Testing the Untestable in Language Education

Testing the Untestable in Language Education
Author: Amos Paran
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2010
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1847692656

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The testing and assessment of language competence continues to be a much debated issue in foreign language teaching and research. This book is the first one to address the testing of four important dimensions of foreign language education which have been left largely unconsidered: learner autonomy, intercultural competence, literature and literary competence, and the integration of content and language learning. Each area is considered through a theoretical framework, followed by two empirical studies, raising questions of importance to all language teachers: How can one test literary competence? Can intercultural competence be measured? What about the integrated assessment of content-and-language in CLIL and teaching? Is progress in autonomous learning skill gaugeable? The book constitutes essential reading for anyone interested in the testing and assessment of seemingly largely untestable aspects of foreign language competence. "The title of this book is well chosen. Despite the apparent oxymoron, this collection of papers succeeds in addressing important issues of educational policy and theory with the precision born of empirical work combined with discussion of principles. This book will open new options for testers, for teachers and for those who make policy decisions." Michael Byram, School of Education, University of Durham, UK

Testing the Untestable in Language Education

Testing the Untestable in Language Education
Author: Amos Paran
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2010-06-07
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1847693989

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The testing and assessment of language competence continues to be a much debated issue in foreign language teaching and research. This book is the first one to address the testing of four important dimensions of foreign language education which have been left largely unconsidered: learner autonomy, intercultural competence, literature and literary competence, and the integration of content and language learning. Each area is considered through a theoretical framework, followed by two empirical studies, raising questions of importance to all language teachers: How can one test literary competence? Can intercultural competence be measured? What about the integrated assessment of content-and-language in CLIL and teaching? Is progress in autonomous learning skill gaugeable? The book constitutes essential reading for anyone interested in the testing and assessment of seemingly largely untestable aspects of foreign language competence.

Diagnosing Foreign Language Proficiency

Diagnosing Foreign Language Proficiency
Author: J. Charles Alderson
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2005-08-22
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1441147594

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This book addresses the need for tests that can diagnose the strengths and weaknesses in learners' developing foreign language proficiency. It presents the rationale for, and research surrounding, the development of DIALANG, a suite of internet-delivered diagnostic foreign language tests funded by the European Commission. The word 'diagnosis' is common in discussions in language education and applied linguistics, but very few truly diagnostic tests exist. However, the diagnosis of foreign language proficiency is central to helping learners make progress. This volume explores the nature of diagnostic testing, emphasizing the need for a better understanding of the nature of appropriate diagnosis. The book starts with a debate about how diagnostic testing might most appropriately be developed. Charles Alderson argues that the field has neglected to construct diagnostic tests, partly because other forms of testing have dominated the field. Alderson examines how proficiency has been diagnosed in the key areas of language: reading, listening, writing, grammar and vocabulary. The value of self-assessment is discussed and exemplified as a key component in developing learners', and teachers', awareness of the complexity of language learning. The book ends with a consideration of and recommendations for future developments in the diagnosis of foreign language proficiency.

Testing in Language Programs

Testing in Language Programs
Author: James Dean Brown
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2005
Genre: Education
ISBN:

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"Testing in language programs is a core text for graduate and undergraduate teacher-training courses in language testing assessment. Ideal for both classroom use and personal reference, this book targets the need of those making both program-level (e.g. admissions, proficiency, and placement) as well as classroom-level testing decisions (e.g. assessing what students have learned through diagnostic and achievement testing)."--Back cover

Testing in Language Programs

Testing in Language Programs
Author: James Dean Brown
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Total Pages: 350
Release: 1996
Genre: Education
ISBN:

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This series for teachers and teacher trainers gives sound, straightforward advice on good teaching methods, and practical suggestions for lessons and activities. This book teaches how to develop and/or adapt all types of language testing. -- Teachers and administrators learn how to make responsible and professional proficiency, placement, diagnostic, and achievement decisions, as well as how to design tests for program-level decisions and classroom-level decisions. -- Topics include: types and uses of tests; developing, adapting, and improving tests; describing results and interpreting scores; correlation; test reliability; test validity and standards testing; and testing and curriculum.

Challenges in Language Testing Around the World

Challenges in Language Testing Around the World
Author: Betty Lanteigne
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 553
Release: 2021-02-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 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.

Validation in Language Testing

Validation in Language Testing
Author: Alister H. Cumming
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 268
Release: 1996
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9781853592966

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"The validation of language tests is widely discussed and expected, but only in recent years have researchers adopted a variety of innovative techniques for developing, assessing and validating specific tests of second or foreign language proficiency and their impact on education and society. Indeed, as the present volume clearly demonstrates, many different techniques for empirical analysis and types of evidence may be used to assess and interpret the validity of diverse aspects of language tests as well as the consequences they may have for language students, educators and society."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Testing Second Language Speaking

Testing Second Language Speaking
Author: Glenn Fulcher
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2014-10-13
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1317873688

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The testing and assessment of second language learners is an essential part of the language learning process. Glenn Fulcher's Testing Second Language Speaking is a state-of-the-art volume that considers the assessment of speaking from historical, theoretical and practical perspectives. The book offers the first systematic, comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of the testing of second language speaking. Written in a clear and accessible manner, it covers: Explanations of the process of test design Costing test design projects How to put the test into practice Evaluation of speaking tests Task types for testing speaking Testing learners with disabilities It also contains a wealth of examples, including task types that are commonly used in speaking tests, approaches to researching speaking tests and specific methodologies that teachers, students and test developers may use in their own projects. Successfully integrating practice and theory, this book demystifies the process of testing speaking and provides a thorough treatment of the key ethical and technical issues in speaking evaluation.

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Language Testing

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Language Testing
Author: Paula Winke
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 484
Release: 2020-12-28
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1351034766

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This Handbook, with 45 chapters written by the world’s leading scholars in second language acquisition (SLA) and language testing, dives into the important interface between SLA and language testing: shared ground where researchers seek to measure second language performance to better understand how people learn their second languages. The Handbook also reviews how to best measure and evaluate the second language (L2) learners’ personal characteristics, backgrounds, and learning contexts to better understand their L2 learning trajectories. Taking a transdisciplinary approach to research, the book builds upon recent theorizing and measurement principles from the fields of applied linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, psycholinguistics, psychometrics, educational measurement, and social psychology. The Handbook is divided into six key sections: (1) Assessment concepts for SLA researchers, (2) Building instruments for SLA research, (3) Measuring individual differences, (4) Measuring language development, (5) Testing specific populations, and (6) Measurement principles for SLA researchers.

Developing Intercultural Language Learning

Developing Intercultural Language Learning
Author: Michelle Kohler
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2020-11-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030591131

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This book presents a detailed account of a self-study in which the author considers why a developmental perspective matters in language learning within an intercultural orientation, and how teachers of languages might understand and attend to this notion in their work. The discussion is based on the author’s experience as a teacher-researcher and traces aspects of teachers’ work from planning, teaching and mediating, to assessing and judging evidence of student learning and development over time. This book is grounded in a praxis view of language teaching and learning and will be of interest to other language teachers, pre-service teachers, teacher trainers and applied linguists.