Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Language Testing, 29 (2), 2012, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2012 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Language Testing page: http://ltj.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/
Accepted author manuscript, 698 KB, PDF document
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Accent, listening assessment and the potential for a shared-L1 advantage
T2 - a DIF perspective
AU - Harding, Luke
N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Language Testing, 29 (2), 2012, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2012 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Language Testing page: http://ltj.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - This paper reports on an investigation of the potential for a shared-L1 advantage on an academic English listening test featuring speakers with L2 accents. Two hundred and twelve second-language listeners (including 70 Mandarin Chinese L1 listeners and 60 Japanese L1 listeners) completed three versions of the University Test of English as a Second Language (UTESL) listening sub-test which featured an Australian English-accented speaker, a Japanese-accented speaker and a Mandarin Chinese-accented speaker. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses were conducted on data from the tests which featured L2-accented speakers using two methods of DIF detection – the standardization procedure and the Mantel-Haenszel procedure – with candidates matched for ability on the test featuring the Australian English-accented speaker. Findings showed that Japanese L1 listeners were advantaged on a small number of items on the test featuring the Japanese-accented speaker, but these were balanced by items which favoured non-Japanese L1 listeners. By contrast, Mandarin Chinese L1 listeners were clearly advantaged across several items on the test featuring a Mandarin Chinese L1 speaker. The implications of these findings for claims of bias are discussed with reference to the role of speaker accent in the listening construct.
AB - This paper reports on an investigation of the potential for a shared-L1 advantage on an academic English listening test featuring speakers with L2 accents. Two hundred and twelve second-language listeners (including 70 Mandarin Chinese L1 listeners and 60 Japanese L1 listeners) completed three versions of the University Test of English as a Second Language (UTESL) listening sub-test which featured an Australian English-accented speaker, a Japanese-accented speaker and a Mandarin Chinese-accented speaker. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses were conducted on data from the tests which featured L2-accented speakers using two methods of DIF detection – the standardization procedure and the Mantel-Haenszel procedure – with candidates matched for ability on the test featuring the Australian English-accented speaker. Findings showed that Japanese L1 listeners were advantaged on a small number of items on the test featuring the Japanese-accented speaker, but these were balanced by items which favoured non-Japanese L1 listeners. By contrast, Mandarin Chinese L1 listeners were clearly advantaged across several items on the test featuring a Mandarin Chinese L1 speaker. The implications of these findings for claims of bias are discussed with reference to the role of speaker accent in the listening construct.
U2 - 10.1177/0265532211421161
DO - 10.1177/0265532211421161
M3 - Journal article
VL - 29
SP - 163
EP - 180
JO - Language Testing
JF - Language Testing
SN - 0265-5322
IS - 2
ER -