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Article published In: Seeking Changes in a Challenging Time: New perspectives for proficiency-oriented Chinese teaching and beyond
Edited by Yu Liu, Qiaona Yu and Yu Wu
[Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報) 59:2] 2024
► pp. 175–201

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Assessing interactive listening in beginning-level L2 Chinese

Developing a data-driven rating scale

 | University of Houston
 | Rice University
Published online: 25 February 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/csl.00051.wan
Abstract
Interactive listening (IL) is understood as the interactional process in which listeners not just listen and comprehend but also actively monitor the ongoing talk, display understanding of it, clarify meaning, and advance conversation. Despite its importance in L2 learning, IL does not have much presence in standardized proficiency tests. This study thus aims to develop a rating scale for assessing IL with data drawn from beginning-level L2 Chinese learners’ unscripted conversations with L1 interlocutor. Using the framework of conversation analysis, this study identifies three aspects of IL in which different groups of learners vary most distinctively, that is, 1) the variety of listener responses used; 2) the ways in which understanding and engagement are demonstrated; and 3) sequential orientation. A rating scale with specific descriptors is then proposed.
摘要
互动聆听 (IL)指交际中听者不仅聆听和理解对方的言谈，而且主动监测对话、向对方表达自己的理解、澄清语义以及推动对话进程。虽然互动聆听对于二语学习意义重大，目前标准化语言测试并未将其纳入考量范围。因此，本文旨在建立一个评估二语学习者互动聆听能力的评价量表，并且基于初级中文学习者的自然对话提出具体的等级描述。本文使用会话分析的框架，鉴别出评估互动聆听的三个方面，1）回应方式的多样性；2）展示理解和参与度的策略；3）序列倾向。最后据此得出了一个包含具体描述的评估量表。
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Interactive listening
    • 2.2Assessing IC and developing rating scales
    • 2.3Rubrics for evaluating interactive listening
  • 3.The study
    • 3.1Types of listener responses
    • 3.2Participants and data collection
    • 3.3Raters and rating
    • 3.4Analytical methods
  • 4.Analysis of L2 learners’ conversations
    • 4.1Low-IC level learners
    • 4.2Mid-IC level learner
    • 4.3High-IC level learners
  • 5.Discussion: Toward a data-driven rating scale
    • Demonstration of understanding & engagement
    • Sequential orientation
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
References (46)
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