The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Language Testing

This Handbook, with 45 chapters written by the world’s leading scholars in second language acquisition (SLA) and language testing, dives into the important interface between SLA and language testing: shared ground where researchers seek to measure second language performance to better understand how people learn their second languages. The Handbook also reviews how to best measure and evaluate the second language (L2) learners’ personal characteristics, backgrounds, and learning contexts to better understand their L2 learning trajectories. Taking a transdisciplinary approach to research, the book builds upon recent theorizing and measurement principles from the fields of applied linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, psycholinguistics, psychometrics, educational measurement, and social psychology. The Handbook is divided into six key sections: (1) Assessment concepts for SLA researchers, (2) Building instruments for SLA research, (3) Measuring individual differences, (4) Measuring language development, (5) Testing specific populations, and (6) Measurement principles for SLA researchers.

Paula Winke is an Associate Professor of Second Language Studies and TESOL at Michigan State University, where she co-directs the Second Language Studies Eye-tracking Lab. Hher research interests on the language testing include proficiency testing, placement testing, and language testing policy. Her research interests in SLA include the acquisition of foreign and second languages in multimodal contexts, and how individual differences affect second language learning. She has published widely in both SLA and language testing journals. She is the 2012 recipient of the TESOL Award for Distinguished Research from the TESOL International Association.

Tineke Brunfaut is a senior lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University. Her research interests include the acquisition and diagnosis of second language listening and reading, the impact of linguistic, learner-, and task-related factors on second language ability, and cognitive processing during language test completion. Her research has been published in SLA and language testing journals. In 2015, she was awarded the TOEFL Outstanding Young Scholar Award, and in 2017 the International Language Testing Association Best Article Award. She is an Expert Member of the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment, and regularly conducts language test development, training and consultancy work for professional and educational bodies around the world.