In choosing language testing alternatives appropriate for their language education contexts, language teachers need to keep in mind the purposeful nature of language assessment. Purposeful language assessment involves focusing what is to be accomplished by language assessment, specifying intended uses of language tests, selecting appropriate…

Looks at the washback effect in language testing, using as an example the new University of Michigan Examination for Certificate of Competency (ECCE), designed for intermediate- to upper-intermediate level learners. The ECCE can be considered an example of the movement toward achievement-oriented proficiency tests. (Author/VWL)

Testing deviance must begin with the adoption of new views on the significance of testing. If language is viewed as a means of communicating, then instruction should focus on teaching students to use language for communication, and language tests should be designed so students can demonstrate their abilities in the language coupled with new…

Discusses a course and accompanying test for teaching spoken English in India. (Author/VWL)

Outlines some of the problem areas described by researchers when designing a test of oral production for beginning-level speakers of English, and suggests ways in which these areas may be addressed. (Author/VWL)

Discusses activities for developing students' listening comprehension in English-as-a-foreign-language classrooms in China. The activities have proved successful, and students participating in these courses have done well on the National Test for English Majors Band 4. (Author/VWL)

Provides insight on preparing students to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Specific suggestions include helping teachers to become comfortable with the test's computer-based format and helping students adapt to the test's point of view. (Author/VWL)

Discusses how English-as-a-Foreign-Language instruction in China is carried out through the grammar translation method. Suggests that this method is insufficient and that language education reform is needed that focuses on teacher training, testing reform, methodology, curriculum design, and instructional materials.(Author/VWL)