Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The assessment of second language (L2) phonology refers to the evaluation of an L2 learner's ability to produce and perceive speech sounds of the target language. Phonological assessments can be found in a range of contexts, including classroom settings, research studies, and standardized speaking tests, and, as such, have various purposes. They have experienced growing momentum in the 21st century, with key constructs underscoring their aims, such as intelligibility (i.e., the degree to which L2 speech is understood) and comprehensibility (i.e., the ease with which it is understood). Accuracy, or the extent to which an L2 speaker's pronunciation matches a given standard, is also an aim but is often viewed contemporarily as less relevant to learner needs compared to intelligibility and comprehensibility. Phonological assessment may be implicitly embedded within a larger speaking construct (e.g., “intelligibility” in a speaking test rubric) or may be partitioned into linguistic features, such as segmentals (consonants, vowels) and suprasegmentals (e.g., stress, prosody). Technology plays a pivotal role in pronunciation assessment, from recording, to administration, to scoring. The role of the listener in phonological assessments is a key consideration, including when listener characteristics that have nothing to do with the L2 speech being assessed unduly influence formal/informal assessments (e.g., accent familiarity effects). This Encyclopedia entry overviews phonological assessment in language testing research and practice with a whistle‐stop tour of prominent constructs and relevant considerations. Insights offer educators, researchers, and assessment practitioners a frame of reference and starting point for more bespoke or nuanced inquiry.</jats:p>