Developing and Validating a Multilingual Literacy Test for Asylum Seekers

Autor/inn/en	Hooft, Hannelore; Schiepers, Mariet; Vandommele, Goedele
Titel	Developing and Validating a Multilingual Literacy Test for Asylum Seekers
Quelle	In: Language Assessment Quarterly, 18 (2021) 5, S.530-546 (17 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Hooft, Hannelore)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1543-4303
DOI	10.1080/15434303.2021.1931230
Schlagwörter	Multilingualism; Language Tests; Immigrants; Native Language; Educational Policy; Testing Accommodations; Foreign Countries; Test Validity; Test Reliability; Adult Literacy; Refugees; Identification; Social Integration; Second Language Learning; Screening Tests; Belgium + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Mehrsprachigkeit; Multilingualismus; Language test; Sprachtest; Immigrant; Immigrantin; Immigranten; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Testing process; Accessibility (for disabled); Accessibility; Disabled person; Testdurchführung; Testen; Barrierefreiheit; Zugänglichkeit; Behinderter; Ausland; Testvalidität; Testreliabilität; Flüchtling; Identifikation; Identifizierung; Soziale Integration; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Screening-Verfahren; Belgien
Abstract	Many migrants have had few opportunities to develop functional literacy skills, even in their L1. Even so, migration and integration policies in Western host societies often assume literacy skills and fail to consider accommodations for low-literate migrants. Valid, reliable instruments to identify low-literate migrants and policy-oriented research into the assessment of low-literates are scarce. This study makes a contribution to research and practice in this area. It reports on the development of a valid multilingual assessment tool to efficiently shed light on adult migrants' literacy skills. This tool was trialed on a representative sample of 351 asylum seekers in Belgian asylum centers. The performance data were analyzed using Rasch Measurement, and DIF analysis. First, the results confirmed the tool allowed for the identification of four literacy levels. Second, frequency distribution of the Rasch person measurements showed that a substantial proportion of asylum seekers do not possess the literacy skills to participate fully in their host society upon arrival. The findings underline the importance of (a) taking literacy skills into account in both integration policy and assessment; (b) viewing literacy as a broad functional spectrum while considering the influence of contextual factors such as language of assessment and processing time. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01