1. Start from somewhere
'Starting from somewhere' means having clearly defined constructs. The problem of
construct validity centers around two controversies: one, neither proficiency nor
communicative competence (referring to strategic, grammatical, sociolinguistic and
discourse) have been defined by ACTFL: "Nowhere in the text, however, is the definition of
'oral proficiency' provided. If we do not know exactly what it is the OPI tests, then any claim of
its usefulness as an accurate evaluative mechanism is highly suspect" (Yoffe, 1997, p.3).
2. Concentrate on content
In the following example (van Lier, 1989, p.499) we can see how content initiation in
interviews may go terribly wrong:
I: Where is your mother? What does your mother do?
S: She’s dead.
I: Ah - she’s dead. Very good.
Here the interviewer brings up an inappropriate topic accidentally and then fails, on a social
level, to address the interviewee (a six-year-old child). Van Lier (1989) rightly observes: "In a
sense, in asymmetrical discourse, miscommunication and pragmatic failure are by definition 9
the controlling party’s responsibility" (p. 499). It's very likely the child did not perform optimally
after this exchange. Of course the interviewer could have followed up with: "I'm so
sorry to hear that..." and, depending on the context, the girl may have fared the better.
'Starting from somewhere' means having clearly defined constructs. The problem of
construct validity centers around two controversies: one, neither proficiency nor
communicative competence (referring to strategic, grammatical, sociolinguistic and
discourse) have been defined by ACTFL: "Nowhere in the text, however, is the definition of
'oral proficiency' provided. If we do not know exactly what it is the OPI tests, then any claim of
its usefulness as an accurate evaluative mechanism is highly suspect" (Yoffe, 1997, p.3).
2. Concentrate on content
In the following example (van Lier, 1989, p.499) we can see how content initiation in
interviews may go terribly wrong:
I: Where is your mother? What does your mother do?
S: She’s dead.
I: Ah - she’s dead. Very good.
Here the interviewer brings up an inappropriate topic accidentally and then fails, on a social
level, to address the interviewee (a six-year-old child). Van Lier (1989) rightly observes: "In a
sense, in asymmetrical discourse, miscommunication and pragmatic failure are by definition 9
the controlling party’s responsibility" (p. 499). It's very likely the child did not perform optimally
after this exchange. Of course the interviewer could have followed up with: "I'm so
sorry to hear that..." and, depending on the context, the girl may have fared the better.