Assessing English for Professional Purposes by Knoch Ute;Macqueen Susy;

Author:Knoch, Ute;Macqueen, Susy;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)
Published: 2020-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Specificity

Specificity is a further issue that test developers have to grapple with. The specificity of a language test or a test task relates to the definition of the domain it is designed to serve and how this domain is delineated from other real-world domains. A domain can be delineated from other domains through the model of LAPP Codes of Relevance introduced in Chapter 2. As shown in Figure 2.2, a TLU domain can be arranged in layers which increase in density of the specialist code. Specificity is also an issue that has received interest in language curriculum design and which results in either ‘wide-angled’ or ‘narrow-angled’ courses (Basturkmen, 2010; Flowerdew, 2012; Johns & Dudley-Evans, 1991). In the case of language testing, one might be interested in assessing the language proficiency of doctors. Would the domain of interest relate to doctors working in all settings and in all specializations? Or should surgeons take a different test to GPs? Should the domain only relate to doctors in Australia or to all doctors? Douglas (2001b) questions whether it is possible to capture the specificity of particular domains in a language test. Test tasks selected based on a needs analysis are a representation of only one part of the target language use domain and a test can therefore never be truly representative of the real-world domain. The more specifically test developers sample from a certain domain, the narrower the generalizations are that can be made based on the test scores. Elder (2001) argues that for this reason LAPP developers often settle for an expedient solution to domain definition but at the same time retain a somewhat simplified form (or flavour) of the domain of interest. Test specificity issues also come into play when a test designed for one context is used in another.

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