Reflections on TCCRISLS 2014: Roundtable on Learning-Oriented Assessment in Language Classrooms and Large-Scale Assessment Contexts

Abstract

In this forum, we invited seven contributors to reflect upon the trend of LOA as portrayed in TCCRISLS 2014. Lauren Wyner overviews the nature of learning-oriented assessment from a historical perspective. Melissa Renee Smith discusses the importance of the contextual dimension in the LOA framework, and how it was addressed at the Roundtable. Catherine Heil touches upon the proficiency dimension through the lens of learner KSAs (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities). Jorge Beltrán examines the learning dimension in LOA by looking at the interrelationships between learning, teaching, and assessment. Anna Ciriani Dean discusses the role of the interactional dimension and illustrates how interaction exists both within and beyond the classroom settings. Michelle Stabler-Havener takes on one of the least discussed and yet the most fundamental− the affective dimension− and talks about how affect influences not only the learning process, but also teaching as well as test administration. Last but not least, Siân Morgan adopts an integrated approach by examining how several dimensions of LOA can be found in large-scale testing, in particular the Cambridge English Language Assessment.