McCarthy K.S., McNamara D.S., Solnyshkina M.I., Tarasova F.Kh., Kupriyanov R.V. The Russian Language Test: Towards Assessing Text Comprehension
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2019.4.18
Kathryn Soo McCarthy
Assistant Professor, Department of Learning Sciences, Georgia State University
P.O Box 3978, 30602 Atlanta, GA, USA
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6277-7005
Danielle Siobhan McNamara
Professor, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University
Payne Hall, TEMPE Campus, Suite 108, 1104 Tempe, USA
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5869-1420
Marina I. Solnyshkina
Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor, Department of Theory and Practice of Foreign Languages Teaching, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University
Kremlevskaya St., 18, 420008 Kazan, Russia
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1885-3039
Fanuza Kh. Tarasova
Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Romance and Germanic Philology, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University
Kremlevskaya, 18, 420008 Kazan, Russia
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9420-4503
Roman V. Kupriyanov
Candidate of Sciences (Psychology), Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Pedagogical Sciences and Psychology, Kazan National Research Technological University
Karla Marksa St., 68, 420015 Kazan, Russia
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9794-9607
Abstract. Reading comprehension relies on a variety of complex skills that are not effectively assessed by existing Russian language tests. At the same time, Russian textbooks are criticized both for their low text quality and high text complexity. This study addresses issues of Russian language proficiency and comprehension assessment with the development of the Russian Language Test (RLT). The RLT was constructed to measure proficiency relevant to textbook comprehension, such as grammar and vocabulary knowledge, establishing propositional meaning and inferencing. Results from this initial study including 81 fifth-grade and 94 ninth-grade students confirm that students struggle with grammatical inferences and identifying the main idea in a text. Additionally, three standardized Russian exams, VPR, OGE, EGE are analyzed, affording an overview of the testing system for the Russian language from the elementary through high school education levels. This study demonstrates promise for the use of the RLT as a language proficiency assessment and provides a broad context for understanding the current state of Russian language tests for native speakers.
Key words: Russian Language Test, comprehension skills, grammar, vocabulary knowledge, gender, age, general knowledge.
Citation. McCarthy K.S., McNamara D.S., Solnyshkina M.I., Tarasova F.Kh., Kupriyanov R.V. The Russian Language Test: Towards Assessing Text Comprehension. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 2. Yazykoznanie [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. Linguistics], 2019, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 231-247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2019.4.18
The Russian Language Test: Towards Assessing Text Comprehension by McCarthy K.S., McNamara D.S., Solnyshkina M.I., Tarasova F.Kh., Kupriyanov R.V. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
 1_McCarthy_etc.pmd.pdfURL: https://l.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/2120 | 769 Downloads |