Fundamental Considerations in Technology Mediated Language Assessment

*CO-WINNER OF 2026 SAGE/ILTA BOOK AWARD*

Fundamental Considerations in Technology Mediated Language Assessment aims to address issues such as how the forced integration of technology into second language assessment has shaped our understanding of key traditional concepts like validity, reliability, washback, authenticity, ethics, fairness, test security, and more.

Although computer-assisted language testing has been around for more than two decades in the context of high-stakes proficiency testing, much of language testing worldwide has shifted to “at-home” mode, and relies heavily on the mediation of digital technology, making its widespread application in classroom settings in response to the COVID-19 outbreak unprecedented. Integration of technology into language assessment has brought with it countless affordances and at the same time challenges, both theoretically and practically. One major theoretical consideration requiring attention is the way technology has contributed to a reconceptualization of major assessment concepts/constructs. There is very limited literature available on the theoretical underpinnings of technology mediated language assessment. This book aims to fill this gap.

This book will appeal to academic specialists, practitioners, or professionals in the field of language assessment, advanced and/or graduate students, and a range of scholars or professionals in disciplines like educational technology, applied linguistics, and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL).

Karim Sadeghi is a Professor of TESOL at Urmia University. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research (Scopus Q1 Journal). His recent publications include Assessing Second Language Reading (2021), Talking about Second Language Acquisition (2022), and Theory and Practice in Second Language Teacher Identity (2022, co-edited with Dr Farah Ghaderi).

Dan Douglas is a Professor Emeritus in the Applied Linguistics and Technology program at Iowa State University, specializing in assessing language ability in specific academic and professional contexts. His books include Understanding Language Testing (2010) and Assessing Languages for Specific Purposes (2000). He was President of the International Language Testing Association from 2005 to 2006 and again from 2013 to 2015, and Editor of the journal Language Testing from 2002 to 2007. In 2019 he received the Cambridge/ILTA Distinguished Achievement Award.