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35 - Heritage Language Assessment

from Part IV - Heritage Language Education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2021

By
Kimi Kondo-Brown
Edited by
Silvina Montrul  and
Maria Polinsky
Silvina Montrul
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Maria Polinsky
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
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Summary

This chapter provides an overview of pedagogical heritage language (HL) assessment issues and an agenda for enhancing positive washback effects of assessment on HL learners in the future. After an introduction, the chapter first discusses the definition of HL learners used here and elsewhere. Second, it explores two distinct types of tests that are important and relevant to the subsequent discussions of HL assessment issues. The discussions reveal an apparent lack of validation studies for proficiency assessment tools in general and HL assessment in particular. For example, postsecondary placement investigations dealing with HL learners largely focus on Spanish but little is known for placement practices in other HLs. Also, the availability of assessment tools for pre-collegiate HL programs is very limited, especially for less commonly taught languages. Validation studies of existing assessment procedures for pre-collegiate HL programs are scarce. This chapter also points out that bilinguals’ dynamic and holistic use of linguistic repertoires adds complexity to assessing bilinguals’ HL proficiency. This chapter mainly discusses HL assessment in pedagogical contexts, but where relevant, it examines the use of HL tests for research as well.

Keywords

assessmenttestingnorm-referenced (proficiency) testcriterion-referenced (achievement) testplacement testACTFL OPImultilingual assessmentwashback effect
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Heritage Languages and Linguistics , pp. 892 - 911
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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