The aim of this study is to clarify the concept of interactional competence as a construct of Korean speaking tests. The assessment of speaking ability has been regarded as overly complicated because there are too many variables to take into account. ... The aim of this study is to clarify the concept of interactional competence as a construct of Korean speaking tests. The assessment of speaking ability has been regarded as overly complicated because there are too many variables to take into account. Therefore, the history of speaking tests is relatively short compared to that of other language functions such as reading, writing and listening. Furthermore, the reliability of speaking test constructs has been criticized. From among such criticisms, this study focuses on the one that speaking tests tend to ignore the effects of interaction, that there has been little effort to consider interaction as one of the crucial constructs of speaking ability. To prove this suggestion’s importance, this study explores the interactional competence theory and attempts to identify the subcategories necessary to better assess speaking ability. This study was conducted using the following procedures. First, it reviewed previous studies centered on the theme of interactional competence theory. Then several speaking tests, including achievement tests to high-stake proficiency tests, were examined. In addition to this literature review, a survey on Korean teachers’ perceptions about speaking ability and testing was conducted to review the current situation. We found that interaction is a feature that distinguishes speaking from other language functions and that some speaking tests use interaction as a construct. In addition, Korean teachers have a strong need to clarify the constructs of speaking tests and develop appropriate tasks for speaking tests. They also recognize that interaction is a key factor affecting learners’ speaking ability, but they do not have proper measurement tools to assess learners’ interactional competence. In order to suggest ways to test Korean learners’ interactional competence, this study carried out dyadic interactions conversations between non-native speakers of Korean. Twelve Korean learners participated in this conversation, and partners were chosen based on similar proficiencies in Korean. Six conversation samples were collected, and the samples were classified into three levels: novice, intermediate, and advanced. Each level had two conversation samples and each sample was rated by three raters. Raters gave comments on test takers' speaking ability and interactional competence, and at the end of rating, raters had the opportunity to discuss their rating criteria and the rating results. All rater comments were analyzed via NVivo10 to clarify and quantify interactional competence. As a result, topic development, turn-taking management, back-channel communication, attitude and gestures were confirmed as main categories of interactional competence. Based on the analysis of speakers’ behaviors and their evaluations, these categories were subdivided into twenty subcategories. These subcategories and their examples shown in this study could give a solid foundation for setting criteria of interactional competence. Therefore, at the end of this study, with respect to conversation tasks, criteria which could assess interactional competence are presented according to the speaker's level of proficiency in Korean. In addition, specific ways to administer the conversation task part of speaking tests are proposed. This study could contribute to the field of speaking tests and research in teaching speaking because it sheds light on interactional competence, which has heretofore been largely ignored. ，韩语论文网站，韩语论文题目 |
