Contact Information
Research Interests
Language testing and assessment, TESOL teacher education, L2 pragmatics, conversation analysis
Research Description
My current focus is in developing CA-informed tests (CAIT) -- that is, assessments of L2 oral pragmatics ability that are based upon the findings and methodology of conversation analysis (CA). A second area of interest is in the assessment-literacy acquisition processes of L2 classroom teachers, with possible applications to teacher education. I also have more general interests in conversation analysis, test validity theory, and the philosophy of science.
Education
University of Illinois (2004), California State University at Dominguez Hills (1991), Illinois State University (1982)
Courses Taught
EIL 460 (Principles of Language Testing), EIL 489 (Theoretical Foundations of Second Language Acquisition), EIL 412 (TESL Practicum), EIL 411 (Intro to TESL Methodology), ESL 508 (Seminar for International TAs), ESL 511 (Written and Oral Communication). ESL 512 (Intro to Academic Writing), ESL 515 (Intro to Academic Writing), ESL 592 (Advanced Academic Writing), ESL 593 (Advanced Academic Presentations), ESL 115 (Principles of Academic Writing), ESL 111 (Intro to Academic Writing I), ESL 112 (Intro to Academic Writing II)
Additional Campus Affiliations
Lecturer, Linguistics
Recent Publications
Walters, F. S. (2021). Some Considerations Regarding Validation in CA-Informed Oral Testing for the L2 Classroom. In Educational Linguistics (pp. 383-404). (Educational Linguistics; Vol. 46). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52193-6_19
Walters, F. S. (2013). Interfaces between a discourse completion test and a conversation analysis-informed test of L2 pragmatic competence. In S. J. Ross, & G. Kasper (Eds.), Assessing Second Language Pragmatics (pp. 172-195). (Palgrave Advances in Language and Linguistics). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137003522_7
Walters, F. S. (2012). Fairness. In G. Fulcher, & F. Davidson (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Testing (pp. 469-478). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203181287.ch32
Walters, F. S. (2010). Cultivating assessment literacy: Standards evaluation through language-test specification reverse engineering. Language Assessment Quarterly, 7(4), 317-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2010.516042
Walters, S. F. (2009). A conversation analysis-informed test of L2 aural pragmatic comprehension. TESOL Quarterly, 43(1), 29-54. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1545-7249.2009.tb00226.x