Where We Have Been and Where We Should Go

• Published in: Language testing Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 311 - 326
• Main Author: Stansfield, Charles W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.07.2008
• ISSN: 0265-5322
• DOI: 10.1177/0265532208090155

The history of language testing is reviewed by decades from the 1960s through the 1990s to evaluate the significance of the present language testing environment for testers & ways in which testers can maximize their role in it. The 1960s are characterized in Bernard Spolsky's (1978) terms as the psychometric-structuralist period, whereas the 1970s correspond to Spolsky's integrative-sociolinguistic stage; additionally, with increased application of statistics to the analysis of tests, the 1970s were substantially more psychometric than the 1960s. The 1980s were dominated by responses to M. Canale & M. Swain's (1981) tripartite theory of communicative competence, which stimulated competing models of language proficiency; the 1990s saw a trend to prioritize validity over reliability, increased professionalization of the language testing field, & the emergence of occupation-specific language testing. Current social trends to which language testers must adjust include increasing multilingualism & multiculturalism, a rising demand for interpreting in various contexts, international relationships in business, & challenges of ethnic diversity & national identity. References. J. Hitchcock