Second and Foreign Language Assessment

Abstract

This article summarizes some of the main issues, concerns, and debates that have ensued over the years in the field of L2 assessment and shows how past concerns have shaped contemporary L2 assessment research and practice. The article first describes what L2 assessment is and what it entails, arguing that notions of L2 assessment have been broadened over the years to keep pace with contemporary interpretations of how information from assessments in large‐scale or classroom contexts is used to make decisions. It then describes in some detail four approaches to construct definition, showing how these approaches have influenced what gets assessed. Finally, the paper discusses a range of other topics of current and future importance for L2 assessment theory, research, and practice.

Exploring the effects of foreign language instructional practices on student proficiency development

“…The content and purpose of assessments in FL education have in recent years become more aligned with a proficiency‐oriented approach (Malone & Sandrock, ; Purpura, ). For example, instead of testing learners on discrete elements of target language (TL) content knowledge such as isolated grammar or vocabulary points, contemporary assessments have sought to measure learners’ functional ability to communicate.…”

Classroom Assessment Practices and Learning Motivation: A Case Study of Chinese EFL Students

“…In recent years, a large body of literature around second language (L2) teachers’ cognitions and experiences with classroom‐based assessment has been gradually building up (e.g., Cheng & Fox, ; Rea‐Dickins, ). However, relatively fewer studies have examined what understandings L2 learners have regarding classroom assessment practices (Purpura, ). For example, in general education, a line of research adopting Brookhart's () framework on the role of classroom assessment practices in motivating student learning effort has been conducted to explain variance in student learning attitudes and performance.…”

Positive Impact of Utilizing More Formative Assessment over Summative Assessment in the EFL/ESL Classroom

“…This type of assessment is described as a set of testing instruments that the teacher plans to give at specific times during a course (Özdemir-Yılmazer & Özkan, 2017). Informal assessment is presented as a set of techniques that teachers can use to measure students' performance during the whole teaching process (Purpura, 2016). These activities are not necessarily planned to happen at one specific time in the course; they require a certain domain of organizational skills so that teachers conduct the process in an effective way.…”