Towards the Implementation of a Computerized Integrated English Language Entrance Examination

Abstract

Assessing the progression and outcomes of language learning, be it in the first or second (L2)/foreign language (FL), is a highly complex task, and implementing L2/FL integrated performance assessment in particular has proven to pose a considerable challenge on teachers, researchers and policy makers alike. Situated within the context of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) pedagogy in Japan, this paper provides a non-exhaustive overview of the issues and challenges surrounding English language assessment in the high school to tertiary education transition. It then reports on two studies piloting a new Computer-Based Testing (CBT) exam which involves the integrated use of four skills－listening, speaking, reading and writing. Preliminary findings obtained from two cohorts of first-year (n = 38) and second-year (n = 38) high-school students in Saga prefecture suggest that, whilst the current pilot studies warrant further work remedying some technical and practical issues, the new CBT exam could perhaps be implemented, in the not-so-distant future, as a supplement to or a substitute for the paper-based assessment format, as commonly employed in domestic university entrance examinations to date.