RECALIBRATING LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT: TOWARD A METACOGNITIVE PARADIGM FOR 21ST-CENTURY ESP

Abstract

This narrative literature review critically examines the evolving role of language assessment in English for Specific Purposes (ESP), with reference to engineering education in South Asia. Historically shaped by structuralist and summative paradigms, assessment has often constrained learner agency and metacognitive growth, two capacities that are essential for academic success and professional readiness in STEM. Using an integrative review approach, the study synthesizes seminal theories and contemporary empirical research to map the shift from static, test-oriented practices to dynamic, formative, and context-sensitive models. The methodology was guided by a purposive sampling strategy, selecting seven milestone texts for their theoretical influence and historical significance, complemented by recent empirical studies addressing dynamic assessment, integrated skill testing, and AI-supported feedback. This dual focus was reinforced through a Global South-aware approach, which prioritized open-access peer-reviewed literature, cross-referenced seminal works, and drew on targeted searches in widely accessible databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus (via partial institutional access), and ERIC-an adaptation made necessary by the restricted access to subscription resources in Sri Lanka and comparable contexts. Findings indicate that integrative tasks, reflective journaling, peer feedback, and digitally mediated scaffolds promote self-regulation, critical thinking, and adaptive language use in multilingual engineering environments. Ethical imperatives, including dismantling native-speaker norms, introducing intelligibility-focused rubrics, and strengthening teacher assessment literacy, are also emphasized. The review argues that ESP assessment must be re-engineered beyond its gatekeeping role toward an ethically grounded, metacognitively enriched paradigm. In such a framework, assessment functions not only as a measure of competence but as a catalyst for learner autonomy, disciplinary readiness, and educational equity. By positioning assessment as a pedagogical catalyst for transformation, this study contributes a regionally grounded yet globally relevant perspective for reshaping 21st-century ESP practices.