An introduction to structural equation modelling for language assessment research

Abstract

This article provides an introduction to structural equation modelling (SEM) for language assessment research in five sections. In Section I, the general objectives of SEM applications relevant to language assessment are presented. In Section II, a brief overview of SEM that considers the methodology and the statistical assumptions about data that have to be met. In Section III, the commonly used steps and concepts in SEM are presented. In Section IV, SEM application matters with example models are discussed. In Section V, recent critical discussions and some directions for future SEM applications in language assessment research are addressed.