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This paper explores the use of a scenario-based academic speaking test to investigate strategic competence as a key dimension of L2 academic speaking ability and its relationship with performance on a complex academic speaking task. Drawing on a sociocognitive perspective, strategic competence in this study is defined as the use of cognitive resources involved in processing L2 information. The study involved 155 test-takers who completed a scenario-based language assessment (SBLA) simulating an ‘intro to journalism’ online class, where the culminating activity required an oral post to an online discussion forum. Throughout the test, test-takers were asked to build, consolidate, and share understanding about a journalism topic by engaging with audiovisual materials and performing a series of coherently sequenced speaking and strategy tasks. The strategy tasks were designed to elicit and assess test-takers’ ability to use cognitive and metacognitive strategies (i.e. strategic competence). The study findings support the psychometric functionality of the SBEST along with evidence of learning gains. The results show that strategic competence is integral to L2 academic speaking ability and is also a significant contributor to L2 speaking performance. Finally, the paper offers insights into how strategic competence can be operationalized and scored in L2 assessments.
Yuna Seong (Mon,) studied this question.