The Government of Canada’s Second Language Evaluation, Test of Written Expression: Exploring Validity

This study aimed to contribute to the literature on the Canadian government's Second Language Evaluation (SLE) by exploring the concept of validity within the context of the Test of Written Expression (TWE). The case-study approach combined stakeholder perspectives of three employee-participants and two teacher-participants along with a verbal protocol of a shortened practice test. The findings indicate that there may be evidence that threatens the validity of the inferences drawn from the TWE. There is additional evidence of negative consequences in terms of washback and impact of the SLE. These findings shed light on issues with the implementation of the Official Languages Act within the public service, suggesting a bottom-up approach to address these issues.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Nearing, Ellen Elizabeth

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2020 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2020-14177

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/41484