ABSTRACT
Research on assessing second language pragmatic competence has witnessed fast development in recent years; however, the field has yet to respond to the assessment challenges associated with the development of English as an international language. Hence, this chapter aims to review pragmatics assessment literature from the perspective of English as a lingua franca (ELF). The chapter starts with a review of the evolving theorizations of the construct of pragmatic competence, noting that recent conceptualizations of the construct have begun to account for the ELF phenomenon. This is followed by a critical discussion on how pragmatic competence has been operationalized in assessment practices, highlighting recent efforts towards accommodating ELF, as well as areas in need of future research. This chapter ends with commentary on two approaches (i.e. construct-centered approach, and task-centered approach) to assessing pragmatics in real-life ELF communication contexts.
