Research on language assessment has been one of TIRF’s DDG funding priorities since 2008. For this reason, we are very pleased to tell you about a new resource that may be helpful to you, your students, or your colleagues – or even to potential clients who might ask you to do a consultancy.

It is a brief introductory lecture on specific purpose language testing, given by Dr. Dan Douglas. A Professor Emeritus in the Applied Linguistics, English Department at Iowa State University, Dr. Douglas is well known for his work on language assessment, and especially for his expertise on specific purpose testing.

Dr. Dan Douglas

The fifteen-minute talk is a recent addition to the “Learn with Experts” series on the Statistics and Theory YouTube Channel. According to Dr. Vahid Aryadoust of the National Institute of Education in Singapore, Statistics and Theory is “a YouTube channel dedicated to promoting and propagating anything scientific about language in general and quantitative methods and assessment methods in particular.”

As the first guest speaker of the series, Dr. Douglas provides a clear introduction to important issues in designing, administering, and scoring specific purpose tests. He gives listeners helpful definitions of key terms and clear examples (from medicine, law, and aviation). Dr. Douglas cites relevant research and provides references to those studies at the end of the talk. In addition, his speaking style is highly accessible. Even though he is discussing a very complex topic, he does so in a very comprehensible manner.

We plan to share information about more resources from this valuable resource in future issues of TIRF Today.