Scholars have argued for the inclusion of different spoken varieties of English in high-stakes listening tests to better represent the global use of English. However, doing so may introduce additional construct-irrelevant variance due to accent familiarity and the shared first language (L1) advantage, which could threaten test fairness. However,…

Examines the beliefs underlying promotion and development of self-directed learning and self-assessment, and the emphasis placed on these beliefs in an English language teaching master's degree program. The problems of tension and conflict between self-assessment and institutional assessment leading to certification, and the advantages and…