Perspectives on Language Assessment Literacy

Sahbi Hidri is Assistant Professor at the Department of Education, Abu Dhabi Women’s Campus, HCT, UAE. His interests include curriculum design, assessment, psychometrics, standard-setting, test mapping and benchmarking, test theory, test specifications, computerized dynamic assessment, and language assessment literacy.

• ContentsPart One: Language Assessment Literacy: Theoretical Foundations1.Language Assessment Literacy: Where to GoSahbi Hidri2. Language Assessment Literacy: Concepts, Challenges and ProspectsDina Tsagari3. Traditional Assessment and Encouraging Alternative Assessment that Promotes Learning: Illustrations from EAPLee McCallum 4.Language Assessment Literacy: Ontogenetic and Phylogenetic PerspectivesMojtaba Mohammadi, Reza Vahdani Sanavi, Mojtaba Mohammadi, Iran; Reza Vahdani SanaviPart Two: Students’ Language Assessment Literacy 5. Enhancing Assessment Literacy through Feedback and Feedforward: A Reflective Practice in EFL Classroom Dr. Junifer A. Abatayo6. Using Checklists for Developing Student Teachers’ Language Assessment LiteracyOlga Ukrayinska7. An Investigation into the Correlation between IETLS Test Preparation Courses and Writing Score: Students’ Reflective JournalsFatema AL Awadi Part Three: Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy 8. Language Assessment Literacy of Novice EFL Teachers: Perceptions, Experiences and TrainingAylin Sevimel-Sahin9. Teachers' Assessment of Academic Writing: Implications for Language Assessment LiteracyZulfiqar Ahmad10.Reliability of Classroom-Based Assessment as Perceived by University Managers, Teachers and StudentsOlga Kvasova & Vyacheslav ShovkovyiPart Four: Language Assessment Literacy: Interfaces between Teaching and Assessment 11. To Teach Speaking or not to Teach? The Interfaces Between Teaching and Assessing Speaking in Bahrain Diana Aljahromi12. Planning for Positive Washback: The Case of a Listening Proficiency TestCaroline Shackleton13.Testing Abilities To Understand, not Ignorance or Intelligence: Social Interactive Assessment: Receive, Appreciate, Summarize, AskTim Murphey14.Conclusion: Language Assessnent Literacy: The way forwardSahbi Hidri

"This volume addresses an important and perennial problem in all of education—how teachers and students perceive, respond to, and make use (or not) of assessment. Assessment literacy is universal in that all systems and levels implement assessment to evaluate instruction, learning, or curriculum and, just as frequently, to inform improved teaching and learning; so language education, not just 2nd language, researchers will find the book useful. Language assessment literacy is more complex in that language is not just an end but a tool by which all teaching and learning takes place. Being adept at using assessments to improve instruction and learning of languages is seemingly a neglected aspect of assessment in the world of language teaching, which apparently treats the summative test or exam as the norm for assessment. The chapters in this volume help move language assessment more into multi-faceted data collection about competencies for the sake of improving the quality of learning and teaching. It’s nice to see language assessment research catching up with the world of classroom assessment theory and practice. The volume provides access to research and thinking about the topic from some relatively under-represented perspectives, including Turkey, Tunisia, Oman, Ukraine, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan; as well as Europe and the UK."Prof. Gavin T L Brown, Associate Dean Postgraduate Research (ADPG),Director Quantitative Data Analysis and Research Unit, Faculty of Education & Social Work, The University of Auckland.Language assessment literacy (LAL) is a critical topic in the field of language testing and assessment; see, for example, the recently established (April of 2019) Language Assessment Literacy Special Interest Group (LALSIG) within the International Language Testing Association. Perspectives on Language Assessment Literacy comprises chapters by authors from traditionally less represented regions of the world areas and thus represents an important contribution to the field. The volume also helps advance the scholarship of LAL. Authors pay special attention to how language assessment theory and practice can better synergize with teaching to improve students’ language learning and to better document students’ learning outcomes. Micheline Chalhoub-Deville, Ph.D., Professor, Educational Research Methodology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro