experimental oral test
The data from the oral test were elicited via a semi-guided interview. The questions asked were formulated so that the participants would answer with complete sentences. If this was not the case, they were encouraged to do so.
The participants were interviewed individually and voice recorded at their schools. Each individual interview lasted 8 to 16 minutes. Even though a protocol with different topics proposed was established (e.g., family, hobbies, interests, school, preferences, music, friends, etc.), the participants were encouraged to talk about any desired topic.
experimental written test
The data from the written test were elicited via a wordless picture sequence test adapted from the A1-ball story from the Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument (ENNI) (Schneider et al. 2005). The story consists of five pictures that showed an elephant and a giraffe playing with a ball, and the participants were asked to tell the story in English.
The changes that have been made to the original ENNI story are related to the characters and their biological gender. Thus, the characters in the adapted version are Mary Giraffe and Tom Elephant.
The participants were instructed in their L1. The test was conducted in a classroom where the whole class participated together. The pictures were projected on a screen for all to see. After seeing the story, the participants had one hour in total to narrate the story in English and they were allowed to ask for vocabulary which, in the case of verbs, was provided to them in a non-inflected form.