The volume unites research and practice on integrating language learning, teaching and assessment at preschool and early school age. It includes chapters written by experts in the field who have studied some of the very youngest (pre-primary) children through to those up to the age of 12, in a variety of private and state contexts across Europe. The collection makes a much-needed contribution to the subject of appropriate assessment for children with the focus of many chapters being classroom-based assessment, particularly formative assessment, or the case for developing assessment skills in relation to even the youngest children. As a whole, the book provides useful case study insights for policymakers, teacher educators, researchers and postgraduate students with interest in or responsibility for how children are assessed in their language learning. It also provides practical ideas for practitioners who wish to implement greater integration of assessment and learning in their own contexts.

The volume reflects on how learners' L2 development between the ages of 6 and 16 can be coherently described and their L2 assessment defined in terms of socio-cognitive validity. There is particular focus on the theoretical foundations, language competence model, development and validation framework, and evaluation and review processes to provide evidence for the validity of the Cambridge English family of assessments for children and teenagers.Academics, assessment professionals and postgraduate researchers of L2 development in children and teenagers will find great value in the volume's theoretical insight, while policy-makers and teachers will gain rigorous practical advice for the young language learner's classroom and assessment.