Language Assessment in Practice

Language Assessment in Practice by Lyle Bachman and Adrian Palmer is a defining text within the field of language assessment. With an expected readership of students, language teachers with varying experience, applied linguists, professional language testers, materials developers and textbook writers, Language Assessment in Practice is ambitious at its core. Nonetheless, the authors‘ logical approach and straightforward writing style make this a highly accessible text for all members of its intended audience. In an inviting first chapter titled ―Objectives and Explanations, or why we need another book about language testing,‖ Bachman and Palmer explain their reasons for taking on this project, especially in light of their earlier, formative work Language Testing in Practice (Bachman & Palmer, 1996). Using Bachman‘s articulation of the Assessment Use Argument (AUA) as its organizing theoretical framework, Language Assessment in Practice represents a distinct departure from the earlier text. At nearly twice the number of pages of text (excluding the projects in the final chapters of both books), and incorporating extensive resources available online, this volume represents a significant evolution in the authors‘ thinking about assessment

Where Practicum Meets Test Preparation: Supporting Teacher Candidates Through EdTPA

A strong focus on teacher performance is resurfacing in teacher-preparation programs across the US. EdTPA, a teacherperformance assessment designed to determine K-12 teacher candidates’ readiness for the classroom, has become central in teacher-preparation programs in several states and promises to be implemented in more states in the coming months. A multidimensional portfolio compilation, the edTPA requires candidates to submit teaching artifacts (e.g., lesson plans, samples of students’ work) along with narrative writing tasks that detail a teacher’s instructional approach and teaching reflections. This article highlights 3 ESL teachers’ experiences with and perspectives about the New York State requirement of edTPA for English as an Additional Language (EAL) certification over 2 semesters of a student-teacher practicum. These teachers’ experiences provide insights into the nature of certification assessment and the perceived benefits and challenges of completing the edTPA portfolio. This article also offers suggestions for the growing number of educational programs that will experience the impact of edTPA during the coming decade

Expanding Capacity to Serve Multilingual Learners: A University-School District Partnership

In a time of new teacher certification requirements in New York, school districts are grappling with how to meet the regulatory expectations imposed by Commissioner’s Regulations Part 154. One way that schools are solving staffing challenges is by forging new collaborations with university partners to expand their collective capacities to serve Multilingual learners (MLLs). In this article, we document a partnership between SUNY New Paltz’s Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program and the Pawling Central School District during the 2017-18 academic year. We describe the partners’ distinct roles in the university-district collaboration, and discuss the logistical considerations and challenges they faced, with respect to program design, hybrid instruction, meeting certification requirements, and working with established university systems. We conclude by identifying components that ultimately made the partnership a success

Language Assessment in Practice

Language Assessment in Practice by Lyle Bachman and Adrian Palmer is a defining text within the field of language assessment. With an expected readership of students, language teachers with varying experience, applied linguists, professional language testers, materials developers and textbook writers, Language Assessment in Practice is ambitious at its core. Nonetheless, the authors‘ logical approach and straightforward writing style make this a highly accessible text for all members of its intended audience. In an inviting first chapter titled ―Objectives and Explanations, or why we need another book about language testing,‖ Bachman and Palmer explain their reasons for taking on this project, especially in light of their earlier, formative work Language Testing in Practice (Bachman & Palmer, 1996). Using Bachman‘s articulation of the Assessment Use Argument (AUA) as its organizing theoretical framework, Language Assessment in Practice represents a distinct departure from the earlier text. At nearly twice the number of pages of text (excluding the projects in the final chapters of both books), and incorporating extensive resources available online, this volume represents a significant evolution in the authors‘ thinking about assessment

VTS: From the Museum into the ENL Classroom

Visual thinking strategies (VTS) is a museum-based technique with promising potential for English learners' (ELs') language development and content learning. Educators in museums and school settings have enthusiastically adapted VTS to their instructional repertoires in order to bolster students' aesthetic appreciation, literacy development, critical thinking, language learning, and content learning. In this article, the authors  present a vignette from a high school classroom to illustrate the powerful potential of VTS for classroom use with linguistically diverse learners. The article also considers how language teachers may modify typical VTS to constructively scaffold ELs’ learning