Professor Douglas offered some examples of miscommunication between both native and non-native pilots and air traffic controllers, which was a bit intimidating considering the fact that the majority of participants would soon have to take an airplane home.
However, he was able to thus make his point which was the urgent need for a test which would actually involve intercultural communicative abilities for both native and non-native English speakers involved in aviation.
More specifically, Miss Papakammenou talked about examining washback in multi-exam preparation classes in Greece, a topic very close to the heart of those of us who are faced with such classes.
She was able to put forward the exam-oriented Greek context as well as her ongoing investigation of the nature and type of the methodology teachers use and the extent to which their approaches are influenced by the nature and requirements of multi-exam classes.
As for Mr Michaeloudes, he actually focused on classroom-based language assessment, and more specifically formative assessment in EFL primary schools in Cyprus through both qualitative and quantitative methods.
He demonstrated how formative assessment is an effective process of assessing learning, modifying teaching according to information gathered and promoting learning in classroom with the aim of improving learners’ competence.
Mr Michaeloudes’s research hopes to lay the foundations of a framework conceptualizing processes of formative assessment, which will hopefully be useful for EFL teachers and other researchers.
As always during an EALTA conference, participants also had the chance to socialize and enjoy themselves through three very successfully organized social events.
The first one was held on Thursday evening and it was a reception during which the EALTA participants were welcomed by President John de Jong.
The second event was a reception on the terrace of the Grand Hotel de Londres from where we were able to enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the city of Istanbul.
Last but not least, the organizers treated us to a cruise on the Bosporus during which we were able to enjoy our drinks and a delicious dinner as well as the major sights of the city and also had the chance to dance to traditional Turkish music and more modern beats.
Concerning EALTA’s General Meeting which was held on Saturday, we were pleased to elect EALTA’s new President, Professor Gudrun Erickson of the University of Gothenburg, a long-standing member and a very successful secretary of the association for a number of years.
Gudrun works at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, where she is a Senior Lecturer of Language Didactics and Associate Professor of Education. She teaches courses on Language Testing and Assessment and supervises students from undergraduate to PhD level.
Commissioned by the Swedish National Agency for Education, she is the project leader for the national testing and assessment programme for foreign languages, comprising formative as well as summative materials.
Gudrun has been in EALTA from the start and was the Secretary Treasurer between 2006 and 2009 and the Secretary between 2009 and 2012.
In addition, we had the announcement of the next EALTA conference at the University of Warwick in the UK at the end of May 2014, coordinated by Claudia Harsch, where I am sure we will again have the chance to meet with esteemed colleagues and successfully discuss the new developments in the field of language testing and assessment.
