Sociopolitics of English Language Testing

Seyyed-Abdolhamid Mirhosseini is Associate Professor of English Language Education at Alzahra University, Iran.Peter I. De Costa is Associate Professor of Linguistics and Education at Michigan State University, USA.

• Preface, Seyyed-Abdolhamid Mirhosseini, Alzahra University, Iran and Peter I. De Costa, Michigan State University, USAForeword, Paula Winke, Michigan State University, USAPART ONE: THE IDEOLOGIES OF TESTING IN ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES1. Who me? Hailing Individuals as Subjects: Standardized Literacy Testing as an Instrument of Neo-Liberal Ideology, John Yandell, University College London, UK, Brenton Doecke, Deakin University, Australia and Zamzam Abdi, University College London, UK2. Standardized Testing and School Achievement: The Case of Indigenous-Language Speaking Students in Remote Australia, Leonard A. Freeman, University of Melbourne, Australia and Gillian Wigglesworth, University of Melbourne, Australia 3. Where Language is Beside the Point: English Language Testing for Mexicano Students in the Southwestern US, Luis E. Poza, University of Colorado Denver, USA and Sheila M. Shannon, University of Colorado Denver, USA 4. Language Testing in Service-Learning: A Critical Approach to Socially-Situated Language-in-Use, Netta Avineri, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USA and James Perren, Alliant International University San Diego, USA 5. Moving Beyond Deficit Positioning of Linguistically Diverse Test Takers: Bi/multilingualism and the Essence of Validity, Jamie L. Schissel, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA PART TWO: THE POLITICS OF TESTING IN THE NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING WORLD 6. The Coloniality of English Language Testing, Ruanni Tupas, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 7. Reforming Foreign Language Teaching Policy in Japan: The Politics of ‘Standardization’, Masaki Oda, Tamagawa University, Japan 8. Sociopolitical Factors Surrounding the Rise and Demise of the National English Ability Test (NEAT) in South Korea, Gwan-Hyeok Im, Queen’s University, Canada, Liying Cheng, Queen’s University, Canada and Dongil Shin, Chung-Ang University, South Korea 9. The Disconnect between English Tests and English Proficiency: Two South Korean Jobseekers’ Perceptions and Performances, Miso Kim, Pennsylvania State University, USA and Mari Haneda, Pennsylvania State University, USA10. Sanctioning the IELTS for Enrolling in ELT: A Critical Perspective from Oman, Ali Al-Issa, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman 11 .Neoliberal Placemaking and Ideological Constructions of Standardized Tests in Nepal’s Linguistic Landscape, Prem Phyak, Tribhuvan University, Nepal Afterword, Constant Leung, King’s College London, UKIndex

[The Sociopolitics of English Language Testing] is an excellent starting point for researchers and educators interested in testing and assessment, as well as for those who wish to learn how to be sensitive to the long-used and accepted standardized tests and how to bring about change. It brings a fresh and critical perspective that merits further investigation.