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This study examines a 30-item Spanish elicited imitation task (EIT) as a measure of global language proficiency for heritage language (HL) learners of Spanish. Results from Rasch modeling suggest that, while EIT scores demonstrated excellent reliability, the ability of much of the HL sample far exceeded the difficulty of the items. Differential item functioning analysis revealed that several items functioned differently for the present study's HL sample than for the second language learners from a prior study. Additionally, although EIT scores were strongly correlated with another proficiency measure for the present HL sample (e.g., the Diploma de español como lengua extranjera or DELE), common-person equating suggested that the EIT and the DELE may measure different latent variables. Overall, the results provide evidence of the EIT's utility as a proficiency assessment tool for research on HL learners, however, with limitations and the need for additional analyses discussed.

While an elicited imitation test (EIT) has been widely used as a measure of oral proficiency in second language acquisition (SLA) research, it is still unclear the extent to which memory capacity impacts EIT performance. In light of this gap, the present study sought to clarify the nature of elicited imitation by examining the relative contributions of language ability and phonological short-term memory (PSTM) to EIT performance. Seventy-eight second language (L2) learners of Spanish, who were grouped into 3 Spanish experience levels, took a Spanish EIT, an L2 oral narrative task, and a nonword repetition (NWR) task in their first language. Results demonstrated that learners' EIT performance was primarily predicted by complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) measures extracted from the oral narrative task rather than NWR scores, which served as an index for PSTM capacity. Furthermore, the present study provided suggestive evidence that PSTM capacity may differentially mediate EIT performance depending on the extent of learners' proficiency in and experience with Spanish. While facilitative effects for PSTM capacity were observed for less experienced learners, no effects were found for more experienced learners.

Elicited imitation tasks (EITs) have been shown to be a valid, reliable, and practical method for establishing second-language (L2) oral proficiency across a variety of languages. Nevertheless, research that has validated existing EITs has most often explored a narrow range of learner proficiencies or has examined how well the EIT distinguishes between low- and high-level learners. Bowden's (2016) validation study of the Spanish EIT was the first to expand the range of learner proficiencies by including low, advanced, and very advanced L2 learners; her results suggested that, in its current state, the EIT may not be equipped to distinguish finer-grained levels of proficiency, especially at more advanced levels. The present study revisits the Spanish EIT to examine (a) its ability to distinguish between higher level learners and (b) whether including additional, more challenging EIT items allows for finer-grained distinctions at higher levels. Results suggest that the addition of longer, more challenging EIT items can improve the discriminability of the test among more advanced L2 learners.

In 2020, the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) for single-case experimental design (SCED) studies released an updated version of their standards and procedures handbook (Version 4.1). Because of these updates, there is a need to understand the implications for the field in terms of quality rating of the design, and subsequent synthesis of evidence at the study and meta-analytic level. This study provides a comparison between the previous SCED design and evidence standards, and the updated ones published in 2020 as Version 4.1. We are interested in whether Version 4.1 results in differences in terms of (1) quality rating of the design and (2) analysis and meta-analysis of research evidence. The results indicate no differences related to quality rating of the design, but there are notable differences in terms of how evidence is analyzed, synthesized, and reported. This is further illustrated using a selected publication, namely Pivotal Response Training in which research evidence is meta-analyzed related to the effectiveness of Pivotal Response Training as an intervention to increase communication of children (aged 2–18) with autism. Based on the findings, recommendations and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that 10 years have passed since the publication of the most recent synthesis of proficiency assessment standards, the present review revisits proficiency assessment practices in research on second language acquisition (SLA), with the goal of examining whether the way in which scholars measure and report proficiency has changed. Our sample included 500 studies from five major SLA‐related journals published between 2012 and 2019. The findings indicate that whereas over 90% of the studies assessed and reported second language proficiency in some way, only 42% of them did so with an independent measure. In line with previous surveys, the most popular assessment technique was institutional status, suggesting that relatively little change has taken place over time. Use or not of an independent measure of proficiency was also found to differ by certain study characteristics (e.g., learner population, research context), providing insight into areas of focus for future improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]