#language testing

Some people find ways to bring their linguistics into their workplace, others find ways to create their own opportunity to do linguistics at work. In this month’s interview, Kristin Espinar talks about how she found her niche as a linguist who teaches English learners to navigate the notoriously fiendish International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests. There are many people with linguistics qualifications who teach English or other languages (including Ash, who I interviewed in 2016), but Kristin combines these skills with an entrepreneurial attitude. You can find out more about Kristin and her IELTS coaching and podcast on her website (also on twitter and instagram). 


What did you study at university?

I completed my BA in Communication and Spanish but I decided to specialize in ESL (English as a Second Language) and Linguistics with my master's degree. I received an MA in Applied Linguistics with an emphasis on ESL from the University of Massachusetts Boston. The program focused on first and second language acquisition as well as curriculum development for the ELL (English Language Learning) learner classroom.

What is your job?

I'm an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) coach and podcaster, so I ended up creating my own company. My original dream was to find a Tenure full-time ESL Instructor position in the US, but it was difficult to do without a PhD. Not impossible, but difficult. I ended up forming my own company in 2015 focused on helping IELTS candidates get their desired score on IELTS writing and speaking tasks. I also created a weekly podcast called Activate Your IELTS. The podcast is unique because it uses my knowledge in Linguistics along with my experience in exam preparation and language learning to give advice to IELTS candidates. I think my part of what sets me apart, specifically, is the knowledge in second language acquisition. As a result, I really do use Linguistics in my day-to-day life, but I did have to create my own company to truly monetize it.


How does your linguistics training help you in your job?

My whole life is focused on language learning. I spent 20 years learning a second language (Spanish). I'm married to a man from Spain and we are raising our children bilingually, using the OPOL (one person, one language) method. My knowledge of Linguistics helps at work and establishes me as an expert in my field, but it also has an impact in my personal life. For example, I understand the mistakes my husband makes in English and even the mistakes I make in Spanish and I understand why those mistakes were made. My background in Linguistics was amazing in watching my children learn their first language and follow the order of acquisition, but it was even more interesting to watch them acquire two languages at the same time as their first languages. My background in Linguistics gives me insight into all aspects of language learning within my life.



Do you have any advice do you wish someone had given to you about linguistics/careers/university?

I would recommend that anyone who is considering studying Linguistics consider completing a PhD instead of a master's degree. My experience is that, even if you are a better candidate and more talented in the area of second language instruction, you are likely to be passed over for jobs because you don't have a PhD. The field is competitive at a professional level, so it's important to maximize your opportunities by acquiring the highest level of degree that you can in the field.



Any other thoughts or comments?

I would recommend considering creating your own company, YouTube channel, podcast or blog. It's likely you have a lot to offer and share with the world in terms of your knowledge related to Linguistics. You might be able to create something bigger than you had originally thought you were capable of, simply by sharing your knowledge online.


Related interviews (both ESL and self-employed entrepreneurs):

Interview with an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher

Interview with The Career Linguist

Interview with an Accent Coach

Interview with an Internet Linguist

Recent interviews:

Interview with a Juris Doctor (Master of Laws) student

Interview with the Director of Education and Professional Practice at the American Anthropological Association

Interview with a Research Coordinator, Speech Pathologist

Interview with a Dance Instructor and Stay-at-Home Mom

Interview with a Transcriptionist

Reliability - the test measures the specific construct consistently and accurately. It discriminates between low scorers and high scorers. You should expect to see similar results from the same test taker with a different version of the test, and across different scorers.

Validity - encapsulates reliability, as well as adequate and appropriate interpretation of scores. Does the test actually measure the specific construct? And is it appropriate to base decision making on evidence of this construct?

Adequate content and skills coverage - The target learning outcomes are covered. The test taker must recognise the correct answer, produce the correct answer or perform in a dynamic context as required.

Practicality - design, administration and scoring are practical.

Impact - the real life consequences are fair. The test will enable decision makers to make good decisions.

Issues/threats to validity

Construct under-representation - the most relevant aspects of the construct are not tested.

Image by Pixababy

I’m super exhausted this week so study today wasn’t super effective. I read the readings without taking notes and bummed my way through the lecture. That being said, I will post a brief overview of the content for this week.

Testing Second Language Listening

Like reading, listening can be a bit tricky to test because listening cannot be directly observed. The test taker has to produce something to show their comprehension, which inherently runs the risk of conflating competencies in other areas (e.g. written, spoken).

The listening construct included global understanding, understanding of specific details, and ability to draw inferences.

The task for this first week of my Language Testing class was to think of a context where language testing is used, and reflect on what issues of fairness may be raised.

I chose language testing for determining citizenship.

One's mental state, anxiety and health at a particular point in time may impact performance on the test. Placing so much reliance on a single test is likely to make this test a huge pressure and stressor for the test taker, and they may spend a lot of time, money and resources on preparation. It is questionable why a individual or family who are already going through the tumultuous experience of acclimating to a new country must also bear the additional financial and cognitive strains of preparing for a test.

Such a test does not holistically take into account one's actual participation within a community; integration into society; or contribution politically, culturally or economically. Thus it may be considered a rather arbitrary determiner for assessing whether one should become a citizen.

So this semester, one of my two units is Language Testing. I am glad that the content for the first week has problematised language testing straight up.

The definition of language assessment provided is: gathering evidence and forming inferences about an individual’s language ability, and justifying actions or decisions made on the basis of these inferences.

The key point of interest for me is that language assessments are used to grant or deny legitimacy to either:

the person as a speaker of the language and/or a member of a community

the language (or ways of using the language) as prestigious and valuable

Obviously, language assessments can be used in incredibly impactful ways, such as deciding someone’s citizenship, ability to work, entrance into university or a particular course, etc.

I was also interested to learn from the main reading of the week  that the whole idea of examinations apparently derives from entrance examinations to Cambridge and Oxford Universities in the mid-19th century. At this time, examinations were oral, then later became written. As well as knowledge of a subject, candidates were judged on how “gentlemanly” they appeared. Tests as a particular format of assessment were later popularised by “mental tests” for US army recruitment in the early 20th century.

Language testing only really came to the fore in the mid-20th century, largely through language aptitude testing for US intelligence/military/diplomacy. In a context where not a lot of the monolingual English population learnt languages sufficiently through school, the government wanted to find candidates who were inclined to learn languages quickly. Meanwhile, Britain used proficiency tests for modern languages to qualify foreign language teachers.

[Tsagari, D., & Banerjee, J. (2016). Handbook of Second Language Assessment. Boston; Berlin: De Gruyter.]