Assessing Academic Literacy in a Multilingual Society

Reviews / Votes

What is academic literacy and how can it best be measured? The authors of this excellent edited collection draw on 20+ years of research and practice to highlight the challenges involved in assessing the language and literacy needs of students destined for university education in multilingual South Africa. Their insights will resonate with academics and educators around the world catering for increasingly diverse student populations. * Catherine Elder, University of Melbourne, Australia * This invaluable collection of engaging chapters is a must-read for practitioners, graduate students, and researchers who seek to expand their knowledge of assessment literacy in multilingual societies in and beyond South Africa. The editors' choice of conceptual foundations of academic literacy assessment at pre-tertiary and tertiary education as the themes of the volume is timely and insightful. * Vahid Aryadoust, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore * Language ability, language assessment to determine ability levels, and improving academic literacy in a multilingual tertiary context are complex issues. This book establishes what all these actually comprise. The quality of the work and the standing of the contributors combine to give us an informed view of this exciting and developing field in South Africa. Read and enjoy! * Wannie Carstens, North-West University, South Africa * [This book] is an excellent collection of contemporary research studies into the assessment of academic language literacy in South Africa [...] Its extensive and thought-provoking coverage of the issues faced by education systems, institutions and individuals within them will serve as a valuable resource as they plan the road ahead in this rapidly changing field. -- Alan Urmston, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong * Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2021 *