EALTA 2009, Conference Pages
The 6th Annual EALTA Conference
Synergies and Tensions in Language Testing and Assessment
The 6th Annual EALTA Conference, 4. - 7. June 2009
Department of Teacher Education, University of Turku
Turku, Finland
About the Conference
Theme
Theme of the 2009 EALTA Conference: Synergies and Tensions in Language Testing and Assessment. Assessment is part and parcel of all human activity while testing usually refers to some institutional context. It is sometimes posited that assessment, evaluation and testing are inherent elements of any systematic planning, development work and "progress". There are many stakeholders that have legitimate and varying interests in such activities. There are also many approaches in the assessment and testing of, in, and for (language) education by various parties concerned: self-assessment, peer assessment, teacher assessment, external assessment, diagnostic/ formative/summative assessment, national assessments, cross-national assessments; testing for citizenship, licensure and certification etc. These may have emerged without planning or put in place in a conscious government assessment policy. The co-existence of such activities and practices may have obvious synergies but also tensions as views about balance, usefulness (e.g. instructional relevance), fairness and washback may clash. EALTA´s varied membership has a wealth of experience of synergies and tensions, to be shared and learned from in Turku. We look forward to receiving many proposals once we send the call for proposals in September.
Important dates
November 1, 2008
Paper proposal submission starts
November 30, 2008
Paper proposal deadline
December 01, 2008
Registration/hotel booking starts
February 15, 2009
Presenters informed of acceptance/regrets to others
February 20, 2009
Provisional program ready
May 01, 2009
Final deadline for registration
Pre-conference Workshops (2 - 4 June 2009)
The sixth EALTA conference will host two pre-conference workshops.
Workshop 1: Introduction to Item Response Theory . Norman Verhelst.
Workshop 2: Qualitative methods in language testing and assessment. Jayanti Banerjee. Workshop programme.
Location
EALTA’s sixth annual conference will take place in the city of Turku (Åbo), Finland, June 4-7, 2009. The University of Turku has the honour of hosting this event, which we believe will interest a wide audience and gather a great number of conference guests to enjoy both the conference and, Turku, Finland’s oldest city, its culture and history, the surrounding archipelago and the light of the Nordic summer.