The communicative period
2.4.1. The controversy
Communicative testing is something controversial because, although it seems to characterize current trends, in accordance with the correspondent theories of language teaching that emphasize communication above all, at the same time it gives the impression of being something unattainable or attainable only up to a certain extent. As Alderson (1981b: 48) has clearly said, the settting of assessment disauthenticates most language tests. Opinions range from total commitment to it to the conviction that communicative testing is just impossible. A clear example to show the opposite feelings is Section 1 ('Communicative Language Testing') of ELT Document No. 111, Issues in Language Testing, where the seminal paper by K. Morrow (1979)
'Communicative language testing: revolution or evolution?' is discussed and reactions to it expressed by C. J. Weir, A. Moller and J.C. Alderson. Although a little old now, these articles are worth reading in order to understand the controversy that more than a
decade later still exists.
To begin with, let us define what is understood by communicative testing and we will spend some time later discussing the problem of authenticity.