From mythical ‘standard’ to standard reality: The need for alternatives to standardized English language tests

Abstract

This position paper builds on three of our earlier publications on the same subject (Jenkins & Leung 2014; Leung, Lewkowicz & Jenkins 2016; Jenkins & Leung 2017), as well as a number of conference papers we have given both jointly and individually. However, what we have not done up to this point is to propose alternatives to the large-scale standardized English tests administered by the major international examination boards, of which we have been so critical, despite the fact that we have been discussing other possibilities among ourselves for several years. The opportunity to publish a position paper on English language assessment therefore provided an ideal opportunity to present our alternatives, and this we do in the final part of the paper.

Native-speakerism policy in English language teaching revisited: Chinese university teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards native and non-native English-speaking teachers

“…However, considering the dominant ideology of nativespeakerism and its overwhelming impact, the means of embedding the ELF paradigm in ELT seems difficult and risky (Pennycook, 2001). Therefore, given that the current English education system does little to help develop learners' awareness of ELF, it is necessary to provide a myriad of ELF-oriented teaching materials, syllabi, and co-curricular activities (Fang & Ren, 2018;Rose & Galloway, 2019), optimize the objectives and assessment criteria of ELT to treat English as a global communicative tool (Jenkins & Leung, 2019), and offer diverse language choices and multicultural contents (Galloway, 2017;Pan, 2011;Selvi, 2014;Sifakis, 2019). Future studies should shed light on how the notion of ELF can be combined with the learning, teaching, and use of the English language within English glocalization.…”

Exposure to Englishes in Listening Classrooms: The Perspectives Of Indonesian ESL Learners

“…This is also strengthened with the slow response of standardized English tests, TOEFL and IELTS, which are still built on a stable portrayal of the monolingual model of English (NS model) (Harding and McNamara, 2018). This benchmark of proficiency, unfortunately, is used widely in global schemas which feed on the pursuing of NS model, leaving today's reality of diverse and hybrid uses of English and multilingualism neglected (Jenkins and Leung, 2019). These challenges are pictures of complexities on the preference and adherence to Englishes.…”

Transnational Education in the Anglophone University: A Viewpoint Article

“…As Jenkins points out, recent decades have witnessed huge expansion in highly standardized ‘international’ language tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOFEL) for university admissions. Leaving aside critical questions about the validity of these tests for determining HE English language requirements (see Jenkins and Leung, 2019 for a radical alternative), the way these tests are administered – and who they are sometimes administered to – can be hugely problematic.…”

“…Continuing to require IELTS and TOEFL scores uncritically is problematic. We need to engage in discussion of alternatives (as above, see Jenkins and Leung, 2019 on rethinking English language gatekeeping practices).…”