Re-exploring the Relationship Between Autonomy and Assessment in Language Learning: A Literature Overview

The complexities of the relationship between assessment and autonomy in language learning, instead of being addressed, seem to have been quite consistently avoided in the autonomy literature, making research in this area a difficult and often perplexing undertaking. This leads Benson (2015, p. viii) to describe assessment in relation to autonomy as “the elephant in the room that everyone can see, but no one wants to mention.” This is unfortunate, not just for the elephant but for everyone wishing to explore the relationship between assessment and autonomy, however demanding or elusive that might be.