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CTELT III | ||||||||
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 Closing Ceremonies of CTELT III The Third Annual Current Trends in English Language Testing (CTELT) Conference took place on Wednesday, May 5 at UAE University and Thursday, May 6 at Zayed University, Dubai Campus. This event was organized by the TESOL Arabia Testing and Teacher Education SIGs. The theme of this year's conference was TESTING AND TEACHER EDUCATION. CTELT 3 featured two plenary speakers, Dr. Julia To Dutka of Educational Testing Services and Dr. Charles Alderson of Lancaster University. Dr. To Dutka discussed the role of teacher education in language assessment. Dr. Alderson spoke on the importance of teacher involvement in language testing. Deena Boraie and Dr. Fred Perry, from the American University in Cairo, were the CTELT3 featured speakers. They presented an interesting session on challenging language testing assumptions. This year's two-day conference drew more than 400 English language educators from seven countries and featured over 40 different sessions. Attendance more than doubled compared to last year's CTELT Conference. Some highlights of the conference included the question and answer sessions at the end of each conference day. The topics discussed, Proficiency Testing and Teacher Involvement in Testing, gave educators throughout the region a chance to explore how assessment is carried out in different global contexts. CTELT3 featured a number of presentations on current issues in the field of language testing and teacher education. Just to name a few, in the area of teacher and program evaluation, Dr. Diane Strommer outlined the multiple-measures teacher evaluation scheme currently in use at Zayed University. Dr. Loring Taylor (Sultan Qaboos University) reported on the use of CELT for program evaluation. Dr. Macarena Aguilar (UAE University) outlined alternative strategies for classroom evaluation. The use of external measures to assess the language proficiency of Arab students was a popular topic. Liz Howell and Nicola Marsden discussed the use of proficiency tests at the Higher Colleges of Technology. Alison Curtis outlined some implications for using the Cambridge exams at Sharjah University. Dr. Mashael Al Hamly (Kuwait University), Nancy Hubley (Zayed University) and Chris Head (UAE University) reported on the computer-based technology used at their respective institutions. Lisa Barlow and Cecilia Kawar (UAE University) discussed their research on computer-based readings with Gulf Arab students. The use of alternative forms of assessment was a recurrent theme amongst conference presenters. A number of sessions dealt with the challenges involved with implementing alternative assessment strategies. For example, Phil Cozens (HCT) described some of the problems involved with using portfolios as an assessment tool. Jon Kinney (Saudi ARAMCO) presented a number of cooperative assessment techniques for classroom teachers. Jim McGuire and Marcus Whitney gave a comprehensive report on some of the trials and tribulations of the alternative assessment component at Zayed University. Graeme Tennent (UAE University) offered his views on the evolution of competence-based evaluation. A number of other presentations dealt with more general aspects of testing and teacher education. Christine Canning (UAE University) gave a session on picture tests; Dr. Ali Abdul Fattah, Dr. Salah Troudi and Kathy Bird (Zayed University) presented perspectives on oral skills teaching and testing. Owayed Abu-Housh and Mokhtar Trabelsi from the UAE Ministry of Education proposed techniques for assessing learners' schemata. The feedback from those who participated in CTELT3 was very positive. Work and planning has already begun for CTELT 2000. If you are interested in finding out more about past CTELT Conferences and/or the TESOL Arabia Testing and Teacher Education SIGs, contact Chrisitne Coombe - christinecoombe@hotmail.com, Beth Wiens - bethwiens@hotmail.com, or Salah Troudi - salih63@hotmail.com
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