Assessing Literacy in a Digital World

This book illustrates the latest developments in literacy and language assessment in the digital context, and subsequently presents a rigorous validation study on a newly proposed form of assessment (scenario-based assessment, SBA) that seeks to respond to the contextual change of literacy activities. It combines theories and innovative practices in both the literacy and language assessment sectors.The empirical validation study on SBA, presented here, can help readers understand how digital scenarios can be realized in assessment practices with the aid of computer technology, and how the scenario settings in the digital context can affect EFL learners’ reading-to-writing performance. In this way, it can facilitate the reconceptualization of L2 literacy in the digital context. Moreover, the evidence and critical examination presented here can offer readers more comprehensive insights into the value or validity of a given innovative approach before it is adopted in their contexts.   

Dr. Yumei Zhang is a lecturer and Chair of the English Education Department at Beijing International Studies University, and an applied linguistics researcher with substantial experience in second language acquisition and language education. Dr. Zhang’s research interests include second language acquisition, language teaching and assessment. In addition, she has extensive teaching experience at both the high school and university level.