Volume 6 Fall 2012
“Assessing Portuguese Skills: Research and Practice”
Editor’s Note
Margo Milleret University of New Mexico
A quick on-line search of academic publications for articles on evaluation, assessment, and teaching Portuguese only uncovered three articles, which is not the bibliography that I imagined available. Could it be that the special topic for volume #6 would call on an untapped wealth of articles that colleagues were waiting to submit, or is this a topic that is practiced in many Portuguese classes and programs, but is not the subject of academic articles? The response to this CFP was not much greater than the original research. However, the pieces presented in this volume #6, are practical and helpful while at the same time based on solid research. They explain the terms and demonstrate what each means, how it is applied to language programs, and what colleagues can do to begin or advance their own work.
This volume, then, is a beginning point that marks the state of evaluation and assessment in Portuguese programs. It provides proof that there is room to develop and utilize assessment (the Davis interview) and that there are outstanding models to follow or adapt (the Wiedemann interview). There is a theoretical discussion of how to evaluate tests for reading and writing. In addition, there is a short explanation of the two proficiency exams offered to individuals in the United States by the Brazilian and Portuguese governments. This volume also includes seven book reviews of newly published materials in the field of teaching Portuguese. I thank all the contributors to this volume for sharing their time and expertise in support of the teaching of Portuguese.
Portuguese Assessment at the Stanford Language Center: An interview with LyrisWiedemann August 15, 2012
A problemática da avaliação da produção e compreensão de textos escritos em Português para Estrangeiros Bruno de Andrade Rodrigues Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
Lívia Assunção Cecílio Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna