Cambridge Language Assessment – serie

Statistical Analyses for Language Assessment enables practitioners to apply statistics effectively to the development and use of language assessments. The Workbook and CD contain datasets from actual language assessments and data analysis exercises.

A renewed interest in grammar from pedagogical and research perspectives has created the need for new approaches to assessing the grammatical ability of language learners. Assessing Grammar presents a broadened and comprehensive framework of second language grammatical knowledge and uses this as a base to help teachers create their own assessment tools to test students' grammar.

In 1998 and 1999, three of the largest providers of educational tests introduced computer-based versions of proficiency tests for English as a foreign language. Around the same time, many institutions began to offer Web-based tests for particular language courses and classes. These two phenomena have greatly added to the momentum of work in computer-assisted testing and mean that assessment through computer technology is becoming a fact for language learners in educational settings and therefore for teachers and researchers.

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in evaluating languages for specific purposes (LSP).

Written by a leading expert in both language testing and the nature of reading in a second or foreign language, this book provides a comprehensive treatment of the assessment of reading in a foreign or second language. The book reviews theory, research, and practice in the assessment of reading. It provides the novice with a comprehensive overview of the basic principles of reading assessment, and the researcher with an in-depth discussion of the major issues in the field.

It begins by considering why we need a special book on young learner assessment, and describes the nature of young learner language learning. The assessment approach is task-based and is centred around tasks and techniques suitable for young learners, with particular emphasis on classroom assessment. Oral language assessment and reading and writing assessment are addressed in separate chapters, as is the large-scale testing of young learners. Underpinned by theory, the book is full of practical guidelines, and draws on examples of assessment contexts, issues and practices from around the world. Assessing Young Language Learners was winner of the Kenneth W Mildenberger Prize in 2006.

The study of vocabulary is a flourishing area in applied linguistics and language teaching, which is creating a need for new approaches to vocabulary assessment. This volume presents a framework that expands the traditional concept of a vocabulary test to cover a range of procedures for assessing the vocabulary knowledge of second language learners. These procedures can be useful for addressing practical assessment needs, as well as providing tools for conducting research into the lexical dimensions of language.

Listening is a key skill and teachers need to assess their students' listening ability. This book shows language teachers and testing practitioners how to assess listening comprehension. The intention is not to discuss theory and research for their own sake, but only sufficiently for practitioners to know how to construct language tests, the conditions that can have an impact on listening tests and how to interpret the test results.

Writing is a key skill in second language learning and all teachers need to evaluate their students' writing abilities. The issues surrounding the assessment of second language learners' writing abilities are becoming more and more relevant in the age of global communication and this book looks at the assessment of this core skill in both academic and non-academic settings in a clear and accessible manner. It looks at the theory behind the practice and provides practical guidance on developing both small and large-scale writing tests.