Books in the New Approaches to Applied Linguistics series

Many countries have national policies in relation to English language teaching that are monitored through standardized tests, and students' performance in these tests may have a significant impact on their career prospects. When such high stakes become attached to a language test, it begins to play a far greater role than originally intended. A preeminent example is the College English Test (CET), taken biannually by upwards of ten million students in China, which makes it the world's largest national English test. Its impact is evident in many areas of Chinese society. Specified grades on the CET are requirements for graduation from universities, many job applications and even some residence permits. Consolidated CET results are widely used for rating teachers for promotion and for competitively grading institutions, hence influencing strategic planning by universities, government departments and companies, particularly those engaged in publishing or bookselling. The CET has, furthermore, given rise to a highly organized cheating 'industry', which is the subject of frequent governmental disclaimers and warnings. This book reports on an extensive study of the impact of the CET in China, both on the lives of students and teachers and on educational and governmental institutions. The authors also draw theoretical and practical implications from their study for educational planners in other countries.

This volume presents research focusing on a locally developed multilingual exam suite known as KPG (The Greek National Foreign Language Exam System). The "glocal" KPG exams take into account local needs, global conditions of knowledge and production and international concerns regarding testing and assessment.

Using a corpus-based Discourse-Historical Approach in Critical Discourse Analysis, the author analyses the representation of the 2008 Olympic torch relay in the British and Chinese media, shedding light on the importance of the Olympic Games for East-West media discourse and analysis.