Introduction

Abstract

IJES UNIVERSITY OF MURCIA http://revistas.um.es/ijes Second Language Testing: Interfaces between Pedagogy and Assessment. An Introduction It should go without saying that language assessment 1 and language pedagogy are clearly connected-i.e., that there are clear interfaces between the two. In fact, Davies (1991) claims that language testing, both the British as well as the North American tradition, "grew out of language pedagogy needs": Language testing as practiced today, grew out of the special demands on language assessment of large-scale, on-demand intensive adult language courses in World War 2, which had a similar influence on parallel developments in language teaching materials and methodology (Davies, 1991: 136). Clearly both disciplines are interrelated and affect each other. New theories of teaching and learning may lead to changes in testing practices (Spolsky, 1995) while language tests, especially high-stakes tests, which have a direct impact on students' immediate futures, may affect teaching and learning (Cheng, 1997; Clapham, 2000; Wall, 1996). One fundamental interface of these two fields is the issue of methodological selection. If a second language is taught, say, following the methodological guidelines of the communicative approach (cf.