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Dr Nick Saville is Director of Thought Leadership, English for Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and is Secretary-General of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE). His research and policy interests include: English language learning and plurilingualism; Learning Oriented Assessment (LOA) and the integration of learning with assessment (ILA); EdTech combined with EdAI for the automation of language assessment; language assessment literacy; and ethical frameworks in language education. He co-edits the Studies in Language Testing series (CUP).

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Tineke Brunfaut is Professor of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University, UK, where she specializes in language testing and second language listening and reading research. Her work explores topics such as cognitive and affective factors in language testing, methodological innovations in language testing, and issues in language test development. Her research has been published in journals such as Language Testing, Language Assessment Quarterly, Assessing Writing, Assessment in Education, and Applied Linguistics. With Paula Winke, she edited The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Language Testing (2021). Tineke is a recipient of the ILTA Best Article Award, the e-Assessment Award for Best Research, and the TOEFL Outstanding Young Scholar Award. At Lancaster, she supervises doctoral research in language testing, and teaches on the Language Testing and TESOL masters programmes. Tineke regularly conducts language test development and consultancy work for professional and educational bodies around the world.

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Lynda Taylor is Visiting Professor at the Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA) at the University of Bedfordshire, UK. She holds a PhD and MPhil in Applied Linguistics from the University of Cambridge and she has worked for over 35 years in the field of language teaching, learning and assessment, particularly with IELTS and the full range of Cambridge Assessment English qualifications. Her research interests include speaking and writing assessment, testing accommodations for language learners with special needs and the development of language assessment literacy. For several years she was Assistant Research Director with Cambridge Assessment English and she has advised on test development and validation projects around the world, including the Baltic States, mainland China, Taiwan and Japan. She has presented invited plenaries, research papers and workshops internationally, published extensively in academic journals and authored or edited many of the volumes in CUP’s Studies in Language Testing (SiLT) series, for which she is also series co-editor. She is an Individual Expert Member for ALTE and is currently President of the UK Association for Language Testing and Assessment (UKALTA) (2020-2022). In 2022 she was awarded Fellowship of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.

Aligning language education to the CEFR: Whys, whats and hows

The publication of the CEFR-CV (2020)has resulted in a renewed interest in the principles that underlie the CEFR’s descriptive scheme, from which level labels and descriptors (often referred as the vertical dimension in the CEFR) have tended to divert attention. The contents and recommendations in the CEFR, what they mean, what they imply, how they can be implemented, and why they are key in language education are currently being revisited and theorized, fifty years after John Trim and David Wilkins sketched out the action-oriented approach that became the basis of The Threshold Level’ published in 1980.

This session will address why it is necessary to ‘go back to’ and to ‘go deeper into’ a document which was published 20 years ago and has been widely influential but is seemingly still not fully understood. It will outline the issues raised re. the use(s) and implementation of the CEFR worldwide and in Spain in particular, by professionals working in different fields: curriculum developers, textbook writers and publishers, assessment specialists, teacher trainers or practitioners. The  Handbook for aligning education to the CEFR will be discussed in this context, as it aims at contributing to a fuller understanding of the CEFR, and at facilitating the use of the document, by outlining the processes to follow when aligning curricula, materials and assessments to the CEFR and by providing guidelines to complete them. Published in April 2022, the Handbook is currently being put to use in alignment projects by different stakeholders and it is hoped that their views and experiences can be incorporated in a future edition.

La situación actual de la evaluación certificativa de lenguas en España: una rápida (r)evolución

Esta ponencia proporciona una visión panorámica de la situación actual de la evaluación certificativa de lenguas en España, prestando especial atención al trabajo realizado en los últimos años por universidades, escuelas oficiales de idiomas y el Instituto Cervantes. En ella se analiza cómo estas instituciones han afrontado los actuales desafíos de la certificación de lenguas a través de actividades formativas que han tenido como consecuencia un mayor nivel de alfabetización en la disciplina y la puesta en marcha de proyectos cada vez más ambiciosos. A lo largo de la presentación observaremos la respuesta a retos como la incorporación de la mediación en las pruebas evaluativas, la integración de las tecnologías, el desarrollo de pruebas con fines específicos o el cumplimiento de estándares de validez y calidad. Ejemplos paradigmáticos de las acciones de formación y colaboración tanto a nivel individual como institucional son, entre otros, el Grupo de Interés en la Evaluación de Lenguas en España (GIELE), en el que los miembros han aunado esfuerzos para mejorar sus prácticas y compartir conocimientos, herramientas y estrategias; y el Sistema Internacional de Certificación del Español como Lengua Extranjera (SICELE), asociación l en la que entidades educativas de España colaboran con instituciones de numerosos países hispanohablantes.

Inés Soria Pastor Inés Soria es Jefa del Departamento de Certificación y Acreditación del Instituto Cervantes. Ha coordinado el diseño de los exámenes DELE vinculados al MCER y ha dirigido la creación de los cursos para examinadores. Inés ha liderado el equipo del Instituto Cervantes en el desarrollo del examen SIELE y ha participado en la puesta en marcha del sello SICELE. Es miembro del Grupo de Interés en la Evaluación de Lenguas en España. Inés es máster en Enseñanza de ELE por la Universidad Nebrija y licenciada en Filología HIspánica.

Javier Fruns Giménez Javier Fruns es Responsable de la Unidad de Certificación Lingüística del Instituto Cervantes. Ha participado en el diseño y la elaboración de los exámenes DELE y SIELE, así como en la elaboración de los cursos para examinadores. Regularmente imparte cursos sobre evaluación de lenguas en universidades y escuelas oficiales de idiomas. Javier es doctor en Letras por la Universidad de Massachusetts y licenciado en Filología HIspánica. .

The current situation of language testing in Spain: a rapid (r)evolution

This presentation provides a panoramic view of the current situation of language testing in Spain, paying special attention to the work carried out in recent years by universities, official language schools and the Cervantes Institute. It analyzes how these institutions have faced the current challenges of language testing through training activities that have resulted in a higher level of literacy in the discipline and the implementation of increasingly ambitious projects. Throughout the presentation we will look at the response to challenges such as the incorporation of mediation in proficiency tests, the integration of technologies, the development of tests for specific purposes or the compliance with validity and quality standards. Paradigmatic examples of training and collaboration actions both at an individual and institutional level are, among others, the Group of Interest in the Evaluation of Languages in Spain (GIELE), in which members have joined forces to improve their practices and share knowledge , tools and strategies; and the International Certification System for Spanish as a Foreign Language (SICELE), an association in which educational entities from Spain collaborate with institutions from numerous Spanish-speaking countries.

Inés Soria Pastor Inés Soria is Head of the Certification and Accreditation Department of the Instituto Cervantes. She has coordinated the design of the DELE exams linked to the CEFR and has directed the creation of the courses for examiners. Inés has led the Instituto Cervantes team in the development of the SIELE exam and has participated in the implementation of the SICELE seal. She is a member of the Interest Group in the Evaluation of Languages in Spain. Inés has a master's degree in ELE Teaching from Nebrija University and a degree in Hispanic Philology.

Javier Fruns Giménez Javier Fruns is Head of the Unit of Language Certification of the Instituto Cervantes. He has participated in the design and preparation of the DELE and SIELE exams, as well as in the preparation of courses for examiners. He regularly teaches courses on language assessment at universities and official language schools. Javier has a Doctor of Letters from the University of Massachusetts and a degree in Hispanic Philology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. .

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Huu Nguyen was assigned to be the director of the National Foreign Languages Project, Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam in January 2017 and has been in her office since then. She has engaged in a wide range of national projects, professional conferences, education activities and has made contribution to the development of Vietnam’s national foreign languages education. Huu Nguyen delivered lectures and worked for years at Vietnam National University where she gained knowledge base for teaching and research profession. She served as the Deputy Director of Language Testing and Assessment Center of University of Languages and International Studies (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), where she was involved in the development of the Vietnam Standardized Test of English Proficiency (VSTEP), which is now a national test format of Vietnam. Huu Nguyen has been a visiting scholar at the Institute of Education - Massey University. Her research interest includes language test development and validation, test specifications, formative assessment, ESP, CLIL and EMI.