Spotlight on... Pragmatics and language assessment
19th March 2021
The new BAAL TEASIG webinar series opened with a Spotlight on Pragmatics.
We were delighted to welcome Dr Veronika Timpe-Laughlin from ETS as our guest speaker. Veronika has published extensively on the role of pragmatics in language assessment in many prestigious journals in addition to authoring/co-authoring several well-respected books.
​
Invited speaker
DR VERONIKA TIMPE-LAUGHLIN (Research Scientist, ETS, USA. https://veronikatimpelaughlin.com)
​
Overview of the methodological developments in assessing L2 pragmatics
This presentation provided an overview of methodological developments in assessing L2 pragmatics. A particular focus was placed on how the conceptualisation of the construct has changed over time and how the changes were manifested in assessment instruments. Challenges and recommendations for measuring L2 pragmatics were also discussed.
Video available
Slides available
​
#3 minutes students and researchers gave presentations and discuss research questions
- Shishi Zhang - Large-Scale Assessment of L2 Pragmatic Competence
- Małgorzata Turska - Relating pragmatic features of professional spoken English to the CEFR
- Ananda Muhammad - Understanding the construct of pragmatic competence in a US university setting