Language for Specific Purposes: Current and Future Issues

This article presents a number of issues on the topic of Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) testing that were raised during a plenary discussion at the 30th annual Language Testing Forum. The comments particularly focused on (a) past and current conceptualizations and categorizations of LSP tests, (b) tensions between specificity and practicality in LSP test design, and (c) the role of locality in LSP testing. The views exchanged on each of these themes are reported and considered in light of current research and debates. Suggestions are made for future research in the area of LSP testing.