Challenges in Language Testing Around the World
Challenges in Language Testing Around the World

Author: Betty Lanteigne

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-02-17

Total Pages: 553

ISBN-13: 9813342323

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This book combines insights from language assessment literacy and critical language testing through critical analyses and research about challenges in language assessment around the world. It investigates problematic practices in language testing which are relevant to language test users such as language program directors, testing centers, and language teachers, as well as teachers-in-training in Graduate Diploma and Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics programs. These issues involve aspects of language testing such as test development, test administration, scoring, and interpretation/use of test results. Chapters in this volume discuss insights about language testing policy, testing world languages, developing program-level language tests and tests of specific language skills, and language assessment literacy. In addition, this book identifies two needs in language testing for further examination: the need for collaboration between language test developers, language test users, and language users, and the need to base language tests on real-world language use.

Issues in Language Testing
Issues in Language Testing

Author: J. Charles Alderson

Publisher:

Published: 1981

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13:

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A symposium focusing on problems in the assessment of foreign or second language learning brought seven applied linguists together to discuss three areas of debate: communicative language testing, testing of English for specific purposes, and general language proficiency assessment. In each of these areas, the participants reviewed selected papers on the topic, reacted to them on paper, and discussed them as a group. The collected papers, reactions, and discussion reports on communicative language testing include the following: "Communicative Language Testing: Revolution or Evolution" (Keith Morrow) and responses by Cyril J. Weir, Alan Moller, and J. Charles Alderson. The next section, on testing of English for specific purposes, includes: "Specifications for an English Language Testing Service" (Brendan J. Carroll) and responses by Caroline M. Clapham, Clive Criper, and Ian Seaton. The final section, on general language proficiency, includes: "Basic Concerns in Test Validation" (Adrian S. Palmer and Lyle F. Bachman) and "Why Are We Interested in General Language Proficiency'?" (Helmut J. Vollmer), reactions of Arthur Hughes and Alan Davies, and the subsequent response of Helmut J. Vollmer. (MSE)

Scoring Second Language Spoken and Written Performance
Scoring Second Language Spoken and Written Performance

Author: Ute Knoch

Publisher: Equinox Publishing (UK)

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9781781799512

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The ability to speak and write effectively is widely recognized as an important skill in many contexts and for many purposes, both personal, educational and professional. Because these skills are considered important in second and foreign language learning contexts, they are often included in performance assessments. The scoring of such performances is, however, a complex undertaking and has attracted much attention, both in first and second language learning contexts. The increasing use of automated scoring systems has added to this complexity in recent years. It is therefore all the more surprising that there is no book available that provides an overview of this topic area - the scoring of second language performances. This monograph fills this gap, by drawing together the latest literature in the area. It focusses on issues relating to both rater-mediated assessments and sets out consideration in relation to automated scoring systems (and other technology) which are increasingly used in our field. This monograph provides a useful introduction to graduate students, researchers, test developers, other practitioners and teachers to this topic which has in many ways dominated the field of language assessment over many decades.

Practical Language Testing
Practical Language Testing

Author: Glenn Fulcher

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-11-29

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 1040153321

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Practical Language Testing equips you with the skills, knowledge and principles necessary to understand and construct language tests. This practical guide offers step-by-step guidelines on the design of assessments within the classroom and provides the necessary tools to analyse and improve assessments, as well as deal with alignment to externally imposed standards. Testing is situated both within the classroom and within the larger social context, and readers are provided with the knowledge necessary to make realistic and fair decisions about the use and implementation of tests. Now in its second edition, this respected text has been substantially revised and updated, including a new chapter on validity drawing from the author's Messick Award for innovation in validity theory and practice. It also includes expanded coverage of standardised testing and learning-oriented assessment, and introduces task design features, including authenticity, and automated assessment. With its frequently updated online resources to support language assessment (https://languagetesting.info/), this book is the ideal introduction for students of applied linguistics, TESOL and modern foreign language teaching, as well as practising teachers required to design or implement language testing programmes.

Validity Argument in Language Testing
Validity Argument in Language Testing

Author: Carol A. Chapelle

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-01-21

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 110860238X

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Language tests play pivotal roles in education, research on learning, and gate-keeping decisions. The central concern for language testing professionals is how to investigate whether or not tests are appropriate for their intended purposes. This book introduces an argument-based validity framework to help with the design of research that investigates the validity of language test interpretation and use. The book presents the principal concepts and technical terms, then shows how they can be implemented successfully in practice through a variety of validation studies. It also demonstrates how argument-based validity intersects with technology in language testing research and highlights the use of validity argument for identifying research questions and interpreting the results of validation research. Use of the framework helps researchers in language testing to communicate clearly and consistently about technical issues with each other and with researchers of other types of tests.

Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing
Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing

Author: Lyle F. Bachman

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1990-06-14

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 9780194370035

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Offers a discussion of the basic concerns which underlie the development and use of language tests. Presenting a synthesis of research on testing, this book is useful for students on teacher education courses. It is also helpful for those professionally involved in designing and administering tests, acting as a complement to 'how to' books.

Local Language Testing
Local Language Testing

Author: Slobodanka Dimova

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-02-20

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 0429960328

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Local Language Testing: Design, Implementation, and Development describes the language testing practice that exists in the intermediate space between large-scale standardized testing and classroom assessment, an area that is rarely addressed in the language testing and assessment literature. Covering both theory and practice, the book focuses on the advantages of local tests, fosters and encourages their use, and provides suggested ideas for their development and maintenance. The authors include examples of operational tests with well-proven track records and discuss: the ability of local tests to represent local contexts and values, explicitly and purposefully embed test results within instructional practice, and provide data for program evaluation and research; local testing practices grounded in the theoretical principles of language testing, drawing from experiences with local testing and providing practical examples of local language tests, illustrating how they can be designed to effectively function within and across different institutional contexts; examples of how local language tests and assessments are developed for use within a specific context and how they serve a variety of purposes (e.g., entry-level proficiency testing, placement testing, international teaching assistant testing, writing assessment, and program evaluation). Aimed at language program directors, graduate students, and researchers involved in language program development and evaluation, this is a timely book in that it focuses on the advantages of local tests, fosters and encourages their use, and outlines their development and maintenance. It constitutes essential reading for language program directors, graduate students, and researchers involved in language program development and evaluation.

Re-examining Language Testing
Re-examining Language Testing

Author: Glenn Fulcher

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-06-12

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1317443179

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Winner of the SAGE/ILTA Book Award 2016 Re-examining Language Testing explores ideas that form the foundations of language testing and assessment. The discussion is framed within the philosophical and social beliefs that have forged the practices endemic in language education and policy today. From historical and cultural perspectives, Glenn Fulcher considers the evolution of language assessment, and contrasting claims made about the nature of language and human communication, how we acquire knowledge of language abilities, and the ethics of test use. The book investigates why societies use tests, and the values that have driven changes in practice over time. The discussion is presented within an argument that an Enlightenment inspired view of human nature and advancement is most suited to a progressive, tolerant, and principled theory of language testing and validation. Covering key topics such as measurement, validity, accountability and values, Re-examining Language Testing provides a unique and innovative analysis of the ideas and social forces that shape the practice of language testing. It is an essential read for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of Applied Linguistics and Education. Professionals working in language testing and language teachers will also find this book invaluable.

Exploring Language Assessment and Testing
Exploring Language Assessment and Testing

Author: Anthony Green

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1134516622

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Routledge Introductions to Applied Linguistics is a series of introductory level textbooks covering the core topics in Applied Linguistics, primarily designed for those beginning postgraduate studies, or taking an introductory MA course as well as advanced undergraduates. Titles in the series are also ideal for language professionals returning to academic study. The books take an innovative 'practice to theory' approach, with a 'back-to-front' structure. This leads the reader from real-world problems and issues, through a discussion of intervention and how to engage with these concerns, before finally relating these practical issues to theoretical foundations. Additional features include tasks with commentaries, a glossary of key terms, and an annotated further reading section. Exploring Language Assessment and Testing is a straightforward introduction to the field that provides an inclusive and impartial survey of both classroom based assessment by teachers and larger scale testing, using concrete examples to guide students to the relevant literature. Ranging from theory to classroom based scenarios, the author provides practical guidance on designing, developing and using assessments, with flexible, step by step processes for improving the quality of tests and assessment systems to make them fairer and more accurate. This book is an indispensable introduction to the areas of language assessment and testing, and will be of interest to language teachers as well as postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students studying Language Education, Applied Linguistics and Language Assessment.

Language Testing Reconsidered
Language Testing Reconsidered

Author: Janna D. Fox

Publisher: University of Ottawa Press

Published: 2007-06-01

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 0776616315

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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 the volume address major developments within the field over the past decades, enlivened by current "takes" on these issues. The real value of this collection, however, lies in its consideration of the past as a means of defining the future agenda of language testing.