Local organiser: Maria Iacovidou, Ministry of Education Cyprus      

ECML experts: Rita Jukneviciene, Lithuania; Jana Beresova, Slovak Republic

Participants: 27 (language teachers, examiners, trainers, curriculum developers, language inspectors and policy makers)

"The Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth - Secondary Education in collaboration with the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML) organised a workshop in the context of the RELANG initiative focused on the module "Alternative, continuous methods of assessment in line with the CEFR and its Companion Volume". 

The participants – language teachers, examiners, trainers, curriculum developers, language inspectors and policy makers – were thoroughly informed on the necessity of using the CEFR descriptors while planning and delivering language lessons, but also while constructing language exercises, tests and examinations, ensuring thus the authenticity, reliability and validity of the aforementioned tasks. Emphasis was also given on the design of reliable testing criteria and their use while assessing. All participants had a hands-on experience on developing their own material in groups for all language skills by applying the principles of the CEFR and its Companion Volume. All material was presented and discussed in plenary sessions. 

During this three-day workshop, the participants enriched their knowledge, exchanged ideas with the ECML experts in the field of language learning and testing and shared their expertise, knowledge and practices with their colleagues. Upon completion of the workshop, everyone expressed gratification on the usefulness of the event, looking forward to similar professional development sessions in the future."

Maria Iacovidou, local organiser, 17 October 2022

ECML project website: RELANG – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2022 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"