The Equivalence of Direct and Semi-direct Speaking Tests

This book documents a comparability study of direct (face-to-face)
and semi-direct (language laboratory) versions of the Speaking component
of the access: test, an English language test
designed in the 1990s by the Language Testing Research Centre
(University of Melbourne) as part of the selection process for
immigration to Australia. The study gathered a broad range of
quantitative and qualitative evidence to investigate the issue of test
equivalence, and this multi-layered approach yields a complex and richly
textured perspective on the comparability of the two kinds of Speaking
tests. The findings have important implications for the use of direct
and semi-direct Speaking tests in various high-stakes contexts such as
immigration and university entrance. As such, the book will be of
interest to policy makers and administrators as well as language
teachers and language testing researchers.