ELICITED IMITATION: A TEST FOR ALL LEARNERS? EXAMINING THE EI PERFORMANCE OF LEARNERS WITH DIVERGING EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUNDS

Elicited imitation (EI) is a much-used measurement instrument in applied linguistics, and it is considered a reliable and quick assessment of holistic speaking ability and implicit grammar knowledge. To date, however, EI research has overwhelmingly relied on highly educated participants. Only a few...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inStudies in second language acquisition Vol. 42; no. 5; pp. 933 - 957
Main Author Deygers, Bart
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Cambridge University Press 01.12.2020
Subjects
Adult Basic Education
Adult Students
Applied Linguistics
Comparative Analysis
Correlation
Dutch language
Educational Attainment
Grammar
Imitation
Individualized Instruction
Indo European Languages
Item Response Theory
Language Acquisition
Language Proficiency
Language Tests
Literacy
Measures (Individuals)
Memory
Neuropsychology
Nonwords
Phonology
Receptive Language
Second Language Instruction
Second Language Learning
Speech Communication
Standardized Tests
Vocabulary Skills
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Summary:Elicited imitation (EI) is a much-used measurement instrument in applied linguistics, and it is considered a reliable and quick assessment of holistic speaking ability and implicit grammar knowledge. To date, however, EI research has overwhelmingly relied on highly educated participants. Only a few small-scale EI studies in applied linguistics have considered low-literate learners. Using Item Response Theory (IRT) and inferential parametric and nonparametric statistics, this study examined the EI performance of 113 L2 learners of Dutch with diverging educational backgrounds. All participants were enrolled in A1 and A2 Dutch L2 courses. Additionally, this study examined to what extent EI performances align with standardized tests of speaking and receptive vocabulary. The results indicate that EI can be used with both highly literate and low-educated participants, who will—however—be outperformed by higher educated learners. Especially the repetition of sentences containing pseudowords appears to result in substantial performance differences between the two groups.
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ISSN:0272-2631
1470-1545
DOI:10.1017/S027226312000008X