As part of the recent ECML-EC Cooperation Agreement “Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning” signed in May of this year, the RELANG initiative - Relating language examinations to the common European reference levels of language proficiency: promoting quality assurance in education and facilitating mobility has got under way and recently held events in Vilnius and Nicosia.
During the Lithuania event, general language-testing issues such as validity, reliability, fairness and equity of present foreign language examinations were discussed. With external experts and statisticians also present, the RELANG consultants were able to discuss the use of dedicated statistical programmes to analyse educational tests and examinations in order to improve their validity and to be able to align tests to the CEFR and to each other from year to year.
The quality of tasks and items currently being used in examinations was also examined and with guidance from the consultants, proposals for new or adapted examination formats were made.
This training workshop was given in response to a request made by the Lithuanian Ministry for Education and Science, to link its foreign language examinations at the end of lower secondary education, to the CEFR.
Following this, last week from the 26th-28th June amid very hot temperatures, the second RELANG intervention took place in Cyprus. Participants present included experienced language testers, teachers and inspectors as well as examiners of various types of examinations. Employees from the Ministry also took part. The knowledge of language testing shown among participants was impressive as was the motivation to improve existing examination structures.
This training workshop was requested and organised by the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, and took place at the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, Nicosia
ECML RELANG consultants conducting the workshops were José Noijons, Gabor Szabo and Gilles Breton.
To find out about hosting either or both of these workshops in your country*, please contact the ECML for more details.
* Must be an EU or ECML member state