Revisiting Language Assessment Literacy: Past, Present and Future more

Sun, May 1, 10:00-Tue, May 31, 23:55 Asia/Seoul

Language assessment literacy (LAL), a term developed from assessment literacy (AL), has now become a crucial agenda in the language testing field. The last decade, indeed, has witnessed numerous studies exploring LAL from different perspectives. That said, a detailed and comprehensive review is still in its infancy. As a response, the current paper used thematic review to categorize and synthesize existing LAL studies (N = 38), published on major language testing journals (e.g., Language Testing) and other relevant sources (e.g., book chapters), from the aspects of a) origin, b) definition, c) frameworks, d) stakeholders, and e) instruments. Results reveal that other stakeholders (e.g., parents), to some extent, are difficult to understand and use existing LAL definitions and frameworks effectively, as language testing researchers largely prescribe them. Besides, teachers' LAL is overrepresented in the present literature, while fewer studies have been conducted on other stakeholders (e.g., test-takers). To conclude, prospective areas are suggested for further research and discussion.