Innovations in Language Assessment for Multilingual Education: Digital, Inclusive, and Global Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

In the context of increasingly multilingual societies and classrooms, traditional approaches to language assessment are being critically reassessed. Global research and policy trends are converging around the need to move beyond monolingual paradigms of testing toward more inclusive, equitable, and context-sensitive assessment frameworks (Schissel et al., 2019; Seed 2020; Shohamy, 2011). This Special Issue responds to that shift by focusing on innovations in language assessment for multilingual education, with particular attention to the implications of translanguaging, digital technologies, and social justice.

Theoretical and empirical work has revealed how assessment systems often fail to accommodate learners’ full linguistic repertoires, thereby reinforcing structural inequalities (Shohamy, 2001, 2022; Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000). Scholars have long pointed to the washback effects of high-stakes assessments on teaching and learning (Alderson & Wall, 1993; Tsagari & Cheng, 2017), and in multilingual contexts, such washback may suppress learners’ multilingual identities (Gogolin, 1994; Gu & Tong, 2021). Antia (2017, 2021) has shown how multilingual examinations in sub-Saharan Africa reflect broader issues of linguistic marginalization and politicization, especially in end-of-school testing regimes (see also Vogt & Antia, 2024; Tsagari, Vogt & Lopriore, in press).

Recent research highlights the potential of translanguaging and multilingual communities of practice to reshape assessment ecologies (Arias & Schissel, 2023; Baker & Hope, 2019; Wang & East, 2024). However, integrating such practices into formal assessment remains a contested terrain. Teachers’ perceptions, classroom realities, and policy constraints often hinder implementation (Schissel et al., 2021; Flognfeldt et al., 2020; Osidak et al., 2025). Digital and AI-based tools offer promising avenues for personalized, multimodal, and formative assessments that recognize linguistic diversity (Brown & Bhatia, 2020; Greenier et al., 2023), yet such tools also raise questions of access, fairness, and validation.

This Special Issue invites contributions that critically explore the design, implementation, and implications of language assessment in multilingual settings. We are particularly interested in empirical studies, theoretical models, and policy analyses that address the following:

• Plurilingual assessment frameworks;
• Translanguaging assessment;
• Translanguaging-based assessment frameworks;
• Assessment practices in multilingual contexts;
• Multilingual assessment literacy in teacher education;
• Formative and summative assessment for multilingual learners;
• Fairness, validity, and construct design for multilingual assessment;
• Sociopolitical and ethical dimensions of multilingual assessment;
• Use of AI and digital innovations in multilingual assessment.

This volume aims to advance a coherent and impactful agenda that speaks directly to the complexities of multilingualism in education. It will serve as a critical resource for researchers, teacher educators, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to develop fair, innovative, and research-informed approaches to assessing multilingual learners.

 References:

Alderson, J. C., & Wall, D. (1993). Does washback exist? Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/14.2.115

Antia, B. E. (2017). Multilingual terminology and cognition in assessment. In R. Kaschula, P. Maseko, & H. E. Wolff (Eds.), Multilingualism and intercultural communication: A South African perspective (pp. 92–111). Wits University Press.

Antia, B. E. (2021). Multilingual examinations: towards a schema of politicization of language in end of high school examinations in sub-Saharan Africa, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24(1), 138–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1450354

Arias, A., & Schissel, J. L. (2023). How are multilingual communities of practice being considered in language assessment? A language ecology approach. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.21242

Baker, B., & Hope, A. (2019). Incorporating translanguaging in language assessment: The case of a test for university professors. Language Assessment Quarterly, 16(4–5), 408–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2019.1671392

Brown, A., & Bhatia, T. K. (2020). Testing bi/multilingual learners. In P. Winke & T. Brunfaut (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and language testing (pp. 393–402). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351034784-42

Flognfeldt, M. E., Tsagari, D., Šurkalović, D., & Tishakov, T. (2020). The practice of assessing Norwegian and English language proficiency in multilingual elementary school classrooms in Norway. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(5), 519–540. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2020.1827409

Gogolin, I. (1994). Der monolinguale Habitus der multilingualen Schule. Waxmann.

Greenier, V., Lin, X., & Xiao, Y. (2023). Creative translanguaging in formative assessment: Chinese teachers’ perceptions and practices in the primary EFL classroom. Applied Linguistics Review. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2023-0085

Gu, M. M., & Tong, H. K. (2021). Multilingualism and identity in Hong Kong education after 1997. In G. W. Noblit (Ed.), Oxford research encyclopedia of education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1538

Osidak, V., Vogt, K., & Natsiuk, M. (2025). Understanding the perspective of plurilingual assessment in teaching English at tertiary level in Ukraine. CEFR Journal 7, 19–50. https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.CEFR7-2

Schissel, J. L., De Korne, H., & López-Gopar, M. (2021). Grappling with translanguaging for teaching and assessment in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts: Teacher perspectives from Oaxaca, Mexico. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24(3), 340–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1463965

Schissel, J. L., Leung, C., & Chalhoub-Deville, M. (2019). The construct of multilingualism in language testing. Language Assessment Quarterly, 16(4–5), 373–378. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2019.1680679

Seed, G. (2020). What is plurilingualism and what does it mean for language assessment? Cambridge Research Notes, 78, 5-15. https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/Images/597022-research-notes-78.pdf

Shohamy, E. (2001). Democratic assessment as an alternative. Language Testing, 18(4), 373–391. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553220101800404

Shohamy, E. (2011). Assessing multilingual competencies: Adopting construct valid assessment policies. The Modern Language Journal, 95, 418–429. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2011.01210.x 

Shohamy, E. (2022). Critical language testing, multilingualism, and social justice. TESOL Quarterly, 56(4), 1234–1245. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3185

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2000). Linguistic Genocide in Education – or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights? Routledge.

Tsagari, D., Lopriore, L. and K. Vogt (in press) ‘Multilingualism and test washback’. In Allen David Brian (Eds.); Washback Research in Language Assessment: Fundamentals and Contexts. Routledge

Tsagari, D., & Cheng, L. (2017). Washback, impact, and consequences revisited. In E. Shohamy, I. Or, & S. May (Eds.), Language testing and assessment. Encyclopaedia of language and education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02261-1_24

Vogt, K., & Antia, B. E. (Eds.) (2024). Multilingual assessment—Finding the nexus. Peter Lang.

Wang, D., & East, M. (2024). Integrating translanguaging into assessment: Students’ responses and perceptions. Applied Linguistics Review, 15(5), 1911–1937. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2023-0087

Timeline:

• 31 October 2025: Deadline for the submission of the title/abstract (250 words)/authors’ bio;
• 30 November 2025: Deadline for informing prospective authors;
• 30 September 2026: Deadline for the submission of manuscripts.

Prof. Dr. Dina Tsagari
Prof. Dr. Karin Vogt
Guest Editors

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• multilingual assessment
• language testing
• digital assessment
• translanguaging
• AI in language assessment
• teacher education
• assessment literacy
• inclusive assessment
• social justice
• multilingual contexts