This book is essential reading for anyone interested in evaluating languages for specific purposes (LSP).

Although many publications in the use of computers in language teaching and second language acquisition have included sections on computer and web-based language testing, there are few if any devoted to just this subject. The book under review includes different interrelated issues from discussion topics such as the benefits of, or controversies about computer language testing (CALT), to very practical ones like how to work with WebCT. Researchers and students in the field will see its potential due to the large number of well-informed sources, its bibliography, and proposals for further study.

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Scores on speaking tests are used as evidence of both learner language ability and the second language acquisition process, and most speaking tests include scoring rubrics to help ensure that ratings are reliable and reflect a theoretical construct of speaking ability. Nevertheless, it may be that similar ratings on a speaking test in fact represent qualitatively different learner performances. Such a situation would mean that interpretations of ability or acquisition process based on such test scores may not be valid. The purpose of this article is to investigate the hypothesis that similar quantitative scores on a speaking test represent qualitatively different performances. The results of the study raise a number of issues for further investigation.

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