Revisiting the Spanish elicited imitation task: A tool for assessing advanced language learners?

Elicited imitation tasks (EITs) have been shown to be a valid, reliable, and practical method for establishing second-language (L2) oral proficiency across a variety of languages. Nevertheless, research that has validated existing EITs has most often explored a narrow range of learner proficiencies or has examined how well the EIT distinguishes between low- and high-level learners. Bowden's (2016) validation study of the Spanish EIT was the first to expand the range of learner proficiencies by including low, advanced, and very advanced L2 learners; her results suggested that, in its current state, the EIT may not be equipped to distinguish finer-grained levels of proficiency, especially at more advanced levels. The present study revisits the Spanish EIT to examine (a) its ability to distinguish between higher level learners and (b) whether including additional, more challenging EIT items allows for finer-grained distinctions at higher levels. Results suggest that the addition of longer, more challenging EIT items can improve the discriminability of the test among more advanced L2 learners.