Language, Individual & Society, Volume 10, 2016

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to discuss the scope and character of intercultural elements as found in selected tests that are designed to validate learners’ proficiency in the English and German languages. Despite the fact that the factual knowledge of culture-specific realia does not feature as a testing target, the textual material used in language tests does preserve the cultural marks of the target culture, ranging from explicit in-text mentioning to implicit references. Possible implications on students’ performance as well as on the preparatory activities are also discussed.