STiLL - Speech Technology in Language Learning May 25-27, 1998 Marholmen, Sweden

Estimation of Spoken Language Proficiency

Brent Townshend, Jared Bernstein, Ognjen Todic, Eryk Warren

Ordinate Corporation, Menlo Park, CA, USA

This paper reviews traditional definitions and measures of oral proficiency, then explains a series of experiments and measurement methods that were used in the development of the PhonePass test of proficiency in spoken English. The PhonePass test is a standardized instrument that measures speaking, listening, and basic reading skills during a 10-minute telephone call. The PhonePass system calculates scores on five performance subscales from a set of more basic measures that are produced by modified speech recognition of examinee responses. Item response theory is used to analyze and scale examinee performance, which is then related to rubrics and scale definitions that were developed and used in human scoring of PhonePass responses. The scaling methods and validation process are described.

Full Paper

Bibliographic reference.  Townshend, Brent / Bernstein, Jared / Todic, Ognjen / Warren, Eryk (1998): "Estimation of spoken language proficiency", In STiLL-1998, 179-182.