ABSTRACT
Computer-assisted language learning and teaching is as old as the computer technology itself and the field of language education has benefited greatly from affordances digital technology has brought with it since the 1970s. The invention of the World Wide Web and the Internet in 1989 led to unprecedented advances in many fields including the teaching and learning of languages while developments in language assessment have been slow for various reasons including test security and unavailability of the needed infrastructure in many parts of the world. Despite these shortcomings, large-scale proficiency tests have made great strides in computerised and online assessment but classroom second language (L2) assessment still lags behind particularly in technologically less resourced contexts. The recent global health crisis (COVID-19 pandemic) has once again brought to the fore the significant role of digital technology in language education and assessment. This chapter surveys the historical trends and developments in the use of computer technology in language assessment and highlights affordances various technological tools can offer at the time where L2 education and assessment could have come to a full stop were it not for the saviour role they played. This chapter ends with an outline of the whole volume.
