Language assessment or language testing is a field of study under the umbrella of applied linguistics. Its main focus is the assessment of first, second or other language in the school, college, or university context; assessment of language use in the workplace; and assessment of language in the immigration, citizenship, and asylum contexts.[1] The assessment may include listening, speaking, reading, writing, an integration of two or more of these skills, or other constructs of language ability. Equal weight may be placed on knowledge (understanding how the language works theoretically) and proficiency (ability to use the language practically), or greater weight may be given to one aspect or the other.[2]
The history of language testing may have originated in the late nineteenth century testing of ESL at Cambridge and Oxford in England,[3] but the earliest works in language assessment in the United States date back to the 1950s to the pioneering studies and test created by Robert Lado and David Harris. The earliest large scale assessments in the United States were referred to as the Michigan Tests, developed by the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan, now known as Michigan Language Assessment, and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS), Princeton, New Jersey.
The English Language Institute at the University of Michigan (Michigan Language Assessment) was established in 1941 and was the first of its kind in the United States. Charles Fries, Director of ELI, and Robert Lado, Director of Testing at ELI, were determined to put foreign language teaching and testing on a "scientific" footing. The first test launched in 1946 was the Lado Test of Aural Comprehension. Approximately 10 years later, a full suite of tests had been assembled: "an English language test battery", which was administered to incoming foreign students at Michigan and other universities and was known as the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery. In 1953, the ELI also developed the ECPE (Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English) exam, under contract to the United States Information Agency, for use abroad.[4] The Michigan Tests continue to support international student and professional mobility and include the Michigan English Test (MET), which is offered worldwide at testing centers and remotely.
TOEFL was launched in 1961 and was designed to assess the English language ability of students applying for admission to U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities. This test, which is used widely around the world, is still in use although it is now only available in the internet-based format (now called the TOEFL iBT[5]).
Many tests from other companies, universities and agencies compete for this market: iTEP (International Test of English Proficiency), the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) Test, the Pearson Language Test's Pearson Test of English (PTE), Michigan Language Assessment exams include Michigan English Test (MET), Examination for the Certificate of Competency in English (ECCE) and Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE), and the British Council and the Australian IDP's International English Language Testing System (IELTS). In the United States, non-profit and other organizations such as the Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C., and Language Testing International, White Plains, NY have developed language tests that are used by many public and private agencies. Many universities too, like the University of California, Los Angeles, Teachers College, Columbia University, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, have developed English (and other) language tests to assess the abilities of their students and teaching assistants. These language assessments are generally known as proficiency or achievement assessments. Other modern English language tests developed include The General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) in Taiwan, the College English Test in China, and the STEP Eiken in Japan. New technology has also made a presence in the field: Versant's English and Dutch assessments use phone technology to record the speaking and automated scoring of their speaking tests, and the ETS is currently experimenting with automated scoring of their writing tests.
Organizations
The International Language Testing Association (ILTA) is one of the many organizations that organizes conferences, workshops, and a public forum for the discussion of important matters. ILTA's major annual conference is the Language Testing Research Colloquium. ILTA's Lifetime Achievement Award winners include: Carol Chapelle (US), Alan Davies (UK), Lyle Bachman (US), Bernard Spolsky (Israel), John Clark (US), Charles Alderson (UK) and Elana Shohamy (Israel).
Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey, the home of the TOEFL, offers an annual outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award in Second or Foreign Language and the University of Cambridge, UK, also offers an annual outstanding master's degree Award in second language testing. In Europe, there are two organizations: the Association of Language Testers of Europe (ALTE) and the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA). All of these associations have developed Codes of Ethics and Practice that all language assessment professionals are expected to adhere to.
Annual conferences
There are many annual conferences on general or specific topics. Among the most important conferences is ILTA's official conference: the Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC), which has been held every year since 1978. In the last few years, it has been held in different parts of the world: Temecula, California, US (2004); Ottawa, Canada (2005); Melbourne, Australia (2006); Barcelona, Spain (2007); Hangzhou, China (2008), and Denver, Colorado (2009), Cambridge, UK (2010), Ann Arbor, Michigan (2011), Princeton, New Jersey (2012), and Seoul, South Korea (2013).
ALTE's international conferences are held in different cities in Europe: Barcelona, Spain (2002); Berlin, Germany (2005); Cambridge, UK (2008); Krakow, Poland (2011); Paris,France (2014); Bologna, Italy (2017) ) with regional conferences in Perugia, Prague, Budapest, Sofia, and Lisbon. Similarly, there are regional meetings in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. International conference themes have included supporting the European Year of Languages (2001), the impact of multilingualism (2005), the wider social and educational impact of assessment (2008) and the role of language frameworks (2011). Selected conference papers have been published through the Studies in Language Testing (SiLT) volumes.
Language assessments in aviation
The aviation personnel is required to be regularly tested on aviation language proficiency. The testing is required on the international basis by ICAO Doc 9835. Within the EASA region, the aviation language assessments are required by Ec 1178/2011, Part FCL, FCL.055.
Endorsements
Each flight crew license is endorsed by the respective endorsement specifying the holder's language proficiency. The level acceptable for the operational use in the aviation is 4 thru 6. The validity of the respective level varies with the region.[6]
Organizations
The organizations authorized to conduct the language assessments on behalf of national aviation authorities are so-called "Language assessment bodies" or "Testing service providers". Each and every Language assessment body is issued with the Certificate of approval with its authorizations. Aero Language[7] and Myflower College[8] are one of several organizations in Europe authorized to conduct the language assessments for pilots and air traffic controllers.
Publications
There are two premier journals in the field: Language Assessment Quarterly (published by Routledge/Taylor & Francis) and Language Testing (published by SAGE Publications) that publishes major findings from researchers. Both these journals are indexed in Thompson's SSCI list. Other journals that publish articles from the field include Applied Linguistics, Language Learning, TESOL Quarterly, Assessing Writing, and System. Some of these journals have special issue volumes on Ethics in language assessment, structural equation modeling, language assessment in Asia, Classroom assessment, etc. and commentaries, brief reports, and book and test reviews.
The field has exploded in the last twenty years in terms of textbooks and research publications. The most popular books include: Lyle Bachman's Fundamental considerations in language testing, and Statistical Analyses for Language Assessment, Lyle Bachman and Adrian Palmer's Language Testing in Practice and Language Assessment in Practice,' Glenn Fulcher and Fred Davidson's 'Language Testing and Assessment: An Advanced Resource Book', Charles Alderson's 'Assessing Reading, John Read's Assessing Vocabulary, James Purpura's Assessing Grammar, Gary Buck's Assessing Listening, Sara Weigle's Assessing Writing,' Glenn Fulcher's 'Practical Language Testing' and 'Testing Second Language Speaking'. Edited volumes include: Alister Cumming's Validation in Language Testing, Antony John Kunnan's Validation in Language Assessment, and Fairness in Language Assessment, and the 'Routledge Handbook of Language Testing', edited by Glenn Fulcher and Fred Davidson.
The most popular book series are Michael Milanovic, Cyril Weir, and Lynda Taylor's Studies in Language Testing (SiLT) series, and Lyle Bachman and Charles Alderson's Cambridge Language Assessment Series.
Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC)
Accepted and trusted by 14,000+ organizations in more than 160 countries, the TOEIC® tests assess your English-language proficiency across all four language skills needed to succeed in the global workplace—listening, reading, speaking and writing. With your TOEIC score, you can: get a fair, accurate evaluation of your ability to communicate in English; show potential employers your full range of communication skills; differentiate yourself from the competition; expand your job opportunities.[11]
Test of English as a Foreign Language is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by more than 11,000 universities and other institutions in over 190 countries and territories. TOEFL is one of several major English-language tests worldwide, including IELTS, Duolingo English Test, Cambridge Assessment English, and Trinity College London exams.
Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, but has a Princeton address.
The International English Language Testing System, is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment English, and was established in 1989. IELTS is one of the major English-language tests in the world.
The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native speakers. It is intentionally designed to measure the everyday English skills of people working in an international environment.
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated in English as CEFR or CEF or CEFRL, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries. The CEFR is also intended to make it easier for educational institutions and employers to evaluate the language qualifications of candidates for education admission or employment. Its main aim is to provide a method of learning, teaching, and assessing that applies to all languages in Europe.
The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) is an association of language exam providers in Europe.
The Versant suite of tests are computerized tests of spoken language available from Pearson PLC. Versant tests were the first fully automated tests of spoken language to use advanced speech processing technology to assess the spoken language skills of non-native speakers. The Versant language suite includes tests of English, Spanish, Dutch, French, and Arabic. Versant technology has also been applied to the assessment of Aviation English, children's oral reading assessment, and adult literacy assessment.
Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy which transfers meaning in production and comprehension.
The Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) is an oral test developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The SPEAK test continues to be administered to non-native English speakers, though it is no longer supported by ETS. No new versions of this test exist. The test aims to evaluate the examinee's proficiency in spoken English; however, most academic institutions recognize that it is limited in that capacity, and have therefore abandoned using it. It is usually taken as a professional certification, especially for graduate teaching assistants in the American college and university system, who are often required to hold office hours and converse in English with students. It is also used in the medical profession, where communication with patients is required. The SPEAK test has been routinely criticized for not accurately testing how a speaker will perform in the real world, in part because it is administered by recording the individual speaking into a recording device rather than speaking to a person. The SPEAK test has also been criticized for using native speaker norms to judge non-native speakers. In fact, independent audits of the SPEAK test conducted in 2012 on some of the few institutions found to still administer this test revealed that the assessment standards provided by ETS were not even being used by the assessors. In fact, in some cases, the assessors of the test were not trained in any way to conduct the assessments, and were found to be assigning arbitrary grades to the candidates. Some of the raters audited were found to themselves have limited functional spoken grammar.
Mute English is a term coined in the People's Republic of China to describe a phenomenon where people cannot speak English well and have a poor listening comprehension as a second language, typically through the traditional method of English language teaching where English is only taught as a subject. The phrase is a calque of the Chinese phrase "哑巴英语". The phenomenon is sometimes referred to as Dumb English.
The English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT) was the name of a SAT II last administered in January 2005. It was a one-hour multiple choice test given on English language proficiency by The College Board. A student whose native language was not English could have chosen to take this test instead of or in addition to Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for college entrance depending upon requirements of the schools in which the student was planning to apply. Until 1994, the SAT II's were known as Achievement Tests. The ELPT assessed both the understanding of spoken and written standard American English and the ability to function in a classroom where English is spoken. The test was intended for students whose best language was not English; who attend U.S. high schools, or who had studied in an international school where courses were taught in English; had completed two to four years of English language instruction in an English as a Second Language program or in English enrichment courses; and/or students who spoke a language other than English at home or work. It was scored on a scale of 901 to 999
The International Test of English Proficiency or iTEP is a language assessment tool that measures the English skills of non-native English speakers. The test is supported by more than 700 institutions including the California State University system. The test is available in more than 40 countries, and is also used by businesses, and governments such as Saudi Arabia, Colombia, and Mexico for large-scale initiatives. There are over 600 iTEP test centers worldwide, with more than 100 in China where iTEP has partnerships with some of the largest education companies in the country.
Aviation English is the de facto international language of civil aviation. With the expansion of air travel in the 20th century, there were safety concerns about the ability of pilots and air traffic controllers to communicate. In 1951, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommended in "ICAO Annex 10 ICAO to the International Chicago Convention" that English be universally used for "international aeronautical radiotelephony communications." Despite being a recommendation only, ICAO aviation English was widely accepted.
The EF Standard English Test is a standardized test of the English language designed for non-native English speakers. It is the product of EF Education First, a global language training company, and a team of language assessment experts including Lyle Bachman, Mari Pearlman, and Ric Luecht. EF compares the EFSET's accuracy to the most widely used high stakes standardized English tests: TOEFL, IELTS, and Cambridge International Examinations.
Michigan Language Assessment (MLA), also known as the Cambridge–Michigan Language Assessment (CaMLA) and previously the "English Language Institute Testing and Certification Division at the University of Michigan", has been providing English language assessments, learning resources, teacher development, consultancy and research since 1941.
The Canadian Academic English Language, or CAEL, Assessment is a standardized test designed to measure English language proficiency for admission to college and university, and for membership in professional associations. Test takers read articles, listen to a lecture, answer questions, and write a short essay, as they would be expected to do in a first-year university or college classroom.
English Language Proficiency for Aeronautical Communication Test (ELPAC) is a EUROCONTROL test for aeronautical communication designed to assess ICAO English Language Proficiency for pilots and air traffic controllers, and reflects the range of tasks undertaken in air traffic control and pilot communications. The test focuses on language proficiency, not operational procedures.
Charles Alderson is a British linguist. He is currently an honorary professor at the Department of Linguistics and English Language of Lancaster University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on language assessment.
General Tests of English Language Proficiency (G-TELP) are English language tests, developed by the International Testing Services Center (ITSC) in 1985. They comprehensively evaluate the practical English use ability of test takers who do not speak English as their native language.
The Duolingo English Test(DET) is a standardized test of English language (similar to TOEFL, IELTS, and TOEIC) but designed to be internet first rather than paper based. DET was developed by Duolingo and grew in popularity and acceptance at universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The test is used by over 4,000 university admissions offices including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Yale. Ireland accepts the test as part of its student visa program. DET is an online, adaptive test which means it uses AI to adapt the difficulty of the test as you progress. Universities in UK such as the London School of Economics, Imperial College London, Kingston University, University of Southampton, Middlesex University also accept the Duolingo test.
References
↑ Hornberger, Nancy H.; Shohamy, Elana (2008). Encyclopedia of Language and Education, Volume 7: Language Testing and Assessment. Berlin: Springer. ISBN978-0-387-32875-1.
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