各自的方法对评估 OC 的帮助程度来评估这些模型。为实现这一目标，我们使用了一个框架，该框架考虑了当代对 OC 能力的看法，包括呼吁将英语作为通用语言 (ELF) 考虑因素纳入英语语言评估。