Language testing researchers from around the world who have worked on IELTS, TOEFL-iBT and other key international tests will gather for the conference which has been organised by the Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) in the School of Languages and Linguistics at the University of Melbourne to celebrate its 20th Anniversary.

Director of the LTRC Associate Professor Cathie Elder says IELTS, TOEFL-iBT and the Occupational English Test for health professionals are key standard English language proficiency indicators used in Australia and many other English speaking nations.

They are used as a determinant in a range of sectors from immigration and citizenship applications, international students seeking education places, and immigrants seeking employment in occupations where English communication is of vital importance,” she says, “so an ongoing review of their efficacy is very important.”

Among the topics to be discussed during the conference are:

How good should a taxi driver’s English be? A presentation on a report of a recent project to develop National Minimum English Standards for taxi driver recruits in Australia, following concerns raised by states and territories about non-English-speaking drivers.

The place of literacy in the Australian citizenship test, a test in English of the knowledge of the traditions, history and values of Australian society, the implementation of which has failed to address concerns of some academics, refugee advocates and is widely felt to have only been introduced to appease members of the voting public.
Identifying

Hidden English-as-a-second-language speakers, drawing on a study of Aboriginal students in a North Queensland high school which found that although school data did not identify any of the Year 8 students as learning ESL, over half were able to be identified as such through this process.

The English language proficiency of pilots and air traffic controllers in the aviation industry, and doctors, nurses and other health professionals, from ESL backgrounds.

What:    Language Testing Research Centre, 20th Anniversary Conference

Where:  The University of Melbourne

When:   Thursday 15 July – Friday 16 July