From December 1 to 2, 2018, the International Conference on Language Testing and Assessment was held at Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP) International Convention Centre. Led by Prof. He Lianzhen and Associate Professor Min Shangchao from SIS, the students, Xiong Lidi, Ruan Jifei, Jiang Ziyun and Wu Xintong attended the conference. They discussed the latest developments and shared their studies with more than 400 researchers in language teaching and assessment, specialists in testing institutions and education policy makers from different countries and regions.
Language Testing Group of SIS
The conference was held by the Examination Center of Ministry of Education and Beijing Foreign Studies University and organized by FLTRP. Featuring “Language Assessment in the New Era: Innovation and Integration”, the conference had six parallel topics, namely Application of Language Proficiency Standards in Teaching and Testing, Studies on the Docking of Language Testing and Language Proficiency Standards, Application of Artificial Intelligence in Language Assessment, Language Testing and Assessment for Teaching, Language Testing for the Workplace and Teachers’ Competence of Language Assessment. Several foreign specialists were invited to the conference, including Lyle Bachman, a famous expert in language testing and Emeritus Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, Tim McNamara, Professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia, Professor Barry O'Sullivan, Director of Assessment and Research of British Council, and Dr. Richard Tannenbaum, Chief Director of Research and Development of the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
Group Photo of the Conference
Language Testing Group of SIS reported the research on the docking of English proficiency test of Zhejiang University and National English Proficiency Scale of China, which received wide attention and praise from the academics. Prof. He Lianzhen delivered a keynote speech entitled “Improving the Interpretation of Results of Large-scale School-based English Test: Integration of Standard Formulation and Cognitive Diagnosis”. Later on, Prof. He and Associate Prof. Min were present at the session “Docking between Language Testing and National English Proficiency Scale of China: Validity Studies”. In the session, experts and scholars from China, the United Kingdom, and the United States discussed the application of docking scales of the TOEFL and IELTS, as well as the quality assessment and validity in the docking process based on the AUA framework. The session set a benchmark for the docking studies of tests and scales in language testing at home and abroad. Taking the English Proficiency Test of Zhejiang University as an example, Xiong Lidi, Jiang Ziyun, Ruan Jifei and Wu Xintong read their papers respectively in the parallel sessions, “Application of Language Proficiency Standards in Teaching and Testing” and “Docking Studies on Language Testing and Language Proficiency Standards”. English Proficiency Test of Zhejiang University is one of the first school-based tests docking with scales in China. The research conducted by the four students based on this test provided a basis for the validity verification of the school-based test.
In this conference, students have broadened their horizons and improved research abilities. More importantly, the teachers and students of SIS are at the forefront of language testing research, demonstrating their research competence in language teaching and assessment to the experts and scholars at home and abroad and contributing to the innovation and integration of language assessments in the new era.
School of International Studies
Photo/Written by Jiang Ziyun
Translated by Zhou Xingchen
Edited by Xu Xueying
December 4, 2018
