This chapter provides a commentary on the other contributions in the volume by relating
them to current dilemmas facing language testers working in policy areas involving
immigration and citizenship. It is argued that the overt construct of language tests for
citizenship (proficiency in the dominant national language, proposed on the grounds of
the welfare of newcomers) is a mask for the implicit construct, which is the imposition
of a particular ideology of belonging proposed as being in the interests of the majority
culture. The technical qualities of the tests further obscure the contestable policy
function of their use and render opposition more difficult. This situation poses
dilemmas for the theory and practice of language testing.
2018. The path to naturalization in Spain: Old ideologies, new language testing regimes and the problem of test use. Language Policy 17:4 ► pp. 419 ff.
Hoheneder, Iris & Clemens Tonsern
2018. Der Test zum »Werte- und Orientierungswissen« als Teil der Integrationsprüfung: landeskundliche und testtheoretische Aspekte. ÖDaF-Mitteilungen 34:1 ► pp. 21 ff.
Busch, Brigitta
2013. Linguistic rights and language policy: A south–north dialogue. Education as Change 17:2 ► pp. 209 ff.
Ndhlovu, Finex
2011. Post-refugee African Australians' perceptions about being and becoming Australian: language, discourse and participation. African Identities 9:4 ► pp. 435 ff.
Ndhlovu, Finex
2017. Vehicular Cross-Border Languages, Multilingualism and the African Integration Debate: A Decolonial Epistemic Perspective. Africanus: Journal of Development Studies 43:2 ► pp. 13 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.