In parallel with an increased focus on border security in immigration and citizenship policy in the United Kingdom (the so-called ‘hostile environment’ policy), Government-approved English language tests for visa and immigration purposes were officially labelled ‘Secure English Language Tests’ (SELTs) in 2010. The proximity of security concerns in language testing with broader national immigration policy objectives suggests a complex role for language tests as gatekeeping devices. This paper draws on critical discourse studies to explore this issue. Documents provided in the 2014 tender round for selecting Secure English Language Tests (acquired through a Freedom of Information request) were analysed through a discourse-historical lens (Reisigl & Wodak 2016) to map salient topics and identify discursive strategies used to construct ‘secure English language testing’. Findings show that security is a prominent topic in the tender; prospective bidders are required to meet detailed security requirements and to police sub-contractors, and social actors, spaces, objects, policies and procedures are routinely described in securitized terms. Implications are drawn for understanding the role of language tests within broader securitization processes.

中文翻译：

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“敌对环境”下的语言测试：英国“安全英语语言测试”的话语建构

在英国移民和公民政策（所谓的“敌对环境”政策）中更加关注边境安全的同时，政府批准的用于签证和移民目的的英语语言测试被正式标记为“安全英语语言测试” (SELTs) 在 2010 年。语言测试中的安全问题与更广泛的国家移民政策目标的接近表明语言测试作为把关设备的复杂作用。本文利用批判性话语研究来探讨这个问题。2014 年招标轮中提供的用于选择安全英语语言测试（通过信息自由请求获得）的文件通过话语历史镜头（Reisigl & Wodak 2016）映射突出主题并确定用于构建“安全英语语言测试”的话语策略。调查结果表明，安全是招标中的一个突出话题；潜在投标人必须满足详细的安全要求，并对分包商进行监管，社会参与者、空间、物品、政策和程序通常以证券化的术语进行描述。对理解语言测试在更广泛的证券化过程中的作用有影响。