The concept of literacy has expanded significantly in the course of the last decade to include computer literacy or science literacy in academic and public discourse. The recent focus of attention on classroom-based language assessment has brought the aspect of language assessment literacy (LAL) to the forefront, with foreign language teachers as one important group of stakeholders whose professionalization of this concept is important. The current paper aims at relating the findings from part of a large-scale study that was undertaken in seven different European countries in order to shed light on perceived LAL levels of foreign language teachers and their training needs in language testing and assessment. The focus will be on the qualitative part of the mixed methods study that examines foreign language school teachers’ perceptions in three different educational contexts, namely Cyprus, Germany and Greece. The paper closes with an outline of the implications for teacher development and directions for future research.

The purpose of the study was to investigate English language teachers’ perceptions of assessment, their language assessment literacy (LAL) levels and their training needs. 113 teachers from Germany and 379 teachers from Greece completed a survey questionnaire. The data were analyzed through a series of RM ANOVAs, correlation analyses, and confirmatory factor analysis. Data from interviews with 25 German and 20 Greek teachers were used as supporting qualitative data. The results indicated that teachers use similar constructs in their assessment and in their conceptualisations of LAL but their perceived training needs differed depending on their educational contexts. The interviews helped identify deeper insights into contextual factors. The paper discusses the importance of context in assessment and offers recommendations for teacher education programmes in language assessment literacy that are context responsive.

Language teachers struggle to shift from monolingual ideologies and pedagogical practices, as advocated for in the promotion of multilingualism and inclusive pedagogy. Additionally, the role of English as a multilingua franca pushes English teachers to rethink their beliefs about the language and its use. Even when positive about multilingualism, teachers are often uncertain of how to address the complexities of multilingual ideals due to varying contextual factors and a lack of practical knowledge and skills. This study reports on English teachers’ (N = 110) language beliefs and self-reported practices in linguistically diverse classrooms in Norway based on an online survey. We applied factor analysis to investigate if any demographic factors influenced the results. A complexity paradox emerged in which the teachers’ acceptance of multilingual ideals was contradicted by their beliefs and teaching practices, which reflected monolingual ideologies. Teacher age, learner age group, and teacher gender were important factors in the respondents’ beliefs. The discussion suggests why various factors may influence teachers and explores the complexity of their multifaceted ecologies. We conclude with recommendations for practitioners and researchers.