Ethics and Context in Second Language Testing

This innovative, timely text introduces the theory and research of critical approaches to language assessment, foregrounding ethical and socially contextualized concerns in language testing and language test validation in today's globalized world. The editors bring together diverse perspectives, qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and empirical work on this subject that speak to concerns about social justice and equity in language education, from languages and contexts around the world - offering an overview of key concepts and theoretical issues and field-advancing suggestions for research projects. This book offers a fresh perspective on language testing that will be an invaluable resource for advanced students and researchers of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, language policy, education, and related fields - as well as language program administrators.

M. Rafael Salaberry is Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Humanities in the Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures at Rice University (USA). Albert Weideman is Professor of Applied Language Studies and Research Fellow at the University of the Free State (South Africa). Wei-Li Hsu is a Lecturer at the Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication, at Rice University (USA).

List of contributors PART I THE ETHICAL CONTEXTUALIZATION OF VALIDITY Chapter 1: Contexts, constructs, and ethics M. Rafael Salaberry and Albert Weideman Chapter 2: Validity and validation: an alternative perspective Albert Weideman and Bart Deygers PART II AGENCY AND EMPOWERMENT PROMPTED BY TEST ADEQUACY Chapter 3: The racializing power of language assessments Casey Richardson Chapter 4: "It's not their English": narratives contesting the validity of a high-stakes test Gordon Blaine West and Bala Thiruchelvam Chapter 5: The ethical potential of L2 portfolio assessment: a critical perspective review Mitsuko Suzuki PART III SOCIOINTERACTIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON ASSESSMENT Chapter 6: Portfolio assessment: facilitating language learning in the wild Elisa Räsänen and Piibi-Kai Kivik Chapter 7: The role of an inscribed object in a German classroom-based paired speaking assessment: does the topic card elicit the targeted speaking and interactional competencies? Katharina Kley Chapter 8: L1-L2 speaker interaction: affordances for assessing repair practices Katharina Kley, Silvia Kunitz and Meng Yeh Chapter 9: Yardsticks for the future of language assessment: disclosing the meaning of measurement Albert Weideman Index