Composition Medium Comparability in a Direct Writing Assessment of Non-Native English Speakers

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) contains a direct writing assessment, and examinees are given the option of composing their responses at a computer terminal using a keyboard or composing their responses in handwriting. This study sought to determine whether performance on a direct...

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Main Authors: Edward W. Wolfe, Jonathan R. Manalo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Foreign Language Resource Center 2004-01-01
Series:Language Learning and Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://llt.msu.edu/vol8num1/wolfe/default.html
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author Edward W. Wolfe
Jonathan R. Manalo
author_facet Edward W. Wolfe
Jonathan R. Manalo
author_sort Edward W. Wolfe
collection DOAJ
description The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) contains a direct writing assessment, and examinees are given the option of composing their responses at a computer terminal using a keyboard or composing their responses in handwriting. This study sought to determine whether performance on a direct writing assessment is comparable for examinees when given the choice to compose essays in handwriting versus word processing. We examined this relationship controlling for English language proficiency and several demographic characteristics of examinees using linear models. We found a weak two-way interaction between composition medium and English language proficiency with examinees with weaker English language scores performing better on handwritten essays while examinees with better English language scores performing comparably on the two testing media. We also observed predictable differences associated with geographic region, native language, gender, and age.
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spelling doaj-art-3ce2ed5ca5ab493cbbf24bc0ecdde25c2025-08-20T02:52:58ZengNational Foreign Language Resource CenterLanguage Learning and Technology1094-35012004-01-01815365Composition Medium Comparability in a Direct Writing Assessment of Non-Native English SpeakersEdward W. WolfeJonathan R. ManaloThe Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) contains a direct writing assessment, and examinees are given the option of composing their responses at a computer terminal using a keyboard or composing their responses in handwriting. This study sought to determine whether performance on a direct writing assessment is comparable for examinees when given the choice to compose essays in handwriting versus word processing. We examined this relationship controlling for English language proficiency and several demographic characteristics of examinees using linear models. We found a weak two-way interaction between composition medium and English language proficiency with examinees with weaker English language scores performing better on handwritten essays while examinees with better English language scores performing comparably on the two testing media. We also observed predictable differences associated with geographic region, native language, gender, and age.http://llt.msu.edu/vol8num1/wolfe/default.htmlinterface designmultimediatestingwriting
spellingShingle Edward W. Wolfe
Jonathan R. Manalo
Composition Medium Comparability in a Direct Writing Assessment of Non-Native English Speakers
Language Learning and Technology
interface design
multimedia
testing
writing
title Composition Medium Comparability in a Direct Writing Assessment of Non-Native English Speakers
title_full Composition Medium Comparability in a Direct Writing Assessment of Non-Native English Speakers
title_fullStr Composition Medium Comparability in a Direct Writing Assessment of Non-Native English Speakers
title_full_unstemmed Composition Medium Comparability in a Direct Writing Assessment of Non-Native English Speakers
title_short Composition Medium Comparability in a Direct Writing Assessment of Non-Native English Speakers
title_sort composition medium comparability in a direct writing assessment of non native english speakers
topic interface design
multimedia
testing
writing
url http://llt.msu.edu/vol8num1/wolfe/default.html
work_keys_str_mv AT edwardwwolfe compositionmediumcomparabilityinadirectwritingassessmentofnonnativeenglishspeakers
AT jonathanrmanalo compositionmediumcomparabilityinadirectwritingassessmentofnonnativeenglishspeakers