Research News

Dr. Ayaka Matsuo presents at SLRF

Conference: The Second Language Research Forum (SLRF) 2025

Date: September 26-28, 2025

Title: Development of the Conversational Elicited Imitation (CEI) and Examination of its Construct Validity

Authors: Ayaka Matsuo (MTSU), Akari Osumi (Ph.D. student, Purdue U.), Dr. Atsushi Fukada (Purdue U.)

This annual, internationally recognized conference focuses on research in second language acquisition. This presentation focuses on a language testing technique called Elicited Imitation (EI). The EI is a widely used oral proficiency test whose reliability and validity have been well established by numerous studies. In the test, test-takers listen to a sentence and then repeat it verbatim as accurately as possible after a brief pause. Despite its high reliability, validity, and convenience as an oral proficiency test, the EI has long been criticized for its lack of face validity; test-takers do not feel that the test accurately measures their oral proficiency. To address this issue, the authors developed a conversation-style version of the EI. They examined the reliability and validity of the version they developed by comparing the performance of test-takers on both the traditional and conversation-style versions. Authors are currently working on a journal manuscript based on this research.

Dr. Matsuo says:

“Presenting our research at the conference was particularly meaningful for us as part of the writing process because it allowed us to receive feedback from other SLA scholars. Attending the conference was also beneficial for me as a language educator. Through formal presentations and casual socializing with other participants, I learned a lot about innovative teaching techniques and cutting-edge research findings that shape my daily teaching at MTSU. I’m grateful for the knowledge support from my co-authors and the financial support from the university that made this opportunity possible.”