Linking validity and ethics in language testing: Insights from the hermeneutic turn in social science

In this article, we use a dialogue format to explore the possible relevance of ideas in the hermeneutic tradition of social science for examining contemporary issues that lie at the intersection of concerns about validity and ethics in language assessment. Specifically, we focus on language testing as a socio-political-cultural practice and suggest the kind of research that might follow from fully accepting the characterization of language testing as a practice.