Past events

4th British Council New Directions in English Language Assessment: Standardised testing and the development and use of proficiency scales

13-14th October 2016, Hanoi, Vietnam 

Conference Theme: Standardised testing and the development and use of proficiency scales: addressing local challenges, meeting global standards

The 4th  New Directions 2016 in Vietnam looked at:

• Standardised Testing;
• Proficiency Testing;
• Performance-Based Testing.

Key Speakers

• Professor Paul Seedhouse
  Newcastle University, UK
• Dr Phu Ti PhuongAnh
  Education Quality, Training and Support Centre, Vietnam
• Dr Veronica Benigno
  Pearson, UK
• Dr Gad Lim
  Cambridge English Language Assessment, UK
• Dr Jessica Wu
  The Language Training and Testing Centre, Taiwan
• Dr Jamie Dunlea
  British Council, UK
• Ms Wu Sha
  National Education Examinations Authority, China

Please download the presentation slides here to learn more about the conference.

3rd British Council New Directions in English Language Assessment

15-16th October 2015, JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square, Seoul, Korea

Conference Theme: Quality and Consequence

The 3rd New Directions 2015 in Korea looked at:

• test quality;
• consequences of testing from the point of view of society and education policy;
• impact of testing on pedagogy and curriculum design;
• examining the challenges in the testing and assessment sector and solutions to be found if countries such as Korea are to address the concerns amongst the wider public about the integrity and quality of testing methodologies.

Key Speakers

• Young-Soo Kim 
  President of Korea Institute for Curriculum & Evaluation (KICE), Korea
• Professor  Constant Leung 
  King's College London, UK
• Nick Saville 
  Director of Cambridge English Language Assessment, UK
• Professor Antony John Kunnan 
  Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• Professor John H.A.L. De Jong 
  Pearson Netherlands
• Elizabeth Shepherd 
  Senior Research Manager, British Council
• Associate Professor Yong-Won Lee 
  Seoul National University, Korea
• Professor Barry O'Sullivan 
  British Council
• Professor Han Baocheng 
  Beijing Foreign Studies University, China
• Professor Dongwan Cho 
  Pohang University of Science and Technology, Korea
• Professor Tineke Brunfaut 
  Lancaster University, UK

2nd New Directions in English Language Assessment

29-30th September 2014, Meiji Kinenkan, Tokyo, Japan

Conference theme: Role of English Assessment in Internationalisation

The second conference in Japan brought together chief educational officers and key officials from across Asia to review:

• issues of localisation and globalisation in English Language Assessment;
• issues of expanding capacity to address current and future education and assessment challenges.

It also provided a valuable networking opportunity and set the stage for further cooperation among key audience and attendees from Asian countries and beyond.

Key Speakers

• Professor Masashi Negishi 
  Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
• Professor Oryang Kwon
  Seoul National University
• Dr. Jessica R.W. Wu 
  The Language Training & Testing Centre
• Gerry Delaney
  Head of Assessment Services (East Asia), Cambridge English Language Assessment
• Keita Nakamura
  Eiken Foundation of Japan
• Kuniaki Sato 
  Deputy Director, Office for International Planning, Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

1st New Directions in English Language Assessment: Language Assessment in China

6th-7th  November 2013 at the National Museum of China, Beijing, China

The event in Beijing encompassed a number of anniversaries: 35 years since the British Council was established in China; 25 years of IELTS worldwide and 10 years of the British Council delivering IELTS in China in partnership with the National Education Examinations Authority. 

Conference Theme 

The first New Directions conference addressed issues associated with assessment for learning, including: 

• washback and formative assessment; 
• localisation and customisation; 
• adapting tests to Chinese contexts and developing English teacher assessment literacy.

Key Speakers

• Professor Jin Yan
  Shanghai Jiaotong University, Chair of National College English Testing Committee
• Professor Barry O’Sullivan 
  Senior Advisor, English Language Assessment, British Council
• Professor Han Baocheong 
  Beijing Foreign Studies University, Director of China Language Assessment Research Society
• Andrew Mackenzie 
  Head of Assessment Service, British Council
• Keita Nakamura / Shuken Shiozaki
  Eiken Foundation of Japan