Developing Measures of Basic Job-Relevant English Proficiency for Predicting Job Performance and Promotability

• Main Authors: CHAN, David, SCHMITT, Neal, JENNINGS, Danielle, SHEPPARD, Lori
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 1999
• Subjects: job performance; job promotion; audio and reading test; English proficiency; Cognitive Psychology; Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/217
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The present study is an attempt to devise reliable and valid measures of job-relevant basic English proficiency to be applied in the prediction of job performance and promotability in an entry-level manual labor job dominated by workers whose native language is not English. An audio test and a reading test were developed to assess the ability to understand spoken English and written English respectively using job relevant material. Results showed that both tests demonstrated high predictive validity for the criteria of supervisory assessments of incumbents' English proficiency on the job, overall job performance, and promotability. In predicting ratings of overall job performance and promotability, each test provided incremental validity over the predictability provided by the other test. In addition, the tests also provided incremental validity in predicting promotability over the predictability provided by overall job performance.