托福新题型“Build a Sentence”测试效度与教学启示研究——基于句法能力与认知语法的分析

Research on the Validity of TOEFL’s New Task “Build a Sentence” and Its Teaching Implications—An Analysis from the Perspectives of Syntactic Competence and Cognitive Grammar

摘要: 本文以2026年托福考试新增题型“Build a Sentence”为研究对象，基于官方样题探讨其设计逻辑、测试学依据和语言学理论基础。本文认为，该题型通过词序重构测评考生的句法能力和语用能力，符合交际语言测试的真实性原则。文章结合生成语法与认知语法视角，分析了题型所涉及的核心语法点及学习者的典型错误来源，并提出分层教学框架与预防性训练策略。研究结果为语言测评效度验证与教学实践提供参考。

Abstract: This study focuses on the “Build a Sentence” task, a new question type introduced for the 2026 TOEFL exam. Based on official sample questions, the paper investigates its design logic, testing principles, and linguistic theoretical foundations. It is argued that this task assesses test-takers’ syntactic and pragmatic competence through word order reconstruction, aligning with the authenticity principle of communicative language testing. Integrating perspectives from Generative Grammar and Cognitive Grammar, the study analyzes the core grammatical points involved and the sources of learners’ typical errors. Consequently, a tiered teaching framework along with proactive training strategies is proposed. The findings offer valuable insights for language assessment validation and pedagogical practice.