Abstract
The world Englishes (WEs) paradigm describes the spread of English in three concentric circles (Kachru, 1985) – the Inner Circle (e.g., the USA, UK, and Australia), the Outer Circle (e.g. India, Philippines, and Singapore), and the Expanding Circle (e.g. China, Indonesia, and Thailand). With Englishization and nativization outside the Inner Circle and the changing demographics of English users (e.g. non-native speakers [NNSs] considerably outnumber the native speakers [NSs] in the Inner Circle [Crystal, 1995; Graddol, 1999], the WEs research strongly advocates to recognize the NNS varieties. Until today, the WEs paradigm has not only posed challenges to, but also encouraged changes in, the language testing (LT) profession that has been traditionally relying on the Inner Circle standard (e.g., Kachru, 1985; Lowenberg, 2002; Davies, Hamp–Lyons & Kemp, 2003; Hu, 2012; Brown, 2014).
Highlights
The world Englishes (WEs) paradigm describes the spread of English in three concentric circles (Kachru, 1985) – the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle (e.g. India, Philippines, and Singapore), and the Expanding Circle (e.g. China, Indonesia, and Thailand)
The discussion of the impacts of World Englishes (WEs) on language testing (LT) has been centered on standard/norm and consequent reliability and validity issues related to large-scale international standardized language proficiency tests (ISLPTs) that are developed and used in the Inner Circle; the conversation has covered local standard language proficiency tests (LSLPTs) in the Outer Circle
This study investigated to what extent LSLPTs in the Expanding Circle have been, and could further be, influenced by the WEs paradigm
Summary
The world Englishes (WEs) paradigm describes the spread of English in three concentric circles (Kachru, 1985) – the Inner Circle (e.g., the USA, UK, and Australia), the Outer Circle (e.g. India, Philippines, and Singapore), and the Expanding Circle (e.g. China, Indonesia, and Thailand). The WEs paradigm has posed challenges to, and encouraged changes in, the language testing (LT) profession that has been traditionally relying on the Inner Circle standard (e.g., Kachru, 1985; Lowenberg, 2002; Davies, Hamp–Lyons & Kemp, 2003; Hu, 2012; Brown, 2014). The discussion of the impacts of WEs on LT has been centered on standard/norm and consequent reliability and validity issues related to large-scale international standardized language proficiency tests (ISLPTs) that are developed and used in the Inner Circle; the conversation has covered local standard language proficiency tests (LSLPTs) in the Outer Circle. By examining the College English Test (CET), one of the largest standardized English proficiency tests developed and administered locally in China, the study is believed to shed light onto the possible ways for negotiation and cooperation, instead of confrontation, between WEs and LT. The research will extend the literature on WEs and LT in the Expanding Circle and ‘broaden current
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