Introduction

The measurement of sociolinguistic competence has proved problematic since Hymes's (1967, 1972) seminal discussions of Chomsky's (1965) distinction between competence and performance, especially given persistent uncertainties regarding how sociolinguistic knowledge interacts with other competencies (e.g., grammatical) and how these interactions are instantiated in learner L2 performance (McNamara, 1996). Nevertheless, that L2 learners need to acquire knowledge of sociocultural norms or rules of language behavior, as well as the ability to appropriately employ these rules in communication, is beyond dispute, as evidenced by their abiding presence in competence or ability models (e.g., Canale & Swain, 1980; Canale, 1983). Most recently, Bachman and Palmer (1996) located knowledge of sociocultural rules within their L2 “ability for use” framework:

Given this fundamental role for sociolinguistic competence within notions of language competence and ability, it follows that language assessment which purports to measure such global constructs as L2 proficiency must necessarily include the measurement of learners' command of sociocultural rules and corresponding L2 forms.