ABSTRACT
Young language learners (YLLs) are defined here as being primary school pupils up to about 12 years who are learning a second, additional or foreign language. This group includes children attending school where the language of instruction is not their L1, as well as those studying another language as a school subject. The assessment of YLLs is distinct in many ways from that of older learners, who for a long time comprised the ‘default’ subjects in the literature and research in language assessment. This is due to both the characteristics of YLLs themselves and the assessment they are most often subjected to, being largely informal and formative in purpose. This chapter will show how this YLL group has gradually been highlighted on the stage of language assessment, and will present some principal issues confronting those involved in their assessment, as well as the extent to which these issues have started to be tackled.
