 | EALTA 2019: 16th EALTA Conference Transitions in Language Assessment University College Dublin Dublin, Ireland, May 31-June 2, 2019 |
| Conference website | https://www.ucd.ie/alc/ealta2019/ |
| Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ealta2019 |
| Submission deadline | December 3, 2018 |
Transitions in language assessment
Second language assessment is a dynamic field that has undergone a number of changes and transitions resulting from a range of factors. These include the emergence of different models of language competence, developments in the design, construction and delivery of tests, and approaches to the measurement of language proficiency. Research insights into the quality and use of language assessments, advances in technology-based language assessment, and the influence of a variety of societal and political factors have also played an important role. Recent changes include an increased need for language assessment for migration, employment or academic purposes.
Changes in the assessment landscape require flexibility and preparation for change on the part of test takers, educators and test developers. They are associated with a number of benefits - improved authenticity, closer targeting of relevant skills, faster and more efficient online testing. They may also raise issues, such as a lack of transparency in technological approaches and a need to develop teachers' and students' language assessment literacy.
The comparison of different assessment approaches results in a recognition of the value of specific aspects of assessment. This helps in the development of language assessment that cater to international and local test takers.
This conference theme allows for expositions on a wide variety of topics including, but not limited to, the following sub themes:
•Assessment literacy following changes in assessment approaches
•Assessment for transition points in education
•Transitions to technology-based language assessment
•The use of corpora and corpus linguistics methods for language testing and assessment
•Trends and challenges in developing context-specific language assessments
•Trends and challenges in classroom-based language assessment
•Developments in the assessment of lesser-taught languages
•Developments towards increased authenticity in language assessment
•Transition from assessing standard varieties to lingua franca usage
We invite proposals for symposia, papers, work-in-progress presentations, and posters in research and practitioner areas related to one or more of the suggested themes.
PLEASE NOTE: We encourage views from multiple perspectives and cross-disciplinary papers which may combine language testing and assessment with insights from other fields relevant to this theme. While the conference will be held in English, the working language of EALTA, we encourage contributions which are focused on languages other than English.
In order to widen participation, and to allow EALTA members a forum for sharing the latest information on research and projects of significant importance to the field, a separate strand of parallel sessions will be allocated for contributions on language testing and assessment research not related directly to the theme. Due to space limitations, the number of contributions accepted will be limited, so proposals should clearly indicate why they are of significance to the field.
We hope you will be able to attend this conference and look forward to welcoming you to Dublin.
Submission Guidelines
We would like to encourage as many people as possible to submit proposals, but every year we receive far more than can be included in the programme. The following guidelines will help you make your proposal as effective as possible and give you the best chance of success.
I. We will consider proposals for PAPERS (20 minute presentations), WORKS-IN-PROGRESS (15 minute presentations) and POSTERS adhering to the conference theme, and in a separate strand we will consider proposals which make a significant contribution to language testing and assessment research not related directly to the theme.
The proposals for papers, works-in-progress and posters must:
1. contain a clear explanation of how the paper relates to the conference theme, or if it is not related to the theme, why it is of significance to the field
2. keep to stipulated maximum word count for title and abstract (250 words max.)
3. be well-structured
4. clearly outline:
- the objectives of the paper:
- for empirical papers: its methods (design, participants, instruments, procedures);
- for theoretical papers: its theoretical framework or literature upon which it is based
- the contribution it makes to the field of Language Testing and Assessment
- the novelty it may offer in terms of concepts, approaches or methods
5. be likely to promote discussion and interaction amongst conference participants
II. We will consider proposals for SYMPOSIA adhering to the conference theme (90 minutes).
The proposals for symposia must:
1. contain a clear rationale for the symposium (500 words max.) which:
- is well-structured
- outlines the objectives of the symposium
- explains how the papers within the symposium relate to each other and contribute to the symposium goals
2. contain a separate abstract for each contribution which
- outlines its relation to the conference theme and contribution to the symposium
- is well-structured
- keeps to the stipulated word count for title and abstract (400 words max.)
- clearly outlines the objectives, its methods or its theoretical framework, and the novelty it may offer in terms of concepts, approaches or methods
3. be likely to promote discussion and interaction amongst conference participants.
The rationale and the abstracts for the contributions are to be submitted in one document.
III. Each proposal is rated by three independent vetters
We want to ensure an anonymous and impartial vetting procedure. Therefore, we will collect your contact details and the abstract separately. The data containing your name, affiliation etc. go to the conference administrators. They will use IDs to match your personal details with your abstract. You will submit your abstract in a separate file, which goes to the three vetters.
NB. To ensure anonymity, you are required to avoid any information in your title and abstract that may lead to identifying you or your institution as the author or origin of the proposal.
Venue
The conference will be held in Applied Language Centre, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Contact
All questions about submissions should be emailed to ealta2019@ucd.ie