Assessment in a globalized economy: A task-based approach to assess the proficiency of Dutch in specific occupational domains

For language tests to be in tune with the target context, a constant attention to the shifting characteristics of real-world language use is required. This holds particularly true for language tests in the occupational domain since domestic labor market demands are continuously changing and increasingly met through the recruitment of foreign workers. This paper describes how subject experts were involved in the cyclical validation process of a test of Dutch for the professional domain. A survey of recruitment agents, employers, policy makers, language instructors, examiners, and former test takers indicated that a task-based test targeting the language skills involved in service-oriented work settings such as administration and health care at level B2 of the CEFR was favored. The involvement of subject specialists recruited among the test’s various stakeholders proved to be of vital importance throughout the development and validation process to ensure content validity and avoid biases