Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) - SIG on Less Widely Tested Languages

SIG on Less Widely Tested Languages

Chair:

Dina Vîlcu

Open to:

Organisations which develop examinations in LWTL experience and share certain challenges along this process. However, a range of resources and instruments are already used and new ones can be identified for being applied in this context.

Next Meeting:

TBC

Check the Events page for more information.

LWTL Members will work on:

The members of the group will work on designing a set of guidelines for less widely tested languages, examinations with lower numbers of candidates and signed languages which will accompany the Manual for Language Test Development and Examining.

We need your help: Migrant languages in target language learning environment

The ALTE LWTL SIG is collaborating with the LAMI SIG on a project exploring how migrant languages are used in adult language learning environments for migrants and refugees.

As part of this project, we have developed two online questionnaires:

Teacher Questionnaire – for teachers working with migrants
Learner Questionnaire – for migrants themselves

If you are a teacher working with migrants (as defined below), we invite you to complete the teacher questionnaire. We also ask for your support in collecting responses from your students through the learner questionnaire. You are welcome to share the links with colleagues working with the same target group.

Definition of ‘migrant’ in this survey:

Asylum seekers and refugees
Economic migrants
Those who entered the host country for family reunion

Please note: Foreign students and workers from within the EU/EEC are not the focus of this survey.

Questionnaire Links:

Teacher Questionnaire: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SRCZD6C

Learner Questionnaire: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WKYGTLV

Responses are anonymous and will be used only for research purposes. Data may be shared with partner organisations, including the Council of Europe, in compliance with data protection regulations.

Deadline: Please complete the questionnaire and help us collect learner responses by 31 December.

For any questions, feel free to contact us at dina_vilcu@yahoo.co.uk.

Thank you sincerely for your help!

Our Focus:

The SIG encourages and promotes multilingualism in the area of teaching and testing languages. Its members work for finding solutions to challenges specific to the assessment of languages with smaller numbers of candidates and for indicating suitable resources and innovative methods and strategies which can contribute to the validity of exams. The SIG intends to bring together the experience related to LWTL coming from language teaching and testing centres, the institutional environment, the research area and different stakeholders.

Our Objectives

The LWTL SIG will work to find out and share solutions on the following matters:

The measure in which quantitative analysis tools can be used for examinations with smaller numbers of test takers;
The qualitative instruments and methods to be used in various phases of examination development, administration, marking, pre-test and post-test analysis;
The methods for different phases of exam development and administration like: rater training, marking schemes, communication with stakeholders, etc.

Work methods and resources:

These objectives can be reached with different work methods and resources:

sharing experience between the organisations with a similar context (lower number of candidates);
following the newest methods and instruments developed by specialists, for example for test analysis;
research on the literature in the field.

ALTE - the Association of Language Testers in Europe is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered in England, charity number 1184799.