Translanguaged practice in listening assessment: L1 vs. L2 responses in recall tasks

Abstract

Listening recall tasks, where test takers write L2 responses based on audio content, often inadvertently measure L2 writing skills, potentially compromising the accuracy of listening assessment. To address this concern, the present study draws inspiration from translanguaging, and employs a mixed-methods approach to investigate the potential of using L1 responses into recall tasks to mitigate the impact of L2 writing proficiency on task outcomes, thus enhancing task validity. Specifically, a listening recall task requiring L1 responses was developed and administered to 102 L2 learners in low and intermediate English proficiency. Their performance on this task was compared to a control task that required L2 responses. Follow-up interviews were also conducted. The results indicated that allowing L1 responses in the recall task led to better performance for intermediate-level L2 learners, enhanced representation of the listening construct, and garnered participants’ preference as a listening assessment approach. This suggests that utilising L1 responses has the potential to improve the construct and face validity of recall tasks, addressing the initial validity concern. Consequently, this investigation contributes to the refinement of listening task development and advocates for the application of translanguaged practices in language assessment, advancing the broader concept of translanguaging in language education.

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