ERIC Number: EJ866991
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1543-4303
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Testing for Citizenship: The U. S. Naturalization Test
Kunnan, Antony John
Language Assessment Quarterly, v6 n1 p89-97 2009
Although the United States has had a language requirement for citizenship (through the naturalization process) since the first decade of the 20th century, very little research and discussion has taken place in academic circles about this requirement, which has been enforced for the past two decades through a test and testing practice to which millions of citizenship applicants have been subjected. Overall, the requirement (and the test) is said to promote "civic integration," "political allegiance," "social cohesion," and/or "social harmony." The main question addressed in this article is whether the requirement (and the test), its purpose, content, administration, and consequence provide the impetus for citizenship applicants to integrate or develop a civic nationalism. I will apply the Test Context Framework (Kunnan, 2008) to the U.S. Naturalization Test and testing practice. This framework argues for the examination of the wider context of testing including the political, economic, and legal contexts in which a test is deployed for a fuller understanding of the testing practice. (Contains 2 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Citizenship, Testing, Immigration, Social Integration, Civil Rights, Language Tests, Language Proficiency, Nationalism, Test Content, Guidelines, Economic Factors, Political Influences, Federal Legislation, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
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