Testing the untestable in foreign language education

This book investigates the intersections between language learning and assessment and four specific areas within language learning: learner autonomy, intercultural competence, literary competence and the integration of content and language learning. It is a valuable study of the seemingly untestable facets of foreign language competence. 1. More than language: the multiple faces of testing and assessment in language learning and teaching / Amos Paran PART I. INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE: 2. Assessing Intercultural Competence: More Questions than Answers / Lies Sercu 3. Interculturally Savvy or Not? Developing and Assessing Intercultural Competence in the Context of Learning for Business / Kaisu Korhonen 4. Eliciting The Intercultural in Foreign Language Education at School / Anthony J. Liddicoat and Angela Scarino PART II. AUTONOMY: 5. Measuring Autonomy: Should We Put Our Ability to the Test? / Phil Benson 6. Assessment of Autonomy or Assessment for Autonomy? Evaluating Learner Autonomy for Formative Purposes / Terry Lamb 7. Learners Reflecting on Learning: Evaluation versus Testing in Autonomous Language learning / Leni Dam and Lienhard Legenhausen PART III. LITERATURE: 8. Between Scylla and Charybdis: The Dilemmas of Testing Language and Literature / Amos Paran 9. Crossing The Bridge from Appreciative Reader to Reflective Writer: The Assessment of Creative Process / Jane Spiro 10. The Taming of the Immeasurable: An Empirical Assessment of Language Awareness / Hui-wei Lin PART IV. LANGUAGE AND CONTENT: 11. Assessing Language and Content: A Functional Perspective / Bernard Mohan, Constant Leung and Tammy Slater 12. Teachers and Texts: Judging What ELLs Know From What They Say / Marylin Low 13. Towards Systematic and Sustained Formative Assessment of Causal Explanations in Oral Interactions / Tammy Slater and Bernard Mohan. Contents Contributors 1. More than Language: The Additional Faces of Testing and Assessment in Language Learning and Teaching Part 1: Intercultural Competence 2. Assessing Intercultural Competence: More Questions than Answers 3. Interculturally Savvy or Not? Developing and Assessing Intercultural Competence in the Context of Learning for Business 4. Eliciting the Intercultural in Foreign Language Education at School Part 2: Autonomy 5. Measuring Autonomy: Should We Put Our Ability to the Test? 6. Assessment of Autonomy or Assessment for Autonomy? Evaluating Learner Autonomy for Formative Purposes 7. Learners Reflecting on Learning: Evaluation versus Testing in Autonomous Language Learning Part 3: Literature 8. Between Scylla and Charybdis: The Dilemmas of Testing Language and Literature 9. Crossing the Bridge from Appreciative Reader to Reflective Writer: The Assessment of Creative Process 10. The Taming of the Immeasurable: An Empirical Assessment of Language Awareness Part 4: Language and Content 11. Assessing Language and Content: A Functional Perspective 12. Teachers and Texts: Judging What English Language Learners Know From What They Say 13. Towards Systematic and Sustained Formative Assessment of Causal Explanations in Oral Interactions

The testing and assessment of language competence continues to be a much debated issue in foreign language teaching and research. This book is the first one to address the testing of four important dimensions of foreign language education which have been left largely unconsidered: learner autonomy, intercultural competence, literature and literary competence, and the integration of content and language learning. Each area is considered through a theoretical framework, followed by two empirical studies, raising questions of importance to all language teachers: How can one test literary competence? Can intercultural competence be measured? What about the integrated assessment of content-and-language in CLIL and teaching? Is progress in autonomous learning skill gaugeable? The book constitutes essential reading for anyone interested in the testing and assessment of seemingly largely untestable aspects of foreign language competence.

The testing and assessment of language competence continues to be a much debated issue in foreign language teaching and research. This book is the first one to address the testing of four important dimensions of foreign language education which have been left largely unconsidered: learner autonomy, intercultural competence, literature and literary competence, and the integration of content and language learning. Each area is considered through a theoretical framework, followed by two empirical studies, raising questions of importance to all language teachers: how can one test literary competence; can intercultural competence be measured; what about the integrated assessment of content-and-language in CLIL and teaching; and, is progress in autonomous learning skill gaugeable The testing and assessment of language competence continues to be a much debated issue in foreign language teaching and research. This book addresses the testing of four important dimensions of foreign language education which have been left largely unconsidered: learner autonomy, intercultural competence, and literature and literary competence This study investigates the intersections between language learning and language assessment. It looks at four specific areas within language learning: learner autonomy, intercultural competence, literature and literary competence, and the integration of content and language learning