English Language Proficiency Assessments For Young Learners

English Language Proficiency Assessments for Young Learners provides both theoretical and empirical information about assessing the English language proficiency of young learners. Using large-scale standardized English language proficiency assessments developed for international or U.S. contexts as concrete examples, this volume illustrates rigorous processes of developing and validating assessments with considerations of young learners' unique characteristics. In this volume, young learners are defined as school-age children from approximately 5 to 13 years old, learning English as a foreign language (EFL) or a second language (ESL). This volume also discusses innovative ways to assess young learners' English language abilities based on empirical studies, with each chapter offering stimulating ideas for future research and development work to improve English language assessment practices with young learners. English Language Proficiency Assessments for Young Learners is a useful resource for students, test developers, educators, and researchers in the area of language testing and assessment. Review: The chapters in this volume demonstrate what the field of language assessment has known for some time: given sufficient expertise, time, and resources, we can develop assessments for specific groups of test takers that are justifiable for a range of uses, both formative and summative. Researchers, developers, and users of large-scale ELP assessments will find this volume informative for their own assessment programs. Lyle F. Bachman, Professor Emeritus, Department of Applied Linguistics, University of California, Los Angeles