Testing Second Language Speaking (Paperback, Annotated Ed)

This title brings together in one volume a comprehensive account and critical analysis of testing second language speaking. It contains a wealth of examples. These include task types that are commonly used in speaking tests, approaches to researching speaking tests, and specific methodologies that teachers, students and test developers may use in their own projects. Annotated examples are presented to enhance understanding of practical testing projects.

 

But it is not just a practical text. There is a theoretical framework, drawing on our evolving understanding of validity in language testing. We argue that practical decisions in speaking test development only make sense when we understand why we make those decisions. There is no one 'correct' decision in any testing context. We are faced with many possible choices, and the process of making those choices is a crucial aspect of understanding what the scores from our tests might mean. Establishing meaning is part of constructing, or evaluating, a validity argument.

 

Validity arguments are never 'static'. They are dynamic, fallible, endlessly evolving attempts to investigate test score meaning. Ultimately we judge them by their utility and plausibility. Practice, theory, evaluation and research methodology are brought together in a single argument for test validity.