Advanced search
Publication Cover
Language Awareness Latest Articles
Submit an article Journal homepage
87
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Developing a reading proficiency scale for Chinese as a second language: a confirmatory factor analysis approach

Jia LinDepartment of Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education, Howard University, Washington, DC, USACorrespondence[email protected]
ORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6002-8887
ORCID Icon
Received 08 Mar 2023, Accepted 30 Nov 2023, Published online: 04 Jan 2024

References

  • Abbott, M. L. (2006). ESL reading strategies: Differences in Arabic and Mandarin speaker test performance. Language Learning, 56(4), 633–670. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2006.00391.x
  • Adolf, S. M., & Perfetti, C. A., et al. (2014). Individual differences in word learning and reading ability. In C. A. Stone, E. R. Silliman, B. J. Ehren (Eds.), Handbook of language & literacy (2nd ed., pp. 246–264). Guilford Press.
  • Alderson, J. C. (1991). Bands and scores. In J. C. Alderson and B. North (Eds.), Language testing in the 1990s (pp. 71–86). British Council.
  • Alderson, J. C. (2000). Assessing reading. Cambridge language assessment series.
  • Alderson, J. C. (2005). Diagnosing foreign language proficiency. The interface between learning and assessment. Continuum.
  • Alderson, J. C., Haapakangas, E. L., Huhta, A., Nieminen, L., & Ullakonoja, R. (2015). The diagnosis of reading in a second or foreign language. Routledge.
  • American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (1986). ACTFL proficiency guidelines. ACTFL.
  • American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (1987). Chinese proficiency guidelines. Foreign Language Annals, 20, 471–487.
  • American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (2012). ACTFL proficiency guidelines 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2018, from https://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012/english
  • Anderson, J. R. (2020). Cognitive psychology and its implications (9th ed.) Worth Publishers.
  • Andrews, S. (2015). Individual differences among skilled readers: The role of lexical quality. In A. Pollatsek, & R. Treiman (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of reading (pp. 129–148). Oxford University Press.
  • Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. (2010). Language assessment in practice. Oxford University Press.
  • Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. (1996). Language testing in practice. Oxford University Press.
  • Bang, H. J., & Zhao, C. G. (2007). Reading strategies used by advanced Korean and Chinese ESL graduate students: A case study. The Reading Matrix, 7(1), 30–50.
  • Bassetti, B. (2004). Second language reading and second language awareness in English-speaking learners of Chinese as a foreign language [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Essex).
  • Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. Wiley.
  • Brown, T. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. Guildford.
  • Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollon, & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Sage.
  • Chalhoub-Deville, M. (2009). Content validity considerations in language testing contexts. In R. Lissitz (Ed.), The concept of validity (pp. 241–263). Information Age Publishing.
  • Chalhoub-Deville, M., & Fulcher, G. (2003). The Oral Proficiency Interview: A research agenda. Foreign Language Annals, 36(4), 498–506. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2003.tb02139.x
  • Chao, Y. R. (1968). A grammar of spoken Chinese. University of California Press.
  • Council of Europe. (2001). Council for cultural co-operation. education committee. Modern ­languages division. In Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge University Press. Council of Europe.
  • Davis, F. B. (1968). Research in comprehension in reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 3(4), 499–545. https://doi.org/10.2307/747153
  • Enright, M., Grabe, W., Koda, K., Mosenthal, P., Mulcahy-Ernt, P., & Schedl, M. (2000). TOEFL 2000 reading framework. Educational Testing Service.
  • Everson, M. E. (2009). Literacy development in Chinese as a foreign language. In M. E. Everson & Y. Xiao (Eds.), Teaching Chinese as a foreign language: Theories and applications (pp. 97–112). Cheng & Tsui Company.
  • Fan, K. Y., Gao, J. L., & Ao, X. P. (1984). Pronunciation principles of Chinese characters and alphabetic script [in Chinese]. Chinese Character Reform, 3, 23–27.
  • Fulcher, G. (2004). Deluded by artifices? The common European framework and harmonization. Language Assessment Quarterly, 1(4), 253–266. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15434311laq0104_4
  • Fulcher, G. (2010). The reification of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) an effect-driven testing. In A. Psyaltou-Joycey and M. Mathaioudakis (Eds.), Advances in Research on Language Acquisition and Teaching (pp. 15–26). GALA.
  • Fulcher, G., & Davidson, F. (2007). Language testing and assessment: An advanced resource book. Routledge.
  • Goodman, K. S. (1967). Reading: A psycholinguistic guessing game. Journal of the Reading Specialist, 6(4), 126–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388076709556976
  • Goodman, K. S. (1996). On reading. Heinemann.
  • Grabe, W., & Yamashita, J. (2022). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice (2nd ed.) Cambridge University Press.
  • Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. Cambridge University Press.
  • Gwet, K. L. (2014). Handbook of inter-rater reliability: The definitive guide to measuring the extent of agreement among raters. Advanced Analytics, LLC.
  • Hair, J. F., Tatham, R. L., Anderson, R. E., & Black, W. (1998). Multivariate data analysis (5th ed.). Prentice Hall.
  • Hinkin, T. R. (1998). A brief tutorial on the development of measures for use in survey questionnaires. Organizational Research Methods, 1(1), 104–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/109442819800100106
  • Hoosain, R. (1995). Getting at the sound and meaning of logographic and alphabetic scripts. In I. Taylor, & D. Olson (Eds.), Scripts and literacy: Reading and Learning to Read Alphabets, Syllabaries and Characters (pp. 131–144). Kluwer.
  • Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
  • Huang, B., & Liao, X. (2017). Modern Chinese. Higher Education Publisher.
  • Hung, Y. (2012). Similarities and dissimilarities in reading Chinese and English: Goodman’s ­reading model perspective. In K. S. Goodman, S. Wang, M. Iventosch, & Y. M. Goodman (Eds.), Reading in Asian languages: Making sense of written texts in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (pp. 32–44). Routledge.
  • Jeon, E. H., & Yamashita, J. (2014). L2 reading comprehension and its correlates: A meta‐analysis. Language Learning, 64(1), 160–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12034
  • Jeon, E. H., & Yamashita, J. (2022). L2 reading comprehension and its correlates: An updated meta‐analysis. In E. H. Jeon & Y. In’nami (Eds.), Understanding L2 proficiency: Theoretical and meta-analytic investigations (pp. 29–86). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
  • Kaplan, R. (2005). Contrastive rhetoric. In T. Miller (Ed), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 375–391). Routledge.
  • Katz, L., & Frost, R. (1992). The reading process is different for different orthographies: The orthographic depth hypothesis. In R. Frost & L. Katz (Eds.), Orthography, phonology, morphology, and meaning (pp. 67–84). Elsevier.
  • Kintsch, W. (2013). What kind of language statistics must be in long-term memory to make language understanding possible?. In M. A. Britt, S. R. Goldman, & J.-F. Rouet (Eds.), Reading – From words to multiple texts (pp. 92–100). Routledge.
  • Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford publications.
  • Koda, K. (2005). Insights into second language reading: A cross-linguistic approach. Cambridge Univer­sity Press.
  • Lin, J. (2019). Factors related to EFL/ESL learners’ reading strategy use: A literature review. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 42(1), 92–112. https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2019-0006
  • Lin, J. (2022). Assessing Chinese as a second language reading: Factor structure and factorial invariance across proficiency levels [Unpublished manuscript].
  • Lin, J. (2023). Assessing the dimensionality of Chinese as a second language reading: A confirmatory factor analysis approach. Chinese as a Second Language Research, 12(2), 173–204. https://doi.org/10.1515/caslar-2023-2001
  • Lin, Y.-T. (1971). Chinese-English dictionary of modem usage. Chinese University of Hong Kong Press.
  • Liu, Y., Yao, T., Bi, N., Ge, L., & Shi, Y. (2017). Integrated Chinese: Simplified characters textbook (5th ed.). Cheng & Tsui.
  • Liu, Y., Yao, T., Bi, N., Shi, Y., & Ge, L. (2008). Integrated Chinese: Simplified characters textbook (3rd ed.). Cheng & Tsui.
  • Loh, E. K. Y., Liao, X., Leung, S. O., & Tam, L. C. W. (2021). How do Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners acquire orthographic knowledge: Component, structure and position regularity. Language Awareness, 30(3), 297–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2021.1972115
  • Malone, M. E. (2003). Research on the oral proficiency interview: Analysis, synthesis, and future directions. Foreign Language Annals, 36(4), 491–497. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2003.tb02138.x
  • McNamara, T. (2003). Looking back, looking forward: Rethinking Bachman. Language Testing, 20(4), 466–473. https://doi.org/10.1191/0265532203lt268xx
  • Montaño-Harmon, M. R. (2001). Discourse Patterns (Kaplan) [Class note]. California State University, Fullerton.
  • Muthén, B. (1993). Goodness of fit with categorical and other non-normal variables. In K. A. Bollen and J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp.205–243). Sage.
  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2019). Mplus 8.3 [computer software]. Muthén & Muthén.
  • Norman, J. (1988). Chinese. Cambridge University Press.
  • North, B. (1994). Scales of language proficiency: A survey of some existing systems. Council of Europe.
  • North, B. (2000). The development of a common framework scale of language proficiency. Peter Lang Pub Incorporated.
  • Perfetti, C. (1985). Reading ability. Oxford University Press.
  • Perfetti, C. A., & Britt, M. A. (1995). Where do propositions come from. In C. Weaver, III, S. Mannes, & C. Fletcher (Eds.), Discourse comprehension: Essays in honor of Walter Kintsch (pp. 11–34). Lawrence Erlbaum.
  • Perfetti, C., Cao, F., & Booth, J. (2013). Specialization and universals in the development of reading skill: How Chinese research informs a universal science of reading. Scientific Studies of Reading: The Official Journal of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, 17(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2012.689786
  • Perfetti, C. A., & Zhang, S. (1991). Phonological processes in reading Chinese characters. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 17(4), 633–643. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.17.4.633
  • Pollitt, A., & Murray, N. L. (1996). What raters really pay attention to. Studies in Language Testing, 3, 74–91.
  • Portney, L. G., & Watkins, M. P. (2009). Foundations of clinical research: Applications to practice. Pearson/Prentice Hall.
  • Sawaki, Y., Stricker, L., & Oranje, A. (2008). Factor structure of the TOEFL internet based test (iBT): Exploration in a field trial sample. (TOEFL iBT Research Report No. 04; ETS Research Report No. 08-09). Educational Testing Service.
  • Schedl, M., Gordon, A., Carey, P. A., & Tang, K. L. (1996). An analysis of the dimensionality of TOEFL reading comprehension items. Educational Testing Service.
  • Shen, H., & Ke, C. H. (2007). An investigation of radical awareness and word acquisition among non-native learners of Chinese. The Modern Language Journal, 91(1), 97–111. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00511.x
  • Shen, H. H. (2008). An analysis of word decision strategies among learners of Chinese. Foreign Language Annals, 41(3), 501–524. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2008.tb03309.x
  • Shiotsu, T. (2010). Components of L2 reading: Linguistic and processing factors in the reading test performances of Japanese EFL learners (Vol. 32). Cambridge University Press.
  • Sim, J., & Wright, C. C. (2005). The kappa statistic in reliability studies: Use, interpretation, and sample size requirements. Physical Therapy, 85(3), 257–268. https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/85.3.257
  • Sparks, R. L. (2019). Why reading is a challenge for US L2 learners: The impact of cognitive, ecological, and psychological factors in L2 comprehension. Foreign Language Annals, 52(4), 727–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12432
  • Stiggins, R. (2002). Assessment crisis: The absence of assessment for learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(10), 758–765. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170208301010
  • Stoynoff, S. (2012). Looking backward and forward at classroom-based language assessment. ELT Journal, 66(4), 523–532. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccs041
  • Stricker, L. J., Rock, D. A., & Lee, Y.-W. (2005). Factor structure of the LanguEdge™ Test across language groups. (TOEFL Monograph Series Report No. 32). Educational Testing Service. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2333-8504.2005.tb01989.x
  • Sun, C. (2006). Chinese: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge University Press.
  • Swender, E., & Vicars, R. (2014). ACTFL oral proficiency interview tester training manual. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
  • Toyoda, E., & Scrimgeour, A. (2009). Common and script-specific awareness in relation to word recognition in English and Chinese. Language Awareness, 18(1), 61–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658410802369469
  • Urquhart, S., & Weir, C. (1998). Reading in a second language: Process, product and practice. Longman.
  • Wang, L., & Fan, J. (2020). Assessing Business English writing: The development and validation of a proficiency scale. Assessing Writing, 46, 100490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2020.100490
  • Wang, S. (2006). A socio-psycholinguistic study on L2 Chinese readers’ behavior while reading orally [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
  • Wong, Y. K. (2017). The role of radical awareness in Chinese-as-a-second-language learners’ Chinese character reading development. Language Awareness, 26(3), 211–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2017.1400039
  • Wu, J.-T., & Liu, I.-M. (1996). Chinese lexical access. In M. H. Bond (Eds.), The handbook of Chinese ­psychology (pp. 31–42). Oxford University.
  • Wu, R.-D., Zhou, T.-L., & Liu, I.-M. (1993). Zhong wen dan zi bian shi de zhi jie li cheng [The direct route in Chinese character recognition]. World of Chinese Language, 69, 8–16.
  • Xu, Y. (1991). Depth of phonological recoding in short-term memory. Memory & Cognition, 19(3), 263–273. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03211150
  • Zeng, Y., & Fan, T. (2017). Developing reading proficiency scales for EFL learners in China. Language Testing in Asia, 7(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-017-0039-y

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Order Reprints Request Corporate Permissions

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

Request Academic Permissions

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.

Related research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.