Brown Bag Lecture by Dr. Yuna Seong
Brown Bag Lecture by Dr. Yuna Seong
Hosted by Studies in Applied Linguistics & TESOL (SALT)
Title: Assessing the Cognitive Dimension of L2 Academic Speaking: A Scenario-Based Language Assessment Approach
Date: Friday, December 5, 2025
Time: 1:00–2:00 PM
Location: GDH 455
Description: This talk explores how strategic competence—the cognitive dimension of second language (L2) academic speaking—can be defined, measured, and developed through scenario-based assessment. Drawing on a socio-cognitive framework, it presents the design and validation of a Scenario-Based English Academic Speaking Test (SBEST), which simulates an online journalism course to assess learners’ use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Findings demonstrate that strategic competence plays a crucial role in L2 academic speaking performance and that scenario-based tasks can foster both assessment validity and learning in English for Academic Purposes contexts.
About the Speaker: Dr. Yuna Seong is the Director of the Community Language Program and the TESOL and Language Program Management certificate programs at Teachers College, Columbia University. She specializes in second language assessment and teacher education, with prior experience as Assessment Coordinator and Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU. Her research focuses on assessing L2 speaking ability, scenario-based assessment, and the cognitive and metacognitive processes underlying language test performance.
Registration: https://tinyurl.
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