Metaphors we test by: communicative concepts that connect language assessment with contexts of use скачать в хорошем качестве

Metaphors we test by: communicative concepts that connect language assessment with contexts of use

Exactly forty years ago, an influential volume in the field of applied linguistics explored the role of metaphor in language and mind (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980). The authors explained how metaphors (e.g. orientational, structural, etc.) allow us to use what we know about our physical and social experience to help understand countless other subjects, in turn shaping our perceptions and actions. Since 1980, theory of metaphor has developed within the cognitive sciences to become central to contemporary understanding of how we think and express our thoughts in language. The field of language testing and assessment (LTA) has grown considerably over this same 40-year period and has espoused various metaphors that promote thinking and understanding about assessment. Mislevy (2012), for example, highlights several key metaphors, e.g. ‘assessment as feedback loop’ and ‘assessment as evidentiary argument’, each offering a set of concepts, relationships, processes and actors for thinking about real-world situations, especially those involving assessment policy, practice and reform. This presentation will consider how metaphor helps to foster shared understanding within and across our LTA field, mitigating divides and supporting transitions in a rapidly changing context. We shall examine some of the most useful metaphors for communicating LTA theory and practice to stakeholders. We shall also explore how certain metaphors commonly used today may be less helpful for various reasons, and we shall consider some alternatives that may offer us fresh insights and understanding. As the 2020 pandemic requires us to rethink how we do language testing and assessment for the future, so we may also need to reassess some of the ways we currently think about and understand aspects of assessment.