Research has shown that language teachers typically feel underprepared for assessment aspects of their job. One reason may relate to how teacher education programmes prepare future teachers in this area. Research insights into how and to what extent teacher educators train future language teachers in language assessment matters are scarce,…

The present paper looks at the issue of standardization in L2 oral testing. Whereas external examiners are frequently used globally, some countries opt for test-takers' own teachers as examiners instead. In the present study, Sweden is used as a case in point, with a focus on the mandatory, high-stakes, summative, ninth-grade national test in…

Writing in a foreign language is a particularly difficult skill to develop, especially when young learners are concerned because they are parallelly learning to write in their L1 and do not have strong oral foundations in their L2. The issue becomes even more complex when the ways to assess young learners' writing are considered, given that…

This article reports the results of a research study to determine the washback effect of an oral assessment system on some areas of the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The research combined quantitative and qualitative research methods within a comparative study between an experimental group and a comparison group.…

Presents a case study of the effects of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) on two teachers in the same institution. The study investigates claims that the TOEFL exerts an undesirable influence on language teaching. Findings reveal that influences on what happens in class are more complex than unexamined beliefs about washback allow.…

Presents a case study investigating whether there is any connection between university entrance examinations in English as a Second Language in Japan and the prevalence of grammar-translation teaching there. Findings reveal that teacher factors, such as educational background, personal beliefs, and teaching experience may outweigh the possible…

Survey responses of faculty in six graduate study fields and undergraduate English faculty identified nine listening skills that they perceived as particularly important to academic success in lecture classes. Faculty believed that non-native English speakers had greater difficulty with listening activities. Research suggestions are presented…