Speaker
Description
The introduction of Vietnam’s new National Foreign Language Proficiency Framework has created an urgent need to reconsider the current VSTEP 3–5 test format, which was originally developed under earlier foreign language proficiency descriptors and traditional paper-based assessment practices. This paper examines the limitations of the existing test format in addressing emerging requirements related to communicative competence, integrated skills, spoken interaction, and digital assessment. Particular attention is given to the mismatch between current test specifications and the increasing demand for computer-based language assessment in higher education and large-scale proficiency testing contexts. Drawing on contemporary language assessment principles and recent developments in technology-enhanced testing, the paper proposes a reconstructed VSTEP 3–5 format designed for full computer-based delivery. The proposed model includes integrated listening-reading and reading-writing tasks, multimedia-supported item types, computer-mediated speaking tasks, and revised rating criteria emphasizing interaction, mediation, and communicative effectiveness. In addition, the paper discusses implications for item bank development, automated scoring support, test security, and assessment validity in digital environments. It is argued that reconstructing the VSTEP 3–5 test for computer-based assessment would not only improve alignment with Vietnam’s new proficiency framework but also support the broader transition from knowledge-based language testing to communicative and digitally mediated assessment practices in the Vietnamese context.
Biography
Đặng Nghiêm Thu Nga is an English lecturer and educational administrator at the Vietnam People’s Security Academy. She holds an MA in English Language Teaching Methodology from the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Her professional expertise includes language testing and assessment, curriculum and materials development, computer-based language assessment, and technology-enhanced language teaching. She has participated in developing English test item banks, language training programs, and digital assessment systems aligned with the Vietnamese National Foreign Language Project. Her recent work focuses on communicative language assessment, integrated-skills testing, and the modernization of English proficiency testing in digital environments. She has published research papers in the areas of applied linguistics, English language teaching, and language assessment in various academic journals and conference proceedings.
| Affiliate type | Others |
|---|