1. Annotated Bibliography and Literature Survey: Assessment of Language Proficiency in the Health and Social Services Sector Annotated Bibliography and Literature Survey: Assessment of Language Proficiency in the Health and Social Services Sector Research Report Presented by Juliane Bertrand November 24, 2005

2. Terms of Reference Survey the following: 1) ESL proficiency tests for adults working in a professional environment, with emphasis on health and social services workers 2) Materials generated by each such test 3) Studies on ESL proficiency assessment

3. Main ESL Proficiency Tests Administered directly by the design agency - Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) - Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) - ETS Test of Professional English (ETS TOPE) Administered by the client institution - Institutional Testing Program (TOEFL ITP) - Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) - Secondary Level English Proficiency Test (SLEP) - Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP) - Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT)

4. Description of ESL Proficiency Tests

5. Conditions for Language Proficiency Testing

6. Strengths / Weaknesses

7. Canadian Tests Canadian Test of English for Scholars and Trainees (CanTEST) Positives - Assesses the four language skills - Uses authentic material Negatives - Administered only in Toronto, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Halifax - Not geared to the needs of health and social services workers

8. Canadian Tests Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) Positives - Assesses the four language skills - Referenced to nursing tasks Negatives - Administered only in Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg

9. Canadian Tests CanTEST Cost: about $200, at test- taker’s expense + travel to a city where the test is administered Duration: 3 hrs CELBAN Cost: $300 plus taxes, at test-taker’s expense + travel to a city where the test is administered Duration: 3 hrs 30 min

10. Other Assessment Instruments Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) - Set standards for the four language skills - Centred on the test-taker’s social and professional activities - Lay the ground for designing tests for specific job sectors (e.g. CELBAN) Portfolio - Tracks the learner’s progress - Avoids psychological factors that could affect test performance - Requires ongoing assessment

11. Materials Generated by these Tests Works on theory and practice - More than 70 research reports published by ETS (e.g. TOEFL, TOEIC, SLEP, TSE) since 1977 - Numerous CCLB documents describing the theoretical bases of Canadian language standards, the characteristics of those standards, and resulting ideas for activities - Technical manuals on administering language proficiency tests; charts to help interpret test results

12. Materials Generated by these Tests Validity studies - Frequently re-assessed for standardized tests - Difficult to produce for locally administered tests given widely varying test management procedures - CELBAN = a first study suggests a positive link between success with CELBAN and withTOEFL (CCLB, 2004)

13. Materials Generated by these Tests Testimonials from institutions using these tests - Overall satisfaction with TOEFL and TOEIC - TOEFL unsatisfactory for nurses - CELBAN = a study on nurse and administrator satisfaction should be undertaken in 2006

14. Studies on ESL Proficiency Assessment Background - Prior to the communicative approach, language proficiency was the sole focus of assessment. - Integrated test introduced - Leading works: Lado, Robert (1961). Language Testing, London, Longmans, xxiv + 390 p. Valette, R. M. (1967). Modern Language Testing: A Handbook, New York, Harcourt, Brace & World. Cooper, R. L. (1968). “An elaborated language testing model,” in Problems in Foreign Language Testing: Proceedings of a Conference. Language Learning, 18, p. 57-73. Spolsky, B. (1978). Approaches to Language Testing: Advances in Language Testing, Series 2, Arlington, VA, Center for Applied Linguistics.

15. Studies on ESL Proficiency Assessment Present trends - With the communicative approach, assessment covers all language skills. - Introduction of alternatives to the standardized test and of tests referenced to quasi-authentic tasks. - Leading works: Canale, M. and M. Swain (1980). “Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing,” Applied Linguistics, 1, p. 1-47. Bachman, L. (1990). Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Celce-Murcia, Z. Dörnyei, S. Thurrell (1995). Communicative competence: A pedagogically motivated model with content specifications. Issues of Applied Linguistics, 6 (2), p. 5-35. Milanovic, Michael and Nick Saville (Eds.) (1996). Performance Testing, Cognition and Assessment. Selected papers from the 15th Language Testing Research Colloquium, Cambridge and Arnhem, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, coll. “ Studies in Language Testing 3,” 314 p.

16. Conclusion None of the tests surveyed can be used to assess proficiency in English as a second language for all job categories in the health and social services sector. CELBAN, designed with reference to CLB, seems to be a model to follow. It is consistent with current language acquisition theories (e.g. emphasis on language objectives rather than specific grammatical constructs and on the use of authentic tasks).