In this episode, Andrew sits down with Michigan State University Associate Professor Dr. Paula Winke. Dr. Winke is a leading researcher on foreign and second language testing. At MSU, she researches if tests are valid, if tests measure what they should, methods for assessment, and differences among learners that affect assessment outcomes. She co-directs the Second Language Studies Eye-tracking Lab at MSU, and gave a plenary talk at the 2019 Task-based Language Teaching Conference in Ottawa, Canada called "We Need to Align Our Classroom Tasks with ACTFL & CEFR Can-Do Descriptors so that Our TBLT Programs are Chock-full of Proficiency Indicators."
In this episode, Dr. Winke provides insight on:
- what proficiency is, the models usually used to measure it, and what problems exist in that model;
- how proficiency progresses vertically, horizontally, and spherically, and questions why we usually only gauge progress on a vertical scale;
- how programs can evaluate if they are assessing accurately;
- why student reflection and self-assessment is crucial;
- the problem with measuring proficiency across different program levels;
- how course grades do not correlate to proficiency and that most assessments don't test what is being learned;
- ACTFL and CEFR scales and how tasks can be great assessment tools.
*For further explanations of how language grows - or how we think it grows - check out our blog post for this episode. Dr. Winke generously provided more insight after the recording of this episode.
More About Dr. Winke:
See her list of publications here
Contact her: winke@msu.edu
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