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Academic English language skills are essential if overseas students are to perform effectively in university/college contexts and to engage in study with relative independence and adequate comprehension. The Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA) has developed a theoretically sound and practically efficient methodology for the construction and validation of tertiary-level Academic English tests used in the selection of millions of students by universities worldwide. Greater precision in language tests enables academic institutions to target their resources in ways that bring maximum benefit to students, both pre- and post-entry. CRELLA's research into how English is employed in academic contexts has led to significant improvements in test design and practice, and added to the commercial impact of both the existing tests to which they have contributed and the new tests they have created. Over £1.6 million was generated by our development of the Password test alone — see Section 4 below.
This case study details the impact of a pioneering theoretical approach to English language testing. Recognised as the most influential test validation theory in modern assessment, the socio-cognitive framework, conceived by Weir and O'Sullivan, and operationalized and developed further by O'Sullivan at the University of Roehampton, focuses on three key elements: the test taker (social), the test system (cognitive), and the scoring system (evaluative). This framework is applied to give a meaningful measure of a candidate's performance, appropriate to the underlying traits or abilities being assessed. This research has had a significant impact in two distinct phases: 1) through a series of commissioned projects since 2008, the research has had a significant impact on testing bodies, organisations and test takers internationally, and 2) it has underpinned the development of innovative new business products by a leading international educational and cultural organisation since 2012.
Border agencies, employers and universities use language tests to make decisions about immigration requests, job applications and university admissions. The two largest tests in the world have 4.5 million test takers per year. Good test design is crucial in determining the fairness, relevance and accuracy of the results. Our research has enabled us to create new tools that have been used to enhance quality control and develop assessment skills. We have created new scoring methods to make performance assessment more reliable, and developed theoretical frameworks to improve test development. Our research has impacted upon professional practice and training within examination boards.
The research findings have led directly to a decision by Cambridge English Language Assessment to change the assessment criteria in their examinations to include assessment of metaphor use. The availability of the research report on the Cambridge website widens the impact of the findings to English Language Teaching and Assessment more broadly, changing attitudes to the assessment of metaphor use at the crucial university-entry level in particular.
The findings have also led to change in the advice given by the British Council for those involved in communication with people from different linguistic backgrounds. The advice is available on their website, which receives several million hits per year (see below for details and exact numbers of hits). This advice has been amended to include information on metaphor. The website has been used by teachers to improve language teaching materials and enhance the way that students are helped to engage in academic courses in English.
Cambridge English Language Assessment is a sector leader and delivers assessment to just under 4 million students per year, including the 1.5 million candidates who take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for entry to English-speaking universities. Cambridge examinations are recognised by 13,000 institutions in 130 countries. The British Council is a global leader in English Language teaching and is a respected provider of impartial advice. The adoption by these agencies of these research findings can be expected in turn to lead to a greater focus on metaphor in language classrooms around the world.
The Movement ABC-2 Test is internationally recognised as `the gold standard' for identifying children with motor difficulties. Prof Anna Barnett's revision and development has provided health and education professionals with a reliable assessment tool, improving the support for children and their families. This test is recommended in the latest European guidelines on Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) — a condition recognised as having a major impact on the lives of children — and has also been translated into several languages for global use. The parallel development of specific tests for handwriting (DASH and DASH17+) for children and adults has provided clinicians and teachers with the tools to help support students with their class work and written examinations.
The CAT is a unique clinical assessment for people with aphasia, combining assessment of language, cognitive skills and consideration of the wider effects of aphasia on people's lives. On publication, it filled a gap in provision, providing a short but comprehensive assessment based on current theoretical understanding. It is now widely used by Speech and Language Therapists nationally and internationally, directing further assessment and informing diagnosis and treatment and therefore of benefit to people with aphasia. It has become the assessment of choice within clinical trials and projects investigating the relationship between language difficulties and lesion sites.
Language impairment is common in children and, without effective early intervention, presents a risk for educational, social and emotional disturbance. The team used their considerable experience in child language research to produce a novel assessment of child language development — The Reynell Developmental Language Scales 3 (RDLS3) — the first test of child language development to be standardised in the U.K. to assess both understanding and production of language in young children. Use of the test has improved language assessment and diagnosis for children with language impairments and, as such, has enabled health and education professionals to target therapy and monitor the effectiveness of interventions to improve child language development. The test has been widely used in the U.K. and is now also being used widely internationally. Recent research by the team has informed a revised version of the test — The New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS). Sales figures of the RDLS3 and the commissioning of the NRDLS are testament to its outstanding reputation and enduring legacy worldwide.
The research of Professor Paul Simpson and Dr Joan Rahilly has informed and enhanced the broader awareness and understanding of English language in the context of secondary level education in Northern Ireland, and has had particular influence on both clinical and developmental assessment of language use. The end users who have benefited from this research include (i) schools, colleges and lifelong learning, (ii) health and well-being agencies, and (iii) voluntary organisations and charities. The main achievements can be summarised as:
The EPP Project identifies criterial features for second language acquisition. It has engaged stakeholders in the teaching and testing of language learners. This is facilitated by the EPP network and website. The project has enabled Cambridge Assessment to define the English language constructs underlying Cambridge examinations at different proficiency levels more explicitly. The work has improved the tests themselves, but also allowed Cambridge Assessment to better communicate the qualities of their tests for accreditation and recognition. Stakeholders are more actively engaged through provision of resources for teachers, testers, ministries of education etc., on the website, and in seminars. The project has led to further research with an international language school, which has led to teachers and parents of the school pupils being more aware of the needs for successful second language acquisition.
Professor David Crystal's world-leading research on language policy, diversity and usage, conducted at Bangor since 2000, has led to a transformation in terms of public and political attitudes, both nationally and internationally, towards the nature and use of language in public and private discourse. In particular, the research has led, since 2008, to an increased awareness of linguistic diversity, changes to governmental policies on language, and the development of the world's first targeted online advertising technology, which today indexes billions of impressions across 11 languages to provide real-time data services in the emerging online advertising world.