1 Who, What, Where, WENS? The Native Speaker in the ILR ECOLT 2010 October 2010 ILR Testing Committee ECOLT 2010 October 2010 ILR Testing Committee

Native Speaker in the Literature  Sociolinguists, theoretical, computational and applied linguists all discuss the native speaker  Davies’ (2001) native speaker  Native speaker usage  Method of acquisition  Ultimate goal of acquisition  Meanings are used interchangeably  Sociolinguists, theoretical, computational and applied linguists all discuss the native speaker  Davies’ (2001) native speaker  Native speaker usage  Method of acquisition  Ultimate goal of acquisition  Meanings are used interchangeably 2

“Native Speaker” in the ILR Skill Level Descriptions: the “FE HA WENS”  Functionally Equivalent  Highly Articulate  Well-educated Native Speaker  ILR FE HA WENS is a special breed of NS  Exists, though rarely  Is defined in greater detail in training materials and practical examples  Functionally Equivalent  Highly Articulate  Well-educated Native Speaker  ILR FE HA WENS is a special breed of NS  Exists, though rarely  Is defined in greater detail in training materials and practical examples 3

History of the ILR Scale  Functional origin dating from FSI needs in the 1950’s  ILR Skill Level Descriptions published by OPM in1985 and used across the government: Speaking, Reading, Listening and Writing  Added Translation and Interpretation  Working on Audio Translation and Cultural Guidelines  Functional origin dating from FSI needs in the 1950’s  ILR Skill Level Descriptions published by OPM in1985 and used across the government: Speaking, Reading, Listening and Writing  Added Translation and Interpretation  Working on Audio Translation and Cultural Guidelines 4

Definitions  Native Speaker  Heritage Speaker (not our focus today)  Language Learner and Non-Native Speaker  Native Speaker  Heritage Speaker (not our focus today)  Language Learner and Non-Native Speaker 5

Context for Our Tests  Functional Scale  Language professionals who USE their language  OPI summits determined need for keeping the reference point at Level 5  Need for a FE HA WENS at the top of the ILR Scale  Functional Scale  Language professionals who USE their language  OPI summits determined need for keeping the reference point at Level 5  Need for a FE HA WENS at the top of the ILR Scale 6

ILR Skill Level Descriptions’ Conundrum  intended to test second language speakers  functionally equivalent to well-educated native speaker’s standards = yardstick for assessing proficiency scores  intended to test second language speakers  functionally equivalent to well-educated native speaker’s standards = yardstick for assessing proficiency scores 7

Who We Test Federal government personnel who represent the U.S. regardless of when, where or how they learned the language of the test 8

Who We Test  No assumptions are made about how the language of the test has been acquired  Examinees are treated like well educated native speakers, then the language of the test is scaled to their level  No assumptions are made about how the language of the test has been acquired  Examinees are treated like well educated native speakers, then the language of the test is scaled to their level 9

Native vs. Non-Native Speaker Irrelevant ! 10

HS/College Learners Typical Proficiency Ranges by Acquisition Method 0 Language Majors Heritage Speakers Native Speakers Articulate Native Speakers FE HA WENS

Differences Between Level 2 and Level 3 Level 2Level 3 OverallAble to satisfy routine social demands and limited work requirements Able to speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations in practical, social and professional topics. HallmarksSpeaks with confidence, but not with facility Commits errors that virtually never interfere with understanding and rarely disturb the native speaker. 12

Differences Between Level 2 and Level 3 Level 2Level 3 FunctionsCan handle routine work- related interactions that are limited in scope Professional contexts include matters of shared knowledge and/or international convention Can participate in personal and accommodation-type interactions with elaboration and facility Can discuss particular interests and special fields of competence with reasonable ease. 13

Differences Between Level 2 and Level 3 Level 2Level 3 Functions continued Can handle most normal, high-frequency social conversational situations including extensive, but casual conversations about current events, as well as work, family and autobiographical information. Normal professional duties such as answering objections, clarifying points, justifying decisions, understanding the essence of challenges, stating and defending policy, conducting meetings, delivering briefings, or other extended and elaborate informative monologues. Can typically ask and answer predictable questions in the workplace. 14

Differences Between Level 2 and Level 3 Level 2Level 3 OrganizationUses utterances that are minimally cohesive Uses discourse that is cohesive. StructuresUses simple structures and basic grammatical relations that are typically controlled; however, there are areas of weakness Can effectively use structures to convey meaning accurately Uses linguistic structure that is usually not very elaborate and not thoroughly controlled Has structural inaccuracy, but it is rarely the major cause of misunderstanding Commits frequent errors. Commits errors in low- frequency and highly complex structures 15

Differences Between Level 2 and Level 3 Level 2Level 3 VocabularyCan participate in personal interactions with elaboration and facility. Can effectively use vocabulary to convey meaning accurately. Uses vocabulary that is appropriate for high- frequency utterances, but unusual or imprecise elsewhere. Uses the language clearly and relatively naturally to elaborate concepts freely and make ideas easily understandable to native speakers without searching for words or phrases. 16

Differences Between Level 2 and Level 3 Level 2Level 3 FluencySpeaks with confidence, but not with facility. Speaks readily and fills pauses suitably. PronunciationHas mispronunciations that sometimes result in miscommunication. Commits errors that virtually never interfere with understanding and rarely disturb the native speaker. 17

Differences Between Level 2 and Level 3 Level 2Level 3 Socio-cultural awareness Can handle most normal, high-frequency social conversational situations including extensive but casual conversations. Can participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations in practical, social and professional topics. Although cultural references, proverbs and the implications of nuances and idiom may not be fully understood, the individual can easily repair the conversation. 18

Disclaimer! Government testers do NOT make an overall rating based on one sample! The samples we are going to play for you today are being used to illustrate our discussion, not to provide firm evidence of an individual’s overall language proficiency 19

Samples of NS and NNS performing Level 3 tasks  Non-native speaker (“Ben”) successfully performing a supported opinion task at L3.  Non-native speaker (“Mary Ann”) unsuccessfully performing a supported opinion task at L3.  Native speaker (“Lucas”) unsuccessfully performing a supported opinion task at L3.  Native speaker (“Michael”) successfully performing a supported opinion task at L3.  Non-native speaker (“Ben”) successfully performing a supported opinion task at L3.  Non-native speaker (“Mary Ann”) unsuccessfully performing a supported opinion task at L3.  Native speaker (“Lucas”) unsuccessfully performing a supported opinion task at L3.  Native speaker (“Michael”) successfully performing a supported opinion task at L3. 20

Conclusion  What someone can DO with the language at any given level is important  Not HOW they acquired their language proficiency  What someone can DO with the language at any given level is important  Not HOW they acquired their language proficiency 21