The Elicited Imitation Task (EIT) is a popular technique for efficiently measuring global proficiency in multiple languages, and accumulated evidence indicates high reliability and strong relationships with other proficiency measures. Nevertheless, several dimensions of EIT design remain open to investigation, including the assumption that a pause is required in between the aural stimulus and oral response, to ensure processing of the input and prevent so-called parroting. This study investigated the relationship between three poststimulus pause conditions, learners’ proficiency and working memory, and their EIT scores as well as their perceptions of task difficulty, mental effort, focus, and interest. Findings indicated no differences in performances or perceptions between the 0-second pause, 2-second pause, and 5-second pause conditions, and a weak relationship between EIT performance and working memory. Across all conditions, the EIT distinguished consistently among proficiency levels, correlated strongly with a criterion proficiency measure, and produced remarkably reliable scores.

引发模仿任务 (EIT) 是一种有效衡量多种语言的全球熟练程度的流行技术，积累的证据表明其可靠性高，并且与其他熟练程度衡量标准有密切关系。尽管如此，EIT 设计的几个方面仍然有待研究，包括假设听觉刺激和口头反应之间需要暂停，以确保输入的处理并防止所谓的鹦鹉学舌。本研究调查了三种刺激后暂停条件、学习者的熟练程度和工作记忆、他们的 EIT 分数以及他们对任务难度、脑力投入、注意力和兴趣的感知之间的关系。研究结果表明，0 秒暂停、2 秒暂停和 5 秒暂停条件之间的表现或感知没有差异，并且 EIT 表现和工作记忆之间的关系较弱。在所有条件下，EIT 都能一致地区分熟练程度，与标准熟练程度测量密切相关，并产生非常可靠的分数。