Unpacking the conundrum of context in language assessment

Abstract

Having examined the contributions of assessment-centred communities to considerations of validity in Chapter 2, in this chapter we highlight the contributions of language-centred communities to our changing conceptions of language itself (i.e., the construct of interest in language assessment). The rich evolution of theoretical conceptions of what it means to know and use a language is traced through the lenses afforded by language-centred disciplinary communities such as linguistics, language teaching, discourse studies, and writing studies. Throughout we emphasize the critical importance of theory, explain why it matters, and briefly discuss three prominent philosophical schools of thought as antecedents for selective descriptions of some of the many social theories that have been particularly useful in research regarding assessment as a social practice.