About the conference

Diversity, plurilingualism and their impact on language testing and assessment

22-23 November, 2013

Siena

Conference Theme

Nowadays linguistic and cultural diversity are key features of the global world. Furthermore, easier and increasing mobility and easier international and intra-national communication affect language uses that are more and more diverse and multi/plurilingual.
But, what has been the impact of this on language testing? In what ways can multi/plurilingualism be taken in consideration in language testing?
Should the emergent nature of social interaction in ethnolinguistically diverse educational and other settings be reflected in the notion of communicative competence(s) that underpins construct validity?
Which are the implications for potential mis-recognition or under-recognition of ‘competence’ in actual communication in a rapidly changing communication and language landscape?
The conference aims to address the impact of diversity and multi/plurilingualism in language testing. We invite proposals covering the themes of:
o    Language competence(s) in mobility
o    Multilingual testing
o    Assessing intercultural competence
o    Assessing English as lingua franca
o    Language assessment for social integration for migrants

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