Assessing Young Learners

Conference Overview:

l Date: October 16-17, 2021

l Venue: Hongkou Campus, Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).

l Organizer: Shanghai Center for Research in English Language Education (SCRELE)

l Participants: Nearly 100 researchers, teacher educators, and teachers from the global community of language education.

l Partnership journals: “Journal of Foreign Language”, “Language Teaching for Young Learners”

l Theme: Assessing Young Learners

Sub-themes:

1. Test Validity and Validation

2. Teacher Assessment Literacy

3. Formative Assessment for Young Learners

4. Language Assessment and Cognition

5. Corpus-Based Study of Young Learners

6. Research on Testing System

7. Research on College Entrance Examinations

Pre-conference Workshops:

1. Dunlai LIN & Miao GAO (Beijing Normal University)

Topic: Assessing Young Learners’ Foreign Language Abilities: Putting Theory into Practice

2. Tan JIN (South China Normal University)

Topic: A Data-Driven Approach to Text Adaptation in Reading Assessment for Young Learners: Design, Implementation, and Teacher Professional Development Diagnostic

Plenary Talks:

1. Shen ZOU (Shanghai International Studies University)

Topic: Embedding Assessment in Teaching in the Primary School English Class:

From Teaching Tasks to Assessment Tasks

2. Lawrence Jun ZHANG (University of Auckland)

Topic: Classroom-Based Assessment of Young EFL Learners: What do Teachers

Know and How do They Do It?

3. Yuko Goto BUTLER (University of Pennsylvania)

Topic: Child-Centered Approaches to Assessment

4. Szilvia PAPP (SP Educational Assessment Consultancy)

Topic: Teaching and Assessing Life Skills in English Language Classrooms

5. Xuesong GAO (University of New South Wales)

Topic: Problematizing Primary School English Language Teachers’ Professional Development through Research

6. Zunmin WU (Beijing Normal University)

Topic: Diagnostic Assessment for School Students’ English Learning: Analysis and Feedback

Parallel Sessions:

A total of 24 parallel sessions were held during the conference, bringing together scholars from around the world, including the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Brazil. Participants shared research findings, expressed opinions, and engaged in discussions on various topics, such as test validity and validation, teacher assessment literacy, formative assessment for adolescents, language assessment and cognition, and testing systems.