3. Valorizing cultural and linguistic capital through assessment practices in tertiary transnational contexts
Résumé
International mobility, transnationalism, and study abroad programs represent challenging and
life-changing opportunities for students. The motivation for attending a foreign higher
education institution often stems from a deep cultural appreciation and motivations related to
the improvement of foreign language competency. This theory-into-practice chapter presents
the theoretical foundations for a socially and ethically responsible didactic approach to
language assessment (virtual or face-to-face contexts) for non-specialists of English at the
Master level on several themes related to language variation. Accentuated by ethnographic
research methods involving observation and informal interviews, as well as a questionnaire,
the underlying objective of this methodology is to promote transnational awareness and the
acceptance of diversity (otherness), whist valorizing various forms of capital (i.e., social,
linguistic, cultural, or symbolic). Data analysis has shown that the method is validated not
only in terms of assessment, but also in relation to the valorization of transnationalism,
foreign cultures, languages, and diversity.