Call for Papers: Assessing Second Language Students with Learning and Other Disabilities

From http://linguistlist.org/issues/23/23-3009.html

Call for Papers for an Edited Volume Entitled 'Assessing Second Language Students with Learning and Other Disabilities'
Edited by Dr Dina Tsagari & Dr George Spanoudis (University of Cyprus)
To be published with LIT Verlag

The population of students is becoming increasingly diverse, both culturally and linguistically. The numbers of children diagnosed with specific learning differences, SpLD (e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder) as well as those with other disabilities like visual, hearing or physical impairments, is steadily increasing today; so is the number of students enrolled in special education. This situation, combined with greater awareness of individual human rights, has led to an increased demand for appropriate testing and assessment provision. This is of particular concern to second or foreign language test providers (Taylor, 2012) and teachers (Kormos and Smith, 2012; Kormos and Kontra, 2008), who are very often faced with the challenge of having to offer special arrangements (accommodations) to second language learners (SLLs) with disabilities: they need to depart from the established testing procedures and alter their protocols, administration and/or content in order to accommodate the special needs of SLLs with disabilities.

In this context, the intended volume seeks to discuss the theoretical, ethical and practical considerations involved and explore the theoretical models and research findings that better identify the language and special needs of SLLs with SpLD and other disabilities and evaluate the effectiveness of accommodation practices employed so far. Studies of both high-stakes tests and classroom-based assessments that are related to the special needs of SLLs are invited conducted by professionals and researchers working in the area of psychology, special education and second/foreign language testing and assessment. The ultimate aim is to create a compilation of papers based on both theoretical and research chapters that address the fair assessment of this special population of SLLs.

View the full call for papers at http://linguistlist.org/issues/23/23-3009.html