Contemporary Second Language Assessment: Contemporary Applied Linguistics Volume 4

by Jayanti Veronique Banerjee (Editor), Li Wei (Editor), Dina Tsagari (Editor)

Overview

Includes chapters on key aspects of second language assessment such as test construct, diagnosis, exam design, and the growing range of public policy, social and ethical issues. Each of the contributors is an expert in their area; some are established names while others are talented newcomers to the field.

The chapters present new research or perspectives on traditional concerns such as test quality; fairness and bias; the testing of different language skills; the needs of different groups of examinees, including English language learners who need to take content tests in English; and the use of language assessments for gate-keeping purposes. The volume demonstrates how language assessment is informed by and engages with neighbouring areas of applied linguistics such as technology and language corpora.

The book represents the best of current practice in second language assessment and, as a one volume reference, will be invaluable to students and researchers looking for material that extends their understanding of the field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350096943
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/07/2019
Series:	Contemporary Applied Linguistics
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.86(w) x 9.43(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Dina Tsagari is Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics/TEFL in the Department of English Studies at the University of Cyprus, Cyprus.

Jayanti Veronique Banerjee is Research Director at Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Dina Tsagari & Jayanti Banerjee
Section I: Key Theoretical Considerations
1. Modelling Communicative Language Ability: Skills and Contexts of Language Use, Lin Gu
2. Presenting Validity Evidence: The Case of GESE, Dianne Wall
3. A New National Exam: A Case of Washback, Doris Frötscher
4. Linking to the CEFR: Validation Using a Priori and a Posteriori Evidence, Ying Zheng & John de Jong
Section II: Assessment of Specific Language Aspects
5. Authentic Texts in the Assessment of L2 Listening Ability, Elvis Wagner
6. The Role of Background Factors in the Diagnosis of SFL Reading Ability, Ari Huhta, J. Charles Alderson, Lea Nieminen, and Riikka Ullakonoja
7. Understanding Oral Proficiency Task Difficulty: An Activity Theory Perspective, Zhengdong Gan
8. Principled Rubric Adoption and Adaptation: One Multi-method Case Study, Valerie Meier, Jonathan Trace and Gerriet Janssen
9. The Social Dimension of Language Assessment: Assessing Pragmatics, Carsten Roever
Section III: Issues in Second Language Assessment
10. Applications of Corpus Linguistics in Language Assessment, Sarah Cushing Weigle and Sarah Goodwin
11. Setting Language Standards for International Medical Graduates, Vivien Berry and Barry O'Sullivan
12. Fairness and Bias in Language Assessment, Norman Verhelst, Jayanti Banerjee & Patrick McLain
13. ACCESS for ELLs: Access to the Curriculum, Jennifer Norton and Carsten Wilmes
14. Using Technology in Language Assessment, Haiying Li, Keith T. Shubeck, and Arthur C. Graesser
15. Future Prospects and Challenges in Language Assessments, Sauli Takala, Gudrun Erickson, Neus Figueras, and Jan-Eric Gustafsson
Index

Editorial Reviews

Certainly gives the reader a taste of a wide variety of language testing research projects ... Each of the individual chapters would offer useful insights to researchers engaged in similar projects and would offer interesting material for discussion on graduate courses in language assessment.” —ELT Jourbanal

From the Publisher