What is it about?
Very little research had looked at ergonomics in relation to language testing. This article describes an experiment at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain) in which 27 media and communication students helped design and test PLEVALEX, an internet-based platform for oral and written English tests, and then answered a questionnaire about their experience.
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Why is it important?
According to the students, language test interfaces are different from those of other e-learning platforms and websites. Simple interfaces are needed so that students are tested on their English rather than on their computer skills. This is relevant because more and more high-stakes language tests are moving to internet and computer-based versions.
Perspectives
Working with Jesús García Laborda, Teresa Magal-Royo and José Macario de Siqueira Rocha on this study allowed me to explore how the design of computer-based tests can affect the people who take them.
Dr. Miguel Fernández Álvarez
Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Ergonomics factors in English as a foreign language testing: The case of PLEVALEX, Computers & Education, February 2010, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2009.08.021.
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