In:Migration, Language, and Policy Discourse: Bridging the gap between policymaking and language assessment
Laura Schildt
[IMPACT: Studies in Language, Culture and Society 59] 2026
► pp. v–viii
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Table of contents
Acknowledgements
List of tables
List of figures
Part 1.Setting the scene
Chapter 1.Introduction
Closer alignment between language testing and public
policy
The rising salience of language for migrants
Validity theory as an underlying logic
Migration language testing (MLT) interface
Gaps between domains
Unexplored domains
Research goals
Mapping the method
Researcher reflexivity
Structure and composition of the book
Chapter 2.A test of methodological reflexivity
Methodology
Results
Reflections
Implications
Future research
Concluding remarks
Chapter 3.Theoretical frameworks
What is policy?
Who influences language policy and how?
Power and language ideologies
Interdiscursive debate
How does policy get made?
Ambiguous and complex environments
Integration policies and the role of research
Part 2.Language testers
Chapter 4.Language testing for migration:
Historical shifts and developments
Historical shifts and developments
The turn to language testing expertise in the governance of
migration
Ethical implications
The emergence of language requirements in Europe
Test impact
Test validation
‘Policy conversations’ and positionality
Chapter 5.Language testers in the policy web
Language testers as policy actors
The impact of language testers on policy
Methodology
Language testers’ perspectives about test use in migration
policy
Language testers’ interactions with policymakers
Language testers’ impact on policy
Reflections and implications
Concluding remarks
Chapter 6.Language tester identities
Philosophical and theoretical approach
Identity in discourse
Agency and structure in identities
Stance and positioning
Language tester identities
Language tester identities in the policy domain
Methodology
Analysis
Reflections and implications
Concluding remarks
Part 3.Policymakers
Chapter 7.Language in flemish integration policy
The sociolinguistic development of Flanders
Migration to flanders
Integration policy in flanders
Chapter 8.The emergence of language testing in flanders
Policy logics
Policy processes
Methodological framework
Participants
Data collection and analysis
Agenda setting
Decision making
Implementation
Reflections and implications
Policy actors
Policy decisions
Concluding remarks
Chapter 9.Discourses in migration language policy
Policy rationales
Unexamined policy rationales
Methodology
Methodological framework
Analysis
Reflections and implications
Future policy recommendations
Concluding remarks
Chapter 10.Conclusion
A bird’s-eye-view
Revisiting the research goals
Theoretical implications: Cross-cutting themes
Question 1: The role of language testers
Question 2: How language testing policy is made
Methodological implications
Implications for practice
Future research
Final thoughts
References
Appendix
Appendix A.Transcription conventions
Appendix B.Literature review (test corpus)
Appendix C.Participant professional profile
Appendix D.Interview guide
Appendix E.Codebook
Appendix F.Horizontal analysis
Appendix G.Vertical analysis
Appendix H.Interview guide
Appendix I.Codebook
Appendix J.Vertical analysis by research question
Appendix K.Suggested research agenda with example studies
