EAP Assessment Reimagined: design of an integrated multimodal language test and validity evidence

A previous scoping review study commissioned by Cambridge Assessment English aimed to better understand the construct of Academic English in the digital age. Findings revealed two major trends: firstly, a shift towards multimodal communication which has in turn resulted in the emergence of new types of academic assignments, multimodal genres, and the need for students to acquire new skills to operate within this multimodal arena; and secondly, the limitations of existing skills-based approaches to assessment and the need to move towards integrated skills assessment. Such evidence provides a solid basis for further discussion and research into how assessment practices can better operationalise such multimodal communication in the target language use domain. The goal of the current project, therefore, is to (a) compile a taxonomy of academic language functions, (b) develop a prototype digital multimodal task and (c) investigate the extent to which the new task reflects the new construct of Academic English in the digital age.