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Troy Cox

Troy Cox
Photo by Rebekah Baker

Troy L. Cox is the Associate Director of the Center for Language Studies. He is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at Brigham Young University and he is currently serving as the TESOL MA Graduate Coordinator. His research interests include second language teaching, learning and acquisition, language proficiency, self-assessment, testing and objective measurement.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Google Scholar

Journal Articles

Gates, G., Cox, T. L., Bell, T. R., & Eggington, W. (2020). Line, please? An analysis of the rehearsed speech characteristics of native Korean speakers on the English Oral Proficiency Interview—Computer (OPIc). Language Testing in Asia, 10 (1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-020-00110-5

Sims, M. E., Cox, T. L., Eckstein, G. T., Hartshorn, K. J., Wilcox, M. P., & Hart, J. M. (2020). Rubric Rating with MFRM versus Randomly Distributed Comparative Judgment: A Comparison of Two Approaches to Second‐Language Writing Assessment. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1111/emip.12329

Summers, M. M., Cox, T., McMurry, B. L., & Dewey, D. P. (2019). Investigating the use of the ACTFL can-do statements in a self-assessment for student placement in an Intensive English Program. System. 80, 269-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.12.012

Cox, T. & Malone, M. (2018) A Validity Argument to Support the ACTFL Assessment of Performance Toward Proficiency. Foreign Language Annals. 51(3):548-574. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12353

Ma, R., Henrichsen, L., Cox, T.  & Tanner, M. (2018) Pronunciation’s role in English speaking proficiency ratings. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation. 4(1): 73-102. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.00004.ma

Cox T., Malone, M., Winke, P. (2018) Future directions in assessment: Influences of standards and implications for language learning. Foreign Language Annals. 51(1): 104-115. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12326

Brown, A. V., Cox, T. and Thompson, G. L. (2017), A Comparative Discourse Analysis of Spanish Past Narrations From the ACTFL OPI and OPIc. Foreign Language Annals, 50(4): 793–807. https://doi:10.1111/flan.12302

Cox, T. (2017) Understanding Intermediate-level Speakers Strengths and Weaknesses: An Examination of OPIc Tests from Korean Learners of English. Foreign Language Annals, 50(1): 84–113. https://doi:10.1111/flan.12258

Cox, T., Bown, J., & Burdis, J. (2016) Elicited imitation as a predictor of language proficiency for learners of Russian. Russian Language Journal, 66(1): 51-88. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26433051

Thompson, G., Cox, T. & Knapp, N. (2016) Comparing the OPI and the OPIc: The effect of test method on oral proficiency scores and student preferences. Foreign Language Annals, 49(1), 75-92. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12178

Cox, T., Bown, J., & Burdis, J., (2015) Exploring proficiency-based versus language for specific purposes items with elicited imitation assessment. Foreign Language Annals, 48(3), 350-371. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12152

Mariana, V., Cox, T. & Melby, A. (2015) The Multidimensional Quality Metrics (MQM) framework: A new framework for translation quality assessment. The Journal of Specialised Translation., 23(1), 137-161https://www.jostrans.org/issue23/art_melby.pdf

Cox, T. & Clifford, R.  (2014). Empirical validation of listening proficiency guidelines. Foreign Language Annals, 47(3), 379-403. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12096

Brown, A., Dewey, D. & Cox, T. (2014). Assessing the Validity of Can-Do Statements in Retrospective (Then-Now) Self-Assessment. Foreign Language Annals, 47(2), 261-285. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12082

Evans, N., Hartshorn, K. J., Cox, T. & Martin, T. (2014) Measures of written linguistic accuracy: Questions of reliability, validity, and practicality. Journal of Second Language Writing, 24(1), 33-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2014.02.005

Eggington, W. & Cox, T. (2013). Using elicited oral response testing to measure speaking and listening proficiency in order to determine the need for an interpreter. Harvard Latino Law Review. 16(1), 127-145. https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/hllr16&id=133

Clifford, R. & Cox, T. (2013). Empirical validation of reading proficiency guidelines. Foreign Language Annals, 40(1), 45-61. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12033

Cox, T. & Davies, R. (2012) Using automatic speech recognition technology with elicited oral response testing. CALICO Journal, 29(4), 601-618. https://www.jstor.org/stable/calicojournal.29.4.601

Book Chapters

Brown, A., Cox, T. & Thompson, G.  (expected February 2021) ACTFL OPIc Question Prompt and Advanced Spanish Proficiency. In M. Menke & P. Malovrh (Eds.) Advancedness in Second Language Spanish: Definitions, Challenges, and Possibilities. John Benjamins Publishing.

Cox, T. & Dewey, D.  (2020) Chapter 36: Measuring one's own language development (self-assessment). (pp. 382-390).  In P. Winke & T. Brunfaut (Eds.) Routledge Handbook on Second Language Acquisition and Language Testing

Cox, T. L., Bown, J., & Bell, T. R. (2019). In Advanced L2 Reading Proficiency Assessments, Should the Question Language Be in the L1 or the L2?: Does It Make a Difference?. In P. Winke & S. Gass (Eds.) Foreign Language Proficiency in Higher Education (pp. 117-136). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01006-5

Cox, T. L., & Davies, R. S. (2016). From Standards to Rubrics: Comparing Full-Range to At-Level Applications of an Item-Level Scoring Rubric on an Oral Proficiency Assessment. In Pacific Rim Objective Measurement Symposium (PROMS) 2015 Conference Proceedings (pp. 215-238). Springer Singapore. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-1687-5_14

Dewey, D., Clifford, R & Cox, T. (2015) L1, L2, and Cognitive Development:  Exploring Relationships. In T. Brown and J. Bown (Eds.) To Advanced Proficiency and Beyond: Theory and Methods for Developing Superior Second-Language Ability, Georgetown University Press. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275020178

Cox, T., McMurry, B. & McCollum, R. (2010) iDeas for iPods, in B. Baurain & P. Ha (Eds.) TESOL Classroom Practice Series on Multilevel/Mixed-Ability Settings (pp. 93-100). TESOL Classroom Practice Series.

Cox, T. (1995) Internet movie database, In M. Warschauer (Ed.) Virtual Connections: Online Activities and Projects for Networking (pp. 283–285), Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center, University of Hawaii Press.

Troy Cox in the News

Finishing the Race

Biking over two hundred miles pushes the human mind and body to its limits, but so does trying to learn a new language. Associate Professor Troy Cox (Linguistics) has experience with both.

Tips and tricks for keeping a mission language fluent

Language loss, or language attrition, begins almost as soon as missionaries leave their mission and return to an English-speaking environment. While keeping up a second language isn’t easy, it’s definitely possible.