Language Assessment and Test Preparation

Language Assessment and Test Preparation in EFL Education comprises a comprehensive review and discussion of key areas of knowledge, skills, and expertise in language testing and assessment for pre-service and in-service English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers, as well as language teacher educators and other language professionals.
The material covered in the book includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

Language testing and assessment literacy and why it is important for teachers; test types and purposes in different age and proficiency groups; basic principles of testing; test development methods/techniques and assessment criteria; testing and assessment of language skills—listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar—test task types for each of them and sample test items; national and international tests and which language skills they assess and how they do so; alternative means of assessment; and assessment in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) settings.

Each chapter includes pre-reading questions to help readers prepare for the content by activating the relevant schemata and motivating them to read; a brief introduction, theoretical/background information and an in-depth discussion of the topic being explored; practical information and real-life examples concerning classroom application; and practice activities and questions for study and reflection to promote comprehension. This book, thus, can be used both as a reference book and a textbook for specialized undergraduate, graduate, and on-the-job training courses in language teaching.

"Localisation is a critical element of any successful assessment and indeed learning system. For assessment to work, it really must fit into the educational, social, cultural and language environment in which it is to operate. At the same time, it is vital that the key people involved in the delivery of the learning system, the teachers, should have a high level of assessment literacy. This excellent book fits perfectly with both of these points as it offers teachers a broad overview of assessment that is clearly context specific.

I would like to congratulate all involved in bringing this collection together. I am certain it will be well received in Turkey and that it will serve as a model for other countries around the world in the way it brings together the concepts of localisation and assessment literacy."

Professor Barry O'Sullivan, the Head of Assessment Research & Development at the British Council and founding president of the UK Association of Language Testing and Assessment