ABSTRACT
The purpose of assessing reading and listening is to gain insight into how well assessees are able to use their language abilities to understand relevant written or spoken input. These will often be texts or recordings in the target language representing what learners might need to deal with in everyday life or as part of a language learning programme. Users may wish to know how well assessees may be able to understand similar texts in a workplace or in further study (a question of pro ciency). They may want to understand the speci c dif culties that learners experience when trying to read or listen in a foreign language and help them overcome these dif culties (a diagnostic, formative purpose). Or they may have any number of other reasons.
