Beyond dichotomies: unravelling the complexities of international standardised English language testing.

This article discusses the issues raised in O'Sullivan's and Hashimura et al.'s Point-Counterpoint articles with the aim of introducing new angles on the topic of international standardised English language testing and opening the debate further. In the first section, I provide summaries of the posi...

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Publicado en:ELT Journal: English Language Teaching Journal Vol. 80; no. 1; pp. 110 - 117
Autor principal: Harding, Luke
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Jan2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        Language ability testing
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          Language ability testing
          Standardized tests
          English as a foreign language
          Test validity
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      ab: This article discusses the issues raised in O'Sullivan's and Hashimura et al.'s Point-Counterpoint articles with the aim of introducing new angles on the topic of international standardised English language testing and opening the debate further. In the first section, I provide summaries of the positions taken by O'Sullivan and Hashimura et al. contrasting the "tests as a social good" and "critical language testing" paradigms. Second, I explore international standardised English language testing as a site of complexity, focusing on the nature of this complexity in conceptualising language testing as a field, language tests (as social objects), and language testing organisations. Third, I address shifts towards measuring innovative constructs and the prospect of greater localisation. Finally, I conclude with a call for research that explores complexity in greater depth with a view to change.
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