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The needs of assessing the outcome of learning have led to the development and
elaboration of different test formats. Testing language has traditionally taken the form of
testing knowledge about language, usually the testing of knowledge of vocabulary and
grammar. Stern (1983, p. 340) notes that „if the ultimate objective of language teaching is
effective language learning, then our main concern must be the learning outcome?. In the
same line of thought, Wigglesworth (2008, p. 111) further adds that “In the assessment of
languages, tasks are designed to measure learners? productive language skills through
performances which allow candidates to demonstrate the kinds of language skills that may
be required in a real world context.” This is because a “specific purpose language test is one
in which test content and methods are derived from an analysis of a specific purposes target
language use situation, so that test tasks and content are authentically representative of
tasks in the target situation”
Thus, the issue of authenticity is central to the assessment of language for specific
functions. This is another way of saying that testing is a socially situated activity although the
social aspects have been relatively under-explored (Wigglesworth, 2008). Yet, language tests
differ with respect to how they are designed, and what they are for, in other words, in respect
to test method and test purpose. In terms of method, we can broadly distinguish traditional
paper-and-pencil language tests from performance tests.
