Challenges of Effective Skill-Specific Language Testing in Nigeria

Abstract: This study investigated the challenges of effective skill-specific language testing in Nigeria, with particular attention to the assessment of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The study is based on the argument that language testing is meaningful only when assessment tasks generate valid evidence about the particular language skills they claim to measure. Adopting a conceptual and thematic review design, the paper synthesises relevant literature on test validity, communicative competence, construct alignment, examination washback, teacher assessment literacy and infrastructural constraints. The discussion shows that language testing in Nigeria is often weakened by poor alignment between intended skills, test tasks and score interpretation. Listening and speaking are especially affected by inadequate facilities, large candidate numbers, limited oral-performance assessment and overdependence on recognition-based oral items. Reading and writing, although more visible in classroom and public examinations, are also constrained by examination pressure, memorised formats, limited feedback and traditional paper-and-pencil practices. The study further identifies teacher assessment literacy, multilingual learner realities and institutional limitations as major factors affecting the quality of skill-specific assessment. It concludes that improving language testing in Nigeria requires a deliberate shift from examination-driven testing to validity-driven assessment, where each language skill is assessed through fair, appropriate and construct-aligned tasks.