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Language Aptitude Test

The document discusses the Language Aptitude Test (LAT), which measures an individual's aptitude for learning foreign languages and predicts success in language skills like speaking and listening. The LAT is used by educational institutions, government agencies, missionary organizations, and others to determine who would benefit most from language training and to help place individuals in appropriate language programs. It consists of 5 parts testing various language learning skills like memorization, grammar, and vocabulary.

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Kriezel Anne Siva
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282 views3 pages

Language Aptitude Test

The document discusses the Language Aptitude Test (LAT), which measures an individual's aptitude for learning foreign languages and predicts success in language skills like speaking and listening. The LAT is used by educational institutions, government agencies, missionary organizations, and others to determine who would benefit most from language training and to help place individuals in appropriate language programs. It consists of 5 parts testing various language learning skills like memorization, grammar, and vocabulary.

Uploaded by

Kriezel Anne Siva
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Siva, Kriezel Anne D.

3rd Year BA
English

LANGUAGE APTITUDE TEST

Meaning:
The Language Aptitude Test (LAT) measures an individual’s aptitude for learning a
foreign language. First published in 1959, the test can be used to predict success in
learning all basic communication skills, but particularly speaking and listening. The
Language Aptitude Test is now the property of the non-profit entity Language Learning and
Testing Foundation, who has acquired the rights to the test in order to ensure its continued
availability to the second language testing community.

How is it used?
The LAT can be used for a variety of purposes. Since it indicates how easily an
individual may learn a foreign language, it may be used to determine which individuals will
profit most from language training. It has been used extensively as a selection measure for
intensive language programs, such as those offered to military or other government
personnel. Alternatively, the LAT may be used to determine which individuals will
experience the most difficulty in language training. For instance, lack of language learning
aptitude, as demonstrated by poor performance on the LAT, may help qualify an individual
for a waiver or a modification of a foreign language requirement at an academic institution.

Who uses it and why?


The LAT is used by institutions and individuals to measure foreign language learning
aptitude. There are four major groups of users. Churches and missionary organizations use
the LAT to determine how long they should plan on providing language instruction to a
missionary or how difficult a language a missionary will be able to handle. Missionaries with
high aptitude may be assigned to learn more difficult languages. Private schools use the
LAT for advising students who might be interested in studying a foreign language.
Government agencies, such as the Foreign Service Institute, and international
organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, use the LAT with their staff in much
the same way that missionary organizations do. Government agencies and corporations
also use the LAT to identify personnel who would benefit the most from the time and
expense of an intensive language training program. School and clinical psychologists use
the LAT to determine if a student has a foreign language learning disability.

How is it administered?
The LAT may be administered to individuals or to groups. The basic Test Kit includes
a Manual, Test Booklet, Practice Exercises Sheet, Examinee Answer Sheet, Hand Scoring
Stencil, and CD. The CD includes instructions and stimuli for the entire test, and it controls
the timing of the sections. Test administration takes approximately one hour and requires
the use of a CD player. After test administration is complete, scores are calculated by hand
using the Hand Scoring Stencil.

How is it scored and what do the scores mean?


The score is tallied according to the number right answers per part. No points are
deducted for erroneous answers or for omissions. Scores will be interpreted differently from
institution to institution; that is, each institution will set cut-off scores to determine, for
example, which government agency personnel are eligible for language training.

What does it consist of?


The LAT is comprised of five parts, each of which measures specific skills related to
foreign language learning. The first part, Number Learning, requires examinees to learn a
set of numbers through aural input and then discriminate different combinations of those
numbers. The second part, Phonetic Script, asks examinees to learn a set of
correspondences between speech sounds and phonetic symbols. In the third part, Spelling
Clues, examinees must read words that are spelled as they are pronounced, rather than
according to standard spelling conventions. They must then select from a list of words the
one whose meaning is closest to the “disguised” word. The fourth part, Words in Sentences,
measures examinees’ awareness of grammatical structure. The examinees are given a key
word in a sentence and are then asked to read a second sentence (or series of sentences)
and select another word that functions in the same way as the key word. Finally, in the
Paired Associates part, examinees must quickly learn a set of vocabulary words from
another language and memorize their English meanings.
SAMPLE TEST SPECIFICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE APTITUDE TEST
(ENGLISH LANGUAGE)
Percentage of
Objectives Number of Items
Items
READING/LITERATURE
1.0 Vocabulary 5 10%
2.0 Comprehension 20 40%
2.1 Literal Understanding 5 10%
2.2 Inferences and Interpretation 5 10%
2.3 Summary and Generalizaztion 5 10%
2.4 Analysis and Evaluation 5 10%
3.0 Literature 25 50%
3.1 Literary Genres 5 10%
2.2 Literary Elements 5 10%
2.3 Figurative Language 5 10%
2.4 Literary Works 5 10%
2.5 Literary Authors 5 10%
TOTAL TEST 50 POINTS 100%

Percentage of
Objectives Number of Items
Items
WRITING/GRAMMAR/USAGE
1.0 Writing 2 20%
1.0 Writing Prompt 2 (10 points)
2.0 Grammar/Usage 40 80%
2.1 Standard Usage 10 20%
2.2 Mechanics and Spelling 10 20%
2.3 Sentence and Structure 10 20%
2.4 Punctuation 10 20%
TOTAL TEST 50 POINTS 100%

Percentage of
Objectives Number of Items
Items
KNOWLEGDE/COMPREHENSION
1.0 Knowledge 10 25%
1.0 Word Description 10
2.0 Comprehension 30 75%
2.1 Making Inferences 10 25%
2.2 Finding the Main Idea 10 25%
2.3 Understanding the Hidden Meaning 10 25%
TOTAL TEST 40 POINTS 100%

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