Download or read book A Principled Approach to Language Assessment written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-09-19 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States is formally represented around the world by approximately 14,000 Foreign Service officers and other personnel in the U.S. Department of State. Roughly one-third of them are required to be proficient in the local languages of the countries to which they are posted. To achieve this language proficiency for its staff, the State Department's Foreign Service Institute (FSI) provides intensive language instruction and assesses the proficiency of personnel before they are posted to a foreign country. The requirement for language proficiency is established in law and is incorporated in personnel decisions related to job placement, promotion, retention, and pay. A Principled Approach to Language Assessment: Considerations for the U.S. Foreign Service Institute evaluates the different approaches that exist to assess foreign language proficiency that FSI could potentially use. This report considers the key assessment approaches in the research literature that are appropriate for language testing, including, but not limited to, assessments that use task-based or performance-based approaches, adaptive online test administration, and portfolios.

Download or read book A Principled Approach to Language Assessment written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-08-19 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States is formally represented around the world by approximately 14,000 Foreign Service officers and other personnel in the U.S. Department of State. Roughly one-third of them are required to be proficient in the local languages of the countries to which they are posted. To achieve this language proficiency for its staff, the State Department's Foreign Service Institute (FSI) provides intensive language instruction and assesses the proficiency of personnel before they are posted to a foreign country. The requirement for language proficiency is established in law and is incorporated in personnel decisions related to job placement, promotion, retention, and pay. A Principled Approach to Language Assessment: Considerations for the U.S. Foreign Service Institute evaluates the different approaches that exist to assess foreign language proficiency that FSI could potentially use. This report considers the key assessment approaches in the research literature that are appropriate for language testing, including, but not limited to, assessments that use task-based or performance-based approaches, adaptive online test administration, and portfolios.

Download or read book Another Generation of Fundamental Considerations in Language Assessment written by Gary J. Ockey and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-11-23 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited book is a collection of papers, written by language assessment professionals to reflect the guidance of Professor Lyle F. Bachman, one of the leading second language assessment experts in the field for decades. It has three sub-themes: assessment of evolving language ability constructs, validity and validation of language assessments, and understanding internal structures of language assessments. It provides theoretical guidelines for practical language assessment challenges. Chapters are written by language assessment researchers who graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, where Professor Bachman trained them including the book editors.

Download or read book Language Assessment written by H. Douglas Brown and published by Pearson PTR Interactive. This book was released on 2004 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Features: Solid foundation in the basics of validity and reliability, as well as all of the different forms of assessment Concise, comprehensive treatment of all four skills includes classification of assessment techniques. Thorough examination of standards-based assessment and standardized testing. Practical examples illustrate principles. End-of-chapter exercises and suggested additional readings provide opportunities for further exploration.

Download or read book Re examining Language Testing written by Glenn Fulcher and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-06-12 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Language Assessment for Classroom Teachers written by Lyle Bachman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-01-25 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides teachers with an entirely new approach to developing and using classroom-based language assessments. This approach is based on current theory and practice in the field of language assessment and on an understanding of the assessment needs of classroom teachers. The following key questions are addressed: • Why do I need to assess? What beneficial consequences do I want to help bring about? How can my assessments help my students learn better and help me improve my teaching? • When and how often do I need to assess? What decisions do I need to make to help bring about these beneficial consequences? • What do I need to assess? How can I define the abilities that I want to assess? • How can I assess my students? What kinds of assessment tasks should I create? How can I score my students’ responses to these tasks? The authors guide the reader step-by-step through the process of developing and using classroom-based assessments with clear explanations and definitions of key terms, illustrative examples, and activities for applying the approach in practice. Extra resources are available on the website: www.oup.com/elt/teacher/lact Lyle Bachman is Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics at the University of California, Los Angeles. He serves as a consultant in language testing research projects and in developing language assessments for universities and government agencies around the world, and he conducts courses and training workshops in language assessment. Barbara Damböck was Director of Studies of the English Department at the Teacher Training Academy in Dillingen, Germany, from 2003 to 2011. From 2003 to 2017 she supervised the training of oral examiners for the certification examination for elementary school English teachers in Bavaria. She has extensive experience as a classroom teacher, teacher trainer, and teacher of teacher trainers. She conducts courses and workshops for teachers and teacher trainers around the world.

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Language Testing written by Paula Winke and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-12-27 with total page 543 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Language Assessment Literacy written by Dina Tsagari and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2020-04-21 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of language testing and assessment has recognized the importance and underlying theoretical and practical underpinnings of language assessment literacy (LAL), an area that is gradually coming to prominence. This book addresses issues that promote the concept of LAL for language research, teaching, and learning, covering a range of topics. It brings together 14 chapters based on high-stakes and classroom-based studies authored by academics, professionals and researchers in the field. The text examines diverse issues through a multifaceted approach, presenting high-quality contributions that fill a gap in a research area that has long been in need of theoretical and empirical attention.

Download or read book Assessing English for Professional Purposes written by Ute Knoch and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-10 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ** WINNER OF ILTA/SAGE Best Book Award 2020 ** Assessing English for Professional Purposes provides a state-of-the-art account of the various kinds of language assessments used to determine people’s abilities to function linguistically in the workplace. At a time when professional expertise is increasingly mobile and diverse, with highly trained professionals migrating across national boundaries to apply their skills in English-speaking settings, this book offers a renewed agenda for inquiry into language assessments for professional purposes (LAPP). Many of these experts work in high-risk environments where communication breakdowns can have serious consequences. This risk has been identified by governments and professional bodies, who implement language tests for gate-keeping purposes. Through a sociological lens of risk and responsibility, this book: provides a detailed overview of both foundational and recent literature in the field; offers conceptual tools for specific purpose assessment, including a socially oriented theory of construct; develops theory and practice in key areas, such as needs analysis, test development, validation and policy; significantly broadens the scope of the assessment of English for professional purposes to include a range of assessment practices for both professionals and laypeople in professional settings. Assessing English for Professional Purposes is key reading for researchers, graduate students and practitioners working in the area of English for Specific Purposes assessment.

Download or read book Reconsidering Science Learning written by Patricia Murphy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-12-16 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This informative book looks at science learning in a wide range of contexts. It is divided into three parts. Part one deals with the arguments put forward for studying science, and includes a discussion on what science learners need to know about the nature of science and how decisions about what forms science curricula are made. Part two includes articles on the processes by which science is learned and part three deals with inclusivity and diversity in science learning and what widening participation means for science education. This is a companion book to Mediating Science Learning through ICT also published by RoutledgeFalmer. Reconsidering Science Learning will be of particular interest to teachers on masters courses in science education and academics with an interest in science education.

Download or read book Evaluating Language Assessments written by Antony John Kunnan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-06 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evaluating Language Assessments offers a comprehensive overview of the theoretical bases and research methodologies for the evaluation of language assessments and demonstrates the importance of a fuller understanding of this widely used evaluative tool. The volume explores language assessment evaluation in its wider political, economic, social, legal, and ethical contexts while also illustrating quantitative and qualitative methods through discussions of key research studies. Suitable for students in applied linguistics, second language acquisition and language assessment and education, this book makes the case for a clear and rigorous understanding of the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of language assessment evaluation in order to achieve fair assessments and just institutions.

Download or read book Language Assessment Literacy and the Professional Development of Pre Service Foreign Language Teachers written by Giraldo, Frank and published by Editorial Universidad de Caldas. This book was released on 2022-07-03 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Language teachers the world over inevitably need to engage in assessing their students’ language ability for various purposes – diagnostic, progress, achievement, etc. Because language assessment is a major task for language teachers, language teaching programs should provide pre-service teachers with opportunities to problematize assessment in the foreign or second language classroom. Educating pre-service teachers for assessment should lead to positive consequences on their in-service work. In this book, the author provides a research-based approach to plan, design, implement, and evaluate a language assessment course for pre-service teachers. The following are some of the central issues addressed in the book: • A conceptualization of Language Assessment Literacy (LAL) –the central construct in the book– and its relationship with language teachers’ professional development. • A theoretically and empirically driven approach for planning and designing a language assessment course. • A hands-on approach to teaching language assessment to pre-service language teachers. • Suggestions for teaching the design of assessments for the four language skills. • Suggestions for language teacher educators to discuss and derive ideas for assessment in their language teaching programs. • Real sample items and tasks for teaching and assessing pre-service teachers’ LAL. The author constantly invites teacher educators to reflect upon the theory, research, and practice presented in the book. In doing so, he encourages these stakeholders to plan and teach language assessment courses that foster the LAL of pre-service teachers’, an overlooked stakeholder group in LAL discussions.

Download or read book Challenges in Language Testing Around the World written by Betty Lanteigne and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-02-17 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Language Testing written by Tim McNamara and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2006-11-10 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the SAGE/ILTA Award for Best Book on Language Testing 2009 This volume focuses on the social aspects of language testing, including assessment of socially situated language use and societal consequences of language tests. The authors argue that traditional approaches to ensuring social fairness in tests go some way to addressing social concerns, but a broader perspective is necessary to examine the functions of tests on a societal scale. Considers these issues in relation to language assessment in oral proficiency interviews, and to the assessment of second language pragmatics. Argues that traditional approaches to ensuring social fairness in tests go some way to addressing social concerns, but a broader perspective is necessary if we are to fully understand the social dimension of language assessment.

Download or read book Using Technology in Foreign Language Teaching written by Rahma Al-Mahrooqi and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2014-10-17 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Language learning is a complex and challenging endeavor. For students to achieve the desired proficiency in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) their institutions need to invest time, effort and huge resources in order to cater for different learning styles. To be cost effective, many language-teaching institutions strive to provide intensive foreign language (FL) instruction to reduce the time period needed to learn the target language. This explains the current interest in combining differe...

Download or read book Local Language Testing written by Slobodanka Dimova and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-02-20 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Teaching by Principles written by H. Douglas Brown and published by Pearson Education ESL. This book was released on 2015 with total page 668 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teaching by Principles is a widely acclaimed methodology test used in language teacher education programs around the world. In this fourth edition, Dr. H. Douglas Brown and Dr. Heekyeong Lee offer a comprehensive survey of practical language teaching options firmly anchored in current research on second language acquisition and pedagogy. Features of the Fourth Edition A comprehensive update on current issues, new research findings, and innovative classroom teaching techniques, with additional and reworked chapters to reflect this information A description and analysis of new foundational principles, including: agency, identity, languaculture, communities of practice, embodied cognition, and self-regulation Pre-reading organizers at the beginning of each chapter Frquent statistics and pedagogical "tips" in each chapter Numerous "classroom connections" to stimulate practical applications of concepts and principles End-of-chapter group activities, discussion topics, and suggested additional readings A glossary of technical terminology