Using Trialogues to Measure English Language Skills

We explored the use of technology-assisted, trialogue-based tasks to measure the English language proficiency of students learning English as a second or foreign language. A presumed benefit of the system for language assessment is its suitability for use in scenario-based tasks that integrate multiple language skills. This integration allows test developers to simulate real-life language use situations by administering more authentic test tasks to strengthen the link between test performance and its interpretation as an indicator of expected success in performing real-life language use tasks. We conducted a usability study with 20 English language learners (ELLs) in grades 3 to 5, representing ten different first languages. Results suggested that the trialoguebased tasks engaged students in an authentic experience and provided evidence of their English proficiency. Perception data indicated that students perceived the trialogue-based tasks positively and understood how to respond to the virtual characters. Implications are discussed for future research and the potential of using trialogue-based assessment tasks for measuring the proficiency of young ELLs.