Authenticity in language testing: some outstanding questions

Abstract

This article is divided into two main sections. Following the introduction, Section II takes a look at the concept of authenticity and the way this notion has evolved in language testing and more recently in general education. It argues that, although our understanding of the notion of authenticity has developed considerably since it was first introduced into the language testing literature in the 1970s, many questions remain unanswered. In an attempt to address one of the outstanding issues, Section III presents a study looking at the importance of authenticity for test takers. It shows that test takers are willing and able to identify the attributes of a test likely to affect their performance. However, these attributes do not necessarily include authenticity which has hitherto been considered an important test attribute for all stakeholders in the testing process. The article concludes that much more research is needed if the nature and role of authenticity in language testing is to be fully understood.

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