Assessing Academic Literacy in a Multilingual Society

Albert Weideman is Professor of Applied Language Studies and Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, South Africa.John Read is Professor Emeritus at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.Theo du Plessis is Professor of Language Management at the University of the Free State, South Africa.

• Introduction. John Read and Colleen Du Plessis: A Global Perspective on the South African ContextPart I: Conceptual Foundations: Policy, Construct, Learning PotentialChapter 1. Theo du Plessis: Institutional Language Policy and Academic Literacy in South African Higher EducationChapter 2. Albert Weideman: A Skills-neutral Approach to Academic Literacy AssessmentChapter 3. Tobie van Dyk, Piet Murre and Herculene Kotzé: Does One Size Fit All? Some Considerations for Test TranslationChapter 4. Alan Cliff: The Use of Mediation and Feedback in a Standardised Test of Academic Literacy: Theoretical and Design ConsiderationsPart II: Assessing Academic Literacy at Secondary School LevelChapter 5. Colleen du Plessis: Basic Education and Academic Literacy: Conflicting Constructs in the South African National Senior Certificate (NSC) Language ExaminationChapter 6. Jo-Mari Myburgh-Smit and Albert Weideman: How Early Should We Measure Academic Literacy? The Usefulness of an Appropriate Test of Academic Literacy for Grade 10 StudentsChapter 7. Sanet Steyn: Pathways to Parity between Parallel Tests of Language Ability: Lessons from a ProjectPart III: Assessing Discipline-specific Needs at UniversityChapter 8. Kabelo Sebolai: Generic Academic Literacy Testing: A Logical Precursor for Faculty-specific Language Teaching and AssessmentChapter 9. Avasha Rambiritch, Linda Alston and Marien Graham: Diagnosing with Care: The Academic Literacy Needs of Theology StudentsChapter 10. Laura Drennan: Assessing Readiness to Write: the Design of an Assessment of Preparedness to Present Multimodal Information (APPMI)Postscript. Tobie van Dyk: What the Data Tell us: An Overview of Language Assessment Research in South Africa’s Multilingual Context

What is academic literacy and how can it best be measured? The authors of this excellent edited collection draw on 20+ years of research and practice to highlight the challenges involved in assessing the language and literacy needs of students destined for university education in multilingual South Africa. Their insights will resonate with academics and educators around the world catering for increasingly diverse student populations.