This course introduces core principles guiding the assessment of language abilities. It relates theoretical issues both to the language classroom and to large-scale institutional, national and international assessments. The course provides the essential foundations for language assessment practice and for further study in this field.

What knowledge and/or skills will I gain from this course?

The course will provide extensive opportunities for hands-on practice, including in-test design, item writing, scoring and quality assurance processes. Participants will learn:

• Principles that inform the decisions that individuals and organisations responsible for language assessment systems have to make about their design, content, implementation and use
• The qualities of language assessments that contribute to their usefulness
• Approaches to the assessment of the skills that language learners need for communicative success
• How to connect tasks found on assessments to the tasks involved in real-world language use
• Practical applications of theoretical and conceptual frameworks in the development and validation of assessments.

How is this course delivered?

Participant will be invited to join a Microsoft Teams group where all the materials and tasks will be available for participants to access, plus a discussion board for each session. The course is structured in 12 separate sessions, and the Microsoft Teams group will reflect this structure. All 12 sessions will have the same set of activities:

• Questions or points to consider, before you begin any tasks or reading
• Pre-session reading
• A simple quiz based on the reading
• Reflective questions to be completed post reading
• A recorded lecture
• An individual task
• A task to prepare for the live discussion session

During the course, there will be a series of online meetings incorporating group tasks related to the session content. This is an intensive course that requires:

•  A minimum of four hours of independent study for each session (reading, completing tasks, watching recorded presentations)
• A series of online group discussions (discussions and group tasks)
• All the activities for the relevant sessions must be completed before the live discussions
• Participants must attend the online sessions ready to discuss their pre-prepared tasks

We appreciate that most participants are working full time, and so the Microsoft Teams platform will be opened two weeks before the start of the course to allows participants to prepare fully for the discussions. Participants can access the course materials for two weeks after the live sessions end, in order to interact and respond to online posts and comments by other participants and make up for any shortfalls in task completion. However, we recommend participants keep on track.

When is the next ALTE Introductory Course in Language Testing?

The session materials will be available from Thursday 21^st May 2026 and the live discussions will take place in June and August from 09.00-11.00 (CET) on the following days:

Who is the tutor?

The course will be presented by Jane Lloyd, a Senior Research Manager at Cambridge University Press and Assessment. Her main responsibilities are researching integrated learning and assessment practices in the classroom, working on large-scale educational reform projects with ministries and NGOs, and working for ALTE. Her work for ALTE is to support other national language test providers. This includes advising and training in standard setting, statistical analysis of items, analysis of rater performance, delivering pre-conference and online courses and training in assessment, and supporting exam boards with bespoke training and mentoring.  She has a degree in Linguistics, a DELTA, MAs in Linguistics and TESOL, and in Language Testing, and is completing her PhD in Language Testing from CRELLA. Materials written by Dr. Tony Green are part of the course, including the core text.  

Can several people from the same organisation join this course?

For group bookings, ALTE advises a maximum of three places per organisation.

Additional Event Information:  

Please note that a minimum number of 4 people need to register for the course for it to take place. 

Payment is in full when registering. Payment can be made online using Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

If you cannot pay with a credit/debit card please contact the ALTE Services Unit: servicesunit@alte.org. We will then issue an invoice and a bank transfer will be possible.

In case of cancellation up until one month before the start of the event, the full amount will be refunded minus a €50 administration fee. If you have received the course book, you do not need to return this if cancelling. However, in the case of cancellation after this date, no refunds can be made.

Use of Personal Data Disclaimer

I agree that by clicking 'Register', the personal data I include in the registration form may be used and held by ALTE staff only for the purposes related to the organisation of the course.

Spam alert 

Please note that ALTE will never ask you to pay via a third-party website.
Please avoid clicking on any links that direct you to a payment website other than WildApricot.