toefl-essentials
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- PaperLanguage Testing24 Jul 2026
Investigating the Real-World Relevance of an Academic English Speaking Test: Extrapolating Subjective Evaluations and Linguistic Performance Characteristics
Daniel R. Isbell, Dustin Crowther, Jieun Kim, Yoonseo Kim
The study examined correlations between TOEFL Essentials speaking scores and linguistic characteristics with academic speaking tasks in lab and course settings. Strong correlations were found, particularly for fluency and accuracy, supporting the extrapolation of test performances to academic contexts.
Original abstract
To support use of tests in academic contexts, it is critical to demonstrate that test scores and test performances are associated with performance in academic settings—an inferential link referred to as extrapolation in argument-based validation frameworks. TOEFL Essentials is a newer test designed to measure both general and academic English and is intended for use in higher education. The TOEFL Essentials speaking section consists of Virtual Interview, Read Aloud, and Listen & Repeat tasks, the latter two of which elicit highly constrained responses that may be less reflective of academic speaking tasks. In this study, we examined correlations of scores and linguistic characteristics across TOEFL Essentials speaking performances and (a) lab-based academic tasks (graph description, lecture response) for 149 students and (b) an authentic course-based speaking task for 65 students. Strong correlations (.65 < r < .80) were found between TOEFL Essentials speaking scores and evaluations of academic speaking. Among linguistic characteristics, fluency and accuracy variables demonstrated the largest and most consistent correlations across test and non-test tasks. Findings provide evidence relevant to the extrapolation of TOEFL Essentials speaking performances, which are based in part on highly constrained tasks, to academic settings and help inform decisions about test use.
- PaperAssessing Writing2 Jun 2026
Examining the relevance of three TOEFL Essentials writing tasks to the accounting profession: The role of domain experts
Ute Knoch, Jason Fan, Michael Davey, Sally O’Hagan et al.
The study investigates how domain experts (accountants) judge the relevance of three TOEFL Essentials writing tasks to the accounting profession. Findings show the 'Write an Email' task is considered most relevant and 'Build a Sentence' least, but experts focused on a narrow set of task features and sometimes made comparisons that did not align between test and workplace demands. The results highlight methodological considerations for involving domain experts in test validation.
Original abstract
Large-scale English language proficiency tests are increasingly used to make decisions about professional registration despite not originally being developed to make predictions about language use in the workplace. Domain experts can play a valuable role as informants in establishing the relevance of test tasks to a specific TLU domain. However, this practice has seldom been critically examined. In particular, no studies to date have examined the nature of the interview questions used when engaging with domain experts in this type of research. The current study was designed with two aims: to (1) explore the relevance of three writing tasks (i.e., Build a Sentence, Write for an Academic Discussion, Write an Email) from the TOEFL Essentials test to the accounting profession and (2) evaluate the judgements of domain expert participants. Twenty accountants from non-English speaking backgrounds as well as three accounting educators were interviewed for the study, drawing on a methodology with broad, general questions. The data was analysed qualitatively to identify (a) to what extent the participants considered the three tasks relevant and (b) what task features they attended to when commenting on the relevance of the tasks. The findings showed that the participants generally found the Build a Sentence the least relevant of the three writing tasks, and the Write an Email task the most relevant. When reviewing the task features the participants judged as relevant to writing demands in their workplace, it was shown they focused on a small/narrow range of features. They also engaged in ‘misinterpretations’, comparing aspects of test and workplace tasks that did not align (e.g., comparing a writing task to events in a spoken meeting). The findings are discussed in terms of domain expert involvement in validation research.