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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

syntax, English language acquisition, oral testing, Elicited imitation, EI

College

Humanities

Department

Linguistics and English Language

Abstract

An oral testing method, Elicited imitation (EI), has provided helpful insight into the process of language acquisition and language assessment over the past 40 years. EI is an oral test in which the subject hears a sentence, forms a cognitive representation, and then produces a sentence according to that representation (Bley-Vroman & Chaudron 1994, 245). The theory behind EI is that, controlling for utterance length, people can only reproduce an utterance if they understand its syntax (sentence structure). Although there is controversy concerning the use of EI—asserting that it is not the most precise language acquisition assessment tool—currently prevalent methods of second language (L2) acquisition assessment (which are expensive) have produced results that are so broadly defined that learner progress over time is difficult to determine. EI has proved an inexpensive and effective way to assess L2 acquisition and chart it over time.

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