Designing and Sustaining a Foreign Language Writing Proficiency Assessment Program at the Postsecondary Level
Elizabeth Bernhardt (PhD, University of Minnesota) is Professor of German Studies and John Roberts Hale Director of the Language Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Joan Molitoris (PhD, Columbia University) is Lecturer in Spanish and Associate Director of the Language Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Ken Romeo (PhD, Stanford University) is Lecturer in English for Foreign Students and Academic Technology Specialist for the Language Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Nina Lin (MA, Stanford University) is Lecturer in Chinese in the Language Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Patricia Valderrama (PhD candidate, Stanford University) is Graduate Teaching Associate in Comparative Literature, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Abstract
Writing in postsecondary foreign language contexts in North America has received far less attention in the curriculum than the development of oral proficiency. This article describes one institution's process of confronting the challenges not only of recognizing the contribution of writing to students' overall linguistic development, but also of implementing a program‐wide process of assessing writing proficiency. The article reports writing proficiency ratings that were collected over a 5‐year period for more than 4,000 learners in 10 languages, poses questions regarding the proficiency levels that postsecondary learners achieved across 2 years of foreign language instruction, and relates writing proficiency scores to Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview ratings for a subset of students. The article also articulates the crucial relationship between professional development and writing as well as the role of technology in collecting and assessing writing samples.
Number of times cited: 8
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