This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Bae, J. Articles by Bachman, L. F. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

A latent variable approach to listening and reading: testing factorial invariance across two groups of children in the Korean/English Two-Way Immersion Program

University of California, Los Angeles

Lyle F. Bachman

University of California, Los Angeles, bachman{at}humnet.ucla.edu

This study investigated the factorial distinctness of two receptive language skills, reading and listening, and the equivalence of factor structure across two groups using simultaneous multigroup covariance structure analyses. The subjects were two groups of students from grades two, three and four, enrolled in the Korean/English Two-Way Immersion Program in the Los Angeles Unified School District: Korean-American students and non-Korean-American students, all learning Korean as a primary/foreign language. The analyses were based on data from tests of listening and reading in Korean. The results indicate the following: 1) the two receptive skills are factorially separable, 2) a two-factor model with listening and reading factors applies across the two groups of learners, 3) the correlation between the listening and reading factors was high and the same across the two groups, 4) the variation in levels of listening and reading proficiency differed across the groups, 5) with the exception of one listening test task, the degree to which the listening and reading test tasks measured listening and reading ability was the same across the two groups, and 6) the test task type that had the highest factor loadings for both groups was one which presented test takers with a set of passages (listening or reading), each of which was followed by comprehension questions. The study also makes a methodological contribution in that it investigated the nature of the two receptive language skills in a latent variable framework, using simultaneous analyses of two groups of young children, and also demonstrated a way to detect measurement invariance as a critical prerequisite to achieve validity of inferences based on measures.

Language Testing, Vol. 15, No. 3, 380-414 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/026553229801500304


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M.-Y. Song Do divisible subskills exist in second language (L2) comprehension? A structural equation modeling approach Language Testing, October 1, 2008; 25(4): 435 - 464. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Llosa Validating a standards-based classroom assessment of English proficiency: A multitrait-multimethod approach Language Testing, October 1, 2007; 24(4): 489 - 515. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Y. Sawaki Construct validation of analytic rating scales in a speaking assessment: Reporting a score profile and a composite Language Testing, July 1, 2007; 24(3): 355 - 390. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. Eckes and R. Grotjahn A closer look at the construct validity of C-tests Language Testing, July 1, 2006; 23(3): 290 - 325. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. F. Bachman Modern language testing at the turn of the century: assuring that what we count counts Language Testing, January 1, 2000; 17(1): 1 - 42. [Abstract] [PDF]