Kim, Youngkyu & Kang, Sujung. 2016. A Study of Establishing an Assessment Framework for Pragmatic Competence through Resetting Content Categories in TOPIK. Language Information. Volume 22. 05-40. The aim of this study is to investigate ways to introduce a construct of ‘pragmatic competence’ into assessment tools for Korean as a second/foreign language. Taking TOPIK, which is widely recognized as the most representative Korean assessment tool, as a concrete case, this study critically reviews the literature, both on TOPIK as well as on Korean interlanguage pragmatics with a focus on acquisition and assessment studies for the purpose of re-understanding the concept of pragmatic competence and identifying what to consider for its incorporation into an assessment tool. Drawing on LoCastro(2012)’s classification of the concept of pragmatic competence into sub-factors and the available literature on assessment of pragmatic competence for Korean as a first or second/foreign language, this study suggests a preliminary assessment framework as an attempt to reset the assessment categories of TOPIK. It is hoped that the suggested assessment framework would undergo empirical evaluation to become a reliable and valid assessment tool for learners of Korean as a second/foreign language.
Key words: Pragmatic Competence, Interlanguage Pragmatics, Assessment Framework, Assessment Criteria, Assessment Categorization, Construct Definition, Assessment Tool.