The changing landscape of English: implications for language assessment

Abstract

This article offers a response to the comments and claims made in Jennifer Jenkins' article, ‘The spread of English as an International Language: a testing time for testers’. It examines some assumptions underpinning her views and responds to claims about current policy and practice in English language testing. It goes on to explain the key factors which frame the way in which examination boards deal with varieties of English in their tests and discusses the contribution that the language testing community can make to increase our understanding of language variation.