This article utilises both the theoretical and practical lenses located in the discipline of forensic linguistics to examine the practice of administering language tests to applicants for citizenship in South Africa, considering the prevailing policies and practices in an international context, and...
Language Assessment Literacy (LAL) is now a core topic of discussion in language testing. Research has indicated that language teachers are interested in improving this area in their professional development. This research paper reports on an evaluation of English teachers' assessment instruments th...
In this literature review, I analyze the features and impacts of 14 programs which promoted teachers’ language assessment literacy. I used content analysis to build a coding scheme with data-driven and concept-driven categories to synthesize and then analyze trends in the 14 research studies. Regard...
In this reflection article I examine language assessment literacy initiatives and their possible impact on teachers, and I discuss the connections that exist between language assessment literacy and teachers’ professional development. I explain that training for language assessment literacy may prim...
Language Testing Reconsidered provides a critical update on major issues that have engaged the field of language testing since its inception. Anyone who is working in, studying or teaching language testing should have a copy of this book. The information, discussions, and reflections offered within...
Dans cette thèse, nous adoptons une perspective diagnostique sur l’évaluation de la compréhension aurale en anglais langue étrangère, ce qui implique, d’une part, une attention portée aux processus sous-jacents de la compréhension (et pas simplement à son résultat), et d’autre part, un lien explicit...
Dans cette thèse, nous adoptons une perspective diagnostique sur l’évaluation de la compréhension aurale en anglais langue étrangère, ce qui implique, d’une part, une attention portée aux processus sous-jacents de la compréhension (et pas simplement à son résultat), et d’autre part, un lien explicit...
BACKGROUND: Reading is one of the most complex and exclusively human mental activities. It is a foundational skill for all learning, whether at primary, secondary or tertiary levels. If students do not master effective strategies for reading, they may not be successful independent learners. The abil...
The language assessment literacy of English language teachers has been one of the topics of discussion in the language testing field. In this article, I focus on the need to expand research constructs and methodologies to understand, in depth, the language assessment literacy for these key players i...
In the years 2014 through 2019, three U.S. universities, Michigan State University, the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and The University of Utah, received Language Proficiency Flagship Initiative grants as part of the larger Language Flagship, which is a National Security Education Program (...
The Cles (Certificat en Langues de l’Enseignement Supérieur – Higher education language certificate) is a high stake certification system conceived by the will of the Higher Education Ministry in 2001. It is a multilingual certification system available for 9 languages and “ levels (B1-B2-C1). Its c...
The purpose of this article of reflection is to raise awareness of how poor design of language assessments may have detrimental effects, if crucial qualities and technicalities of test design are not met. The article first discusses these central qualities for useful language assessments. Then, guid...
Language Assessment Literacy (LAL) research has focused on defining the knowledge, skills, and principles that the stakeholders involved in language assessment activities are required to master. However, there is scarce research on the relationship between LAL and the professional development of lan...
The conceptualization of validity remains contested in educational assessment in general, ana in language assessment in particular. Validation and validity are the subjective and objective sides of the pr ocess of building a systematic argument for the adequacy of tests. Currently, validation is con...
This paper aims at questioning the rationale for language testing in immigration policies. Although we consider knowledge of the host country’s language(s) useful and desirable for both the migrant and the host society, we argue that mandatory language testing cannot be justified. Our purpose is to...
This paper aims at questioning the rationale for language testing in immigration policies. Although we consider knowledge of the host country’s language(s) useful and desirable for both the migrant and the host society, we argue that mandatory language testing cannot be justified. Our purpose is to...
Recently, the applied linguistics field has examined the knowledge, skills, and principles needed for assessment, defined as language assessment literacy. Two major issues in language assessment literacy have been addressed but not fully resolved-what exactly language assessment literacy is and how...
The requirement of holding a diploma which certifies proficiency level in a foreign language is constantly increasing in academic and working environments. Computer-based testing has become a prevailing tendency for these and other educational purposes. Each year large numbers of students take onlin...
This study examines test-takers’ views on a computer-delivered speaking test in order to investigate the aspects they consider most relevant in technology-based oral assessment, and to explore the main advantages and disadvantages computer-based tests may offer as compared to face-to-face speaking t...
Language Testing Reconsidered is a collection of selected papers by several respected colleagues in the field of language testing, who engaged in animated conversation, dialogue, and debate at the Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC) 2005, in Ottawa. Part of that conversation is captured here...
An elderly student of language testing recalls some of the events in his career, attempting to relate them to current issues, and touching on such topics as overall language proficiency, the cloze and the noise test, the social responsibility of language testers, the development of industrial langua...
One of the most important methodological developments over the last fifteen years has been the introduction of qualitative research methodologies to support the design, description, and validation of language tests. Many language testers have come to recognize the limitations of traditional statisti...
Arguably the greatest challenge facing language testing is the issue of the context in which language testing is carried out, both at the micro and the macro level. In standard works on language testing, context has been theorized in terms of the demands it makes on individual cognitive attributes,...
The language testing literature is confused about the nature of diagnostic tests. Diagnosis is a frequently used but under-problematized concept and a debate is needed that might lead to a research agenda. This chapter aims to begin that debate by sketching out a possible set of dimensions of such a...