This course aims at providing students with fundamental information for developing their conceptual understanding towards theory, rationale and practices of English language assessment in both L1 and L2 contexts. It introduces critical issues in the field of language assessment including compatibility of assessment principles, usefulness of school-based assessment, washback of large-scale testing, synergy of summative and formative assessment, development of language assessment literacy, pros and cons of web-based assessment, etc. It also includes a small-scale and independent investigation of significant issues in English language assessment environments.