What Does Language Testing Have to Offer to Multimodal Listening?

Abstract

In response to a question posed first by Bachman (1991), the aim of this chapter is to discuss what the fields of language assessment and multimodal studies may have to offer each other. Using video-based, or “multimodal,” listening as a case study, the chapter argues that the placement of semiotic resources at the core of transdisciplinary SLA (The Douglas Fir Group, 2016) demands greater attention to SFL principles in language assessment. After establishing constructs and reviewing historical precedents, the AUA framework for classroom assessment (Bachman & Damböck, 2018) is proposed as a way to structure the integration of multimodal studies concepts into the testing of semiotic resources.Work by language assessment specialists, particularly in ethical considerations and quantitative methods, may well benefit research in multimodality. The chapter concludes with an agenda for multimodal listening assessment research that points to the fact that language testing has much to offer to this area of increasing importance in classroom assessment.