TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparability of reading tasks in high-stakes English proficiency tests and university courses in Korea
AU - Yeom, Soohye
AU - Llosa, Lorena
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - With the increased popularity of English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education, many East Asian universities are using international English proficiency tests to make admissions and placement decisions. Since these tests were not originally designed for the EMI contexts, validity evidence is needed to support the use of these tests in this new context. To interpret performance on a test as representative of performance in a target language use (TLU) domain, this study investigated (1) the characteristics of English reading tasks in Korean EMI undergraduate and graduate courses, (2) the extent to which they are comparable to the characteristics of reading tasks on TOEFL iBT and IELTS, and (3) the extent to which students perceive EMI reading tasks and the test reading tasks to be comparable. Fifty-four undergraduate and graduate students in EMI content courses at a Korean university completed an online questionnaire. Analyses revealed that EMI reading tasks share several characteristics with USA/UK university reading tasks. Although EMI reading tasks had some key characteristics in common with TOEFL and IELTS reading tasks, the test tasks were much more limited in range. Finally, the extent to which students perceived EMI reading tasks and TOEFL/IELTS reading tasks comparable varied across academic areas.
AB - With the increased popularity of English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education, many East Asian universities are using international English proficiency tests to make admissions and placement decisions. Since these tests were not originally designed for the EMI contexts, validity evidence is needed to support the use of these tests in this new context. To interpret performance on a test as representative of performance in a target language use (TLU) domain, this study investigated (1) the characteristics of English reading tasks in Korean EMI undergraduate and graduate courses, (2) the extent to which they are comparable to the characteristics of reading tasks on TOEFL iBT and IELTS, and (3) the extent to which students perceive EMI reading tasks and the test reading tasks to be comparable. Fifty-four undergraduate and graduate students in EMI content courses at a Korean university completed an online questionnaire. Analyses revealed that EMI reading tasks share several characteristics with USA/UK university reading tasks. Although EMI reading tasks had some key characteristics in common with TOEFL and IELTS reading tasks, the test tasks were much more limited in range. Finally, the extent to which students perceived EMI reading tasks and TOEFL/IELTS reading tasks comparable varied across academic areas.
KW - Assessing reading
KW - English-medium instruction (EMI)
KW - Reading in higher education
KW - Reading task characteristics
KW - Test validation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85187874127&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85187874127&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s40468-024-00281-5
DO - 10.1186/s40468-024-00281-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85187874127
SN - 2229-0443
VL - 14
JO - Language Testing in Asia
JF - Language Testing in Asia
IS - 1
M1 - 8
ER -