ERIC Number: EJ1028669
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1543-4303
EISSN: N/A
Developments in LSP Testing 30 Years On? The Case of Aviation English
Emery, Henry John
Language Assessment Quarterly, v11 n2 p198-215 2014
The proceedings of the first Language Testing Forum in 1980 were published in "ELT Documents 111: Issues in Language Testing" (Alderson & Hughes, 1981). Discussants at the 1980 Forum raised a number questions on Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) testing relating, notably, to test specificity, test content, the relationship between subject matter knowledge and language knowledge and predicting real-life language performance. The 2010 Language Testing Forum looked back at the last three decades in language testing to reflect on what developments, if any, have occurred. Following the 2010 Forum, this article addresses the questions raised in 1980 with reference to testing for a very specific purpose--the International Civil Aviation Organisation's Language Proficiency Requirements for pilots and air traffic controllers. In analysing the testing context--aeronautical radiotelephony communications--the author argues that, in spite of theoretical and methodological advances in LSP testing, these questions are still as relevant to testing LSP today as they were in the early 1980s.
Descriptors: English for Special Purposes, Aviation Education, Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, Language Tests, Test Content, Professional Associations, Prediction, Language Proficiency, Air Transportation, Employees, Phrase Structure, Licensing Examinations (Professions), Aviation Technology, Telecommunications
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A