Assessment / Testing Graduate Student Showcase
Revisiting Language Assessment Literacy: Past, Present and Future
Graduate Student Showcase
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.
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I am currently a second-year MA graduate student majoring in English Studies at the Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Arts, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China. I am interested in second language writing, language testing and assessment, and literacy development in general; language assessment literacy, language assessment fairness and justice, and academic literacies in particular. For my research details, please visit https://andyliujh.com/.