Affordance-Based Approach to Language Assessment
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| Title: | Affordance-Based Approach to Language Assessment |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Quang Nhat Nguyen (ORCID |
| Source: | Language Education & Assessment. 2025 8(1). |
| Availability: | Castledown Publishers. Ground Level, 470 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, 3004, Australia. Tel: 646-520-0676; e-mail: contact@castledown.com; Web site: https://www.castledown.com/journals/lea/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 23 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Descriptive |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Language Tests, Affordances, Holistic Approach, Linguistic Competence, Outcome Measures, Profiles, Higher Education |
| ISSN: | 2209-3591 |
| Abstract: | This conceptual paper proposes an affordance-based framework for assessment that builds on an ecological paradigm and highlights how linguistic competence is enacted through interaction over time. Six interrelated foci, emergence, reciprocity, resonance, negotiation, disruption and reclamation, and latent trajectories, are introduced as analytic lenses for tracing how learners generate, share, adapt, and revisit linguistic opportunities in action. Through illustrative vignettes and comparative analysis, the paper demonstrates how these foci can be documented and reported through an Ecological Affordance Profile, which integrates micro-level observations, formative records, and summative accounts into a coherent developmental history. Rather than replacing existing forms of outcome assessment, the framework complements them by offering ecological validity and developmental sensitivity, and it provides trace-back capacity when discrepancies arise between test results and classroom evidence. The conclusion calls for reconceptualizing language assessment as an ongoing ecological process that affirms learner agency, sustains growth, and generates a more comprehensive account of communicative competence. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1501938 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This conceptual paper proposes an affordance-based framework for assessment that builds on an ecological paradigm and highlights how linguistic competence is enacted through interaction over time. Six interrelated foci, emergence, reciprocity, resonance, negotiation, disruption and reclamation, and latent trajectories, are introduced as analytic lenses for tracing how learners generate, share, adapt, and revisit linguistic opportunities in action. Through illustrative vignettes and comparative analysis, the paper demonstrates how these foci can be documented and reported through an Ecological Affordance Profile, which integrates micro-level observations, formative records, and summative accounts into a coherent developmental history. Rather than replacing existing forms of outcome assessment, the framework complements them by offering ecological validity and developmental sensitivity, and it provides trace-back capacity when discrepancies arise between test results and classroom evidence. The conclusion calls for reconceptualizing language assessment as an ongoing ecological process that affirms learner agency, sustains growth, and generates a more comprehensive account of communicative competence. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2209-3591 |
