For many years, a relatively small number of applied linguists whose research interests straddle second language acquisition (SLA) and language testing (LT) have incorporated insights from both areas into their own research – if not explicitly, at least in the kinds of research questions they ask, and in the interpretations they offer of their results. These individuals have also employed similar tools in their research, such as interviews, observation, structured elicitations, rating scales, questionnaires, and language tests. More recently, a relatively small number of these individuals have become increasingly concerned with the general lack of recognition among their colleagues of the interfaces between these two areas of applied linguistics research. It was clear to them that the majority of individuals who were in the mainstream of either SLA or LT research were largely ignorant of the other field, both in knowing the major issues and research questions, and in knowing the research approaches and methods commonly used.

It was this concern with the need for a more extensive dialogue between SLA and LT researchers and a deeper understanding and sharing of common research and methodological issues that led to the organizing of a colloquium at the annual meeting of the American Association for Applied Linguistics in Seattle in 1992. The purpose of this colloquium was to stimulate discussion among SLA and LT researchers by exploring areas of common interest, both substantive and methodological, from a variety of perspectives.