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The Importance Of Language Testing In Literature

856 Words4 Pages
Language Testing (LT) is a critical issue which has always been of high importance in the articles of literature so far. Many articles have been written on this topic. One of the first attempts was made by Lado (1961). Lado (1961) pointed out the construction ways of foreign language tests. In the following years, Massick (1996) studied validity and washback in LT, and Bachman (2000) focused on modern LT. On this aspect, Hamp-Lyons (2000) initiates a new debate in LT via her article “Social, professional and individual responsibility in language testing” which was published in the journal “System” Hamp-Lyons (2000) mentions responsibility in a developmental perspective, offers ways to alter epistemologies and ask questions like “toward convergence?” or “Are we our brothers ' and sisters ' keepers?” Then, she also discusses ‘rights and duties of a professional’, and she concludes her article by the first responsibility “to thine own self be true” In the introduction part, the author informs the readers about the change regarding the importance of language tests. The readers are informed about the term “power of tests” coined by Shohamy (1998) as well as the term “ethical language testing” (McNamara, 1999). In the introduction part, readers are also introduced with the perspective that Hamp-Lyons adapts throughout her article. Hamp-Lyons (2000) draws the attention of the readers to the similarity of language teachers and language testers. In here, the readers learn that
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