Introduction

Aaron Olaf Batty is a researcher focusing on language assessment, particularly in sign languages and L2 listening tests. His work includes validating automated sign language assessments and exploring the impact of test formats and delivery modes on language proficiency evaluations.

■ Video-Mediated Listening Tests
・ Research Objective: Identifying specific visual cues that test-takers focus on in video-mediated L2 listening tests using eye-tracking methods.
・ Title: An eye-tracking study of attention to visual cues in L2 listening tests, Batty Aaron Olaf (Language Testing) 38 (4) 511-535 October 2021
・ Research Objective: Comparing the difficulty of audio and video formats in listening tests using many-facet Rasch modeling and analyzing differential distractor functioning.
・ Title: A comparison of video- and audio-mediated listening tests with many-facet Rasch modeling and differential distractor functioning, Batty Aaron Olaf (Language Testing) 32 (1) 3-20 January 2015
・ Research Objective: Investigating the impact of nonverbal communication on the difficulty of implicit and explicit items in video-mediated second language listening tests.
・ Title: Investigating the impact of nonverbal communication cues on listening item types, Batty Aaron Olaf (Assessing L2 listening: Moving towards authenticity) 161-175 September 2018
・ Research Objective: Overview of the impact of nonverbal information on L2 listening.
・ Title: Visual cues and listening, Batty Aaron Olaf, Suvorov Ruslan (The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and listening) 307-318 July 2024
■ Sign Language Assessment
・ Research Objective: Exploring challenges in rating signed production using a mixed-methods study of a Swiss German Sign Language form-recall vocabulary test.
・ Title: Challenges in rating signed production: A mixed-methods study of a Swiss German Sign Language form-recall vocabulary test, Batty Aaron Olaf, Haug Tobias, Ebling Sarah, Tissi Katja, Sidler-Miserez Sandra (Language Testing) 40 (2) 352-374 April 2023
・ Research Objective: Gathering validity evidence for a new sentence repetition test for young deaf first language Swiss German Sign Language users.
・ Title: Validity evidence for a sentence repetition test of Swiss German Sign Language, Haug Tobias, Batty Aaron Olaf, Venetz Martin, Notter Christa, Girard-Groeber Simone, Knoch Ute, Audeoud Mireille (Language Testing) 37 (3) 412-434 July 2020
■ Vocabulary Proficiency Assessment
・ Research Objective: Understanding the relationship between various modalities of vocabulary knowledge and reading proficiency using a bootstrapping approach.
・ Title: Predicting L2 reading proficiency with modalities of vocabulary knowledge: A bootstrapping approach, McLean Stuart, Stewart Jeffrey, Batty Aaron Olaf (Language Testing) 37 (3) 389-411 July 2020
・ Research Objective: Investigation of types of word knowledge assessed by the VKS vocabulary test.
・ Title: Comparing multidimensional and continuum models of vocabulary acquisition: An empirical examination of the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale, Stewart Jeffrey, Batty Aaron Olaf, Bovee Nicholas (TESOL Quarterly) 46 (4) 695-721 December 2012
■ Impact of Technology on L2 Language Assessment
・ Research Objective: Investigation of the validity of an online automated test of foreign language communicative competence.
・ Title: Theoretical underpinnings of a computerized objective test of communicative competence in Japan, Batty Aaron Olaf, Stewart Jeffrey (Trends in language assessment research and practice: The view from the Middle East and the Pacific Rim) 387-413 March 2016
・ Research Objective: Identifying the impact of delivery mode on writing performance and perceptions in Trinity College London's integrated skills English test suite.
・ Title: Going online: The effect of mode of delivery on performances and perceptions on an English L2 writing test suite, Brunfaut Tineke, Harding Luke, Batty Aaron Olaf (Assessing Writing) 36 3-18 April 2018
・ Research Objective: Providing validity evidence for an automated web application that evaluates and gives feedback on the handshapes and movements of Swiss German Sign Language learners.
・ Title: Automated Sign Language Vocabulary Assessment: Comparing Human and Machine Ratings and Studying Learner Perceptions, Holzknecht Franz, Tornay Sandrine, Battisti Alessia, Batty Aaron Olaf, Tissi Katja, Haug Tobias, Ebling Sarah (Language Assessment Quarterly) 21 (3) 245-265 May 2024
・ Research Objective: Investigation of ability of LLMs to mark meaning-recall tests of L2 vocabulary.
・ Title: Can we reliably score meaning recall vocabulary tests using AI? A comparison of human vs. AI scoring, Stewart Jeffrey, Anthony Laurence, Batty Aaron Olaf, Nakamura Keita, Nicklin Christopher, McLean Stuart, Tomaru Kanako (Computer Assisted Language Learning) April 2025

Areas of Research

・Applied Linguistics

Social Contributions

・Improving Language Assessment Methods
・Advancing Educational Technology