Language Testing-SLA Research Interfaces

Abstract

Language testing [LT] research and second language acquisition [SLA] research are often seen as distinct areas of inquiry in applied linguistics. To oversimplify slightly, SLA research takes a longitudinal view, concerning itself primarily with the description and explanation of how second language proficiency develops, while LT research typically observes a “slice of life”, and attempts to arrive at a more or less static description of language proficiency at a given stage of development.