ERIC Number: EJ1429423
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Apr
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-6001
EISSN: EISSN-1477-450X
A Call for Methodological Reflexivity in Researching Language Testing and Migration
Applied Linguistics, v45 n2 p397-405 2024
A growing scholarly literature in a subfield of applied linguistics focuses on language testing and language requirements for migrants. We sought to understand what theoretical paradigms and methodological approaches have framed this research and propose future research directions. To this end, we conducted a systematic review of articles on language testing and migration published between 2001 and 2022 in the applied linguistics field. For each of the 46 studies which met inclusion/exclusion criteria, we randomly selected a control article from the same journals. Both the test corpus and the control corpus were double coded for theoretical and methodological characteristics and analysed using contingency tables, Mann-Whitney tests, and forward stepwise logistic regression to predict group membership. The findings revealed that literature on language testing and migration is highly reliant on critical theory and less reliant on features associated with empirical methods. We suggest that research in this domain would benefit from methodological reflexivity (i.e. questioning prevalent assumptions and employing theoretical variety) and that complementary approaches could lead to a more nuanced research consensus and promote research-policy collaboration.
Descriptors: Applied Linguistics, Language Tests, Immigrants, Research Reports, Periodicals, Journal Articles, Critical Theory, Research Methodology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A