An investigation into the significance of listening proficiency in the assessment of academic literacy levels at Stellenbosch University

[摘要] Concern surrounding the low levels of academic literacy amongst incoming first yearstudents has prompted universities and other tertiary education institutions in South Africa toimplement tests of academic literacy. At Stellenbosch University, the English version of thistest is known as TALL (Test of Academic Literacy Levels) and was developed to assessreading and writing abilities in an academic context. The results are used to 'stream'students into programmes which assist them in acquiring the various skills deemednecessary for their academic success. This study examines, on the one hand, thesignificance of listening in the assessment of academic literacy levels; on the other hand, itexplores the potential for an academic listening test (ALT) to assist TALL in more accuratescreening of students, particularly the borderline cases. The design and operationalisation ofALT is based on the theories and approaches of several researchers in the field. The studybegan with the compilation of the test specification and design of ALT. This was followed byempirically piloting a project where qualitative data concerning the validity of ALT wascollected by means of a questionnaire. The next phase involved assessing the academiclistening competency of a sample of first year university students. This assessmentcomprised an initial test administration followed by a second administration of the same testa month later in order to ascertain consistency of measurement over a period of time. Thequantitative results obtained from both administrations were then statistically analysed todetermine the reliability and validity of ALT. The final phase of the study involved thecorrelation of these results with those of TALL to determine the level of criterion-relatedvalidity as well as to establish whether ALT could be a useful added dimension to TALL.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University