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7 - Testing Language Aptitude for Recently Arrived Parent–Child Immigrant Dyads

from Part II - Aptitude Testing of Diverse Groups

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2023

By
Amelia Lambelet
Edited by
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen ,
Peter Skehan  and
Richard L. Sparks
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
Affiliation:
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Peter Skehan
Affiliation:
Institute of Education, University of London
Richard L. Sparks
Affiliation:
Mount St Joseph University
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Summary

The LLAMA tests have been widely used in aptitude research since their development in the early 2000s, but almost exclusively with (highly) educated adults (college students or immigrants with a college degree). Following the idea that research in the humanities suffers from an over-representation of Western undergraduates that may bias some of its results, we discuss the difference in the scores on the LLAMA tests obtained by the participants of a recent study on new immigrants when compared to the scores of a number of former studies on other populations. We also discuss the predictive effect of these aptitude measures on the development of proficiency in the majority language by the same participants and argue for more research with under-served populations.

Keywords

Language aptitude testsLLAMAimmigrantsparent–child dyad
Type
Chapter
Information
Language Aptitude Theory and Practice , pp. 150 - 175
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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