Looking back to the language testing world of the 1980s in the United Kingdom, we need to be aware that how we perceive or remember ourselves to have been then--whether as individual language testing academics or as corporate language testing organisations--will be shaped by multiple influences. Although we may have been present at and shared in…

Professor J. Charles Alderson grew up in the town of Burnley, in the North-West of England, and is still based in the North West but in the ancient city of Lancaster. From Burnley to Lancaster, however, lies a journey and a career that took him all around the world to share his knowledge, skills, and experience in language testing and to learn…

Lyle F. Bachman is Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, University of California, Los Angeles. He is a past president of the American Association for Applied Linguistics and of the International Language Testing Association. He has published numerous articles and books in the areas of language testing, program evaluation, and second…

Concern with performance assessment in key areas of curriculum in British and Welsh schools has prompted the development of instruments for measuring Welsh language skills. An account is given of the preparation of tests to assess the language skills of students with Welsh as a first language and as a second language. (PJM)

Item-writing considerations in creating instruments using Likert-type scales, according to Michael Busch, include semantics of labeling response choices and number of response categories. Jean Turner discusses problems regarding the use of Likert-scale questionnaires for L2 research, for instance the cultural background of language learners being…

Studies investigating the possible effects of age at immigration (a proxy for age at onset of second language learning) on second language acquisition among immigrants often explicitly take the effect of length of residence in the destination country (a measure of exposure to opportunities to learn the second language) into account. A third…

Discusses the effects of age on second language acquisition, considering recent data and highlighting the misconceptions. Claims that proponents of the critical period hypothesis have misinterpreted research on speed of acquisition, misattributed age differences to neurobiological factors, and misemphasized poor language learners in research on…

Argues from the premise that a language test is a special case of a second language acquisition (SLA) elicitation device and suggests that SLA and language testing share much common ground in terms of research methods, which have similar properties in that they are both used to make systematic observations of language performances from which…

Recent research into the use of articulatory movements by the deaf has revealed the significance of this visual input, but research into the speech perception of the blind has demonstrated the significance of its loss. The implications of these findings for teaching and testing foreign language listening skills are considered. (Author/JL)

Presents the results of three studies that support the hypothesis that there are two types of proficiency in second language learning, "compartmentalized control" and "integrated control." Relevance to the Monitor Model and a method of teaching for integration are discussed. (Author/AM)

Reviews developments in language testing research and practice over the last 20 years, and suggests future directions in the areas of professionalizing the field and validation research. Argues that concerns for ethical conduct must be grounded in valid test use, so that professionalization and validation research are inseparable. (Author/VWL)

A review of research reveals little attention paid to the problems of a comparative approach to the analysis of bilingual education (BE). This paper explores some of the functions and problems of a comparative study of BE to clarify the question of whether BE research can be generalized. While problems of comparative research are common to all…

The following articles on bilingualism and bilingual education are included: "The Lessons from Two Decades of Bilingual Theory and Practice of Bilingual Education" (Inclan); "Social and Psychological Aspects of Language Use by Bilingual Children" (Walcer and Rodriguez-Brown); "Psychological Aspects of Bilingualism and…

The linguistic norm for testing and instructing Students of Limited-English-Proficiency (SLEPs) is that of a monolingual native speaker of English. The claim is made that this norm is not implemented accurately in testing and instruction and that a bilingual norm for testing and instruction would be more appropriate. The failure to implement…

Testing and assessment in English-for-Academic-purposes (EAP) contexts has traditionally been carried out as a needs analysis of learners or a content analysis of courses. This article reassesses this approach to the development and validation of EAP tests on the basis of a theoretical model and recent research into content specificity. (VWL)