The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Carol A. Chapelle

The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics - Carol A. Chapelle


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      The form‐based approach to assessing knowledge of grammatical forms was the dominant paradigm in L2 assessment until the 1980s and remains even today the basis for test development in many contexts globally. Assessments rooted in this model are organized around the elicitation of discrete grammatical forms, whether they are assessed via selected‐response (SR), limited‐production (LP), or extended‐production (EP) tasks. Finally, the measurement of discrete grammatical forms is currently the mainstay of automated speech and writing assessments, as will follow.

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      The form‐based approach to grammar assessment is useful for providing fine‐grained information about a range of structures across proficiency levels. This approach is useful in diagnostic assessment, in assessments designed to provide individualized feedback, or in automated scoring protocols. Assessments based on the measurement of one or more discrete grammatical forms, however, should not be interpreted as a measure of L2 proficiency, as has been the case in many studies. L2 proficiency involves much more than knowledge of grammatical forms. That said, grammatical knowledge is, in fact, a fundamental component of L2 proficiency, and several studies (e.g., Grabowski, 2009; Kim, 2009; Liao, 2009) have produced consistently strong evidence of a relationship between grammatical knowledge and the ability of learners to use the L2 in context.

      In the end, a form‐based conceptualization of L2 knowledge is narrow in scope because in language use a grammatical form is rarely disassociated from its meaning potential. Consequently, this conceptualization fails to address the semantic dimension of grammar, where, for example, an ‐ed affix encodes past time. It also fails to capture how a sequence of forms in an utterance contribute to the conveyance of propositional meaning, or even how forms used in certain contexts can extend meanings by encoding social status, formality, culture, affect, stance, or other implied pragmatic meanings. The limitation of a form‐based conceptualization is especially evident in cases where meaning extensions can only be derived from context and are dependent upon an understanding of shared norms, assumptions, expectations, and interlocutor presuppositions. Thus, the semantic dimension must be considered if meaningful communication is prioritized over grammatically flawless communication. Finally, the semantic dimension must also be addressed if assessment is to provide comprehensive feedback, since some learners have mastered the form, but not its meaning, or vice versa. Or learners might understand the forms and associated semantic meanings but be incapable of expressing or interpreting meanings extended in context.

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      When grammatical forms combine with their individual meanings in a well‐formed utterance, they express a proposition (i.e., an idea, opinion, belief). This is referred to as the propositional (also, topical or content) meaning of an utterance. Propositional meaning is encoded in all utterances. An examinee draws on propositional or topical knowledge in LTM (long‐term memory) when she understands or expresses ideas. Thus, propositional or topical knowledge is intrinsically related to semantico‐grammatical ability and to L2 proficiency, since without propositional content, we would have language ability with nothing to say. Furthermore, it is unlikely that we could express well‐formed propositional content with no symbolic resources for expressing this content.


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