Do Background Variables Predict Students Scores on a Japanese Placement Test? Implications for Placing Heritage Language Learners
Year: 2004
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study investigated how well heritage language background and other background variables predict the variability of students' performances on Japanese placement tests. Nine hundred thirty-two students participated in the study. The results showed that the parental language variable alone can predict the variability of incoming students' performances to a considerable degree on three proficiency measures adopted in the present study. Follow-up analyses of distributions of student scores on these proficiency measures wherein the parental language variable had the strongest predictive power were also conducted. The results suggested: some multiplechoice Japanese placement tests that may effectively discriminate among students without a Japanese parent may not necessarily be effective for discriminating among heritage language students with Japanese parents; however, a simple writing performance test proved to be an effective placement tool for discriminating among students with any parental background.
Author: Kimi Kondo-Brown
Institution: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Language: English
Subfield: Linguistics and Language
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2994232668