ERIC Number: EJ876754
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1543-4303
EISSN: N/A
Language Assessment: A Linguametric Perspective
Farhady, Hossein
Language Assessment Quarterly, v2 n2 p147-164 2005
Within the last few decades, there have been multidimensional advancements in language assessment. Some of the advancements have been in the direction of developing theoretical models of the construct of language ability, others in the line of measuring that construct, and still some others toward materializing the outcomes of measuring the defined construct. These developments can be attributed to 3 major areas of inquiry, namely, applied linguistics, psychometrics, and edumetrics. The purpose of this article is to make certain arguments about the necessity of an eagle's eye view, which I call linguametric perspective, on language assessment. More specifically, it is argued that (a) most of the developments in language assessment have been rooted in the aforementioned disciplines; (b) most language ability models have been based on intradisciplinary rather than interdisciplinary perspectives; (c) beyond intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary relations, certain supradisciplinary factors should also be included in the models of language assessment; and (d) some of the inadequacies of the existing models can be attributed to the ignorance of such interdisciplinary and supradisciplinary relations. Finally, a linguametric perspective is suggested and its applications to and implications for research are discussed. (Contains 8 figures.)
Descriptors: Models, Applied Linguistics, Language Tests, Psychometrics, Language Aptitude, Item Response Theory, Factor Analysis, Decision Making
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A