"The Cambridge Guide to Second Language Assessment aims to present in one volume an up-to-date guide to the central areas of assessing the second language performance of English by speakers of other languages. This volume provides snapshots of significant issues and trends that have shaped language assessment in the past and highlights the current state of our understanding of these issues"--

This collection provides an overview of current issues, debates, and approaches in Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE) presented by internationally prominent researchers, educators, and emerging scholars. Chapters address such issues as distance education, non-native English-speaking educators, technology, assessment, standards, and the changing contexts of contemporary language teaching and teacher education.

A comprehensive overview of research methods in second-language teaching and learning, from experts in the field. The Cambridge Guide to Research in Language Teaching and Learning covers 36 core areas of second-language research, organised into four main sections: Primary Considerations; Getting Ready; Doing the Research; Research Contexts. Presenting in-depth but easy to understand theoretical overviews, along with practical advice, the volume is aimed at 'students of research', including pre-service and in-service language teachers who are interested in research methods, as well as those studying research methods in Bachelor, MA, or PhD graduate programs around the world.

This volume provides an up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of second language learning. The focus throughout the book is primarily on language learning, but each chapter also discusses the implications for teaching and assessment, thus informing both understanding and practice. The book contains nine sections, which aim to organise and reflect different dimensions of the diverse and complex scope of learning English as a second or additional language. Four themes which permeate the chapters are: learning and learners; learning and language; learning and language development; learning and learning context. The 36 chapters are up-to-date and authoritative, written by experts in the field. The content is accessibly written, with questions for discussion and follow-up reading suggestions provided.

The testing and assessment of second language learners is an essential part of the language learning process. Glenn Fulcher's Testing Second Language Speaking is a state-of-the-art volume that considers the assessment of speaking from historical, theoretical and practical perspectives. The book offers the first systematic, comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of the testing of second language speaking. Written in a clear and accessible manner, it covers: Explanations of the process of test design Costing test design projects How to put the test into practice Evaluation of speaking tests Task types for testing speaking Testing learners with disabilities It also contains a wealth of examples, including task types that are commonly used in speaking tests, approaches to researching speaking tests and specific methodologies that teachers, students and test developers may use in their own projects. Successfully integrating practice and theory, this book demystifies the process of testing speaking and provides a thorough treatment of the key ethical and technical issues in speaking evaluation.

Second language assessment is ubiquitous. It has found its way from education into questions about access to professions and migration. This volume focuses on the main debates and research advances in second language assessment in the last fifty years or so, showing the influence of linguistics, politics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and psychometrics. There are four parts which, when taken together, address the principles and practices of second language assessment while considering its impact on society. Read separately, each part addresses a different aspect of the field. Part I deals with the conceptual foundations of second language assessment with chapters on the purposes of assessment, and standards and frameworks, as well as matters of scoring, quality assurance, and test validation. Part II addresses the theory and practice of assessing different second language skills including aspects like intercultural competence and fluency. Part III examines the challenges and opportunities of second language assessment in a range of contexts. In addition to chapters on second language assessment on a national scale, there are chapters on learning-oriented assessment, as well as the uses of second language assessment in the workplace and for migration. Part IV examines a selection of important issues in the field that deserve attention. These include the alignment of language examinations to external frameworks, the increasing use of technology to both deliver and score second language tests, the responsibilities associated with assessing test takers with special needs, the concept of 'voice' in second language assessment, and assessment literacy for teachers and other test and score users.

This book, written by leading practitioners, brings together a comprehensive overview of TESOL.