The ECML RELANG workshop “Alternative, continuous methods of assessment in line with the CEFR and the Companion Volume”, with the support of the European Commission, was held in cooperation with the Latvian Association of Teachers of English (LATE) on 13-15th June, 2022 in Latvia.
The workshop was conducted by ECML experts, José Noijons (Netherlands) and Gábor Szábo (University of Pécs, Hungary), and 24 project participants, who are mostly teacher trainers and EFL methodological board leaders from all over Latvia, actively participated in the event.
Currently Latvia is undergoing changes in the system of education and the new competency based curriculum is being introduced, emphasizing the introduction of the competency based learning content and transversal skills Therefore, the primary aim of the workshop was to raise the participants’ awareness and understanding of alternative and continuous methods of assessment, the most appropriate ways of their implementation and how to align assessment with the CEFR and the Companion Volume.
Participants found the ECML’s workshop immensely beneficial and the positive environment of the workshop and the outstanding professionalism of the ECML experts was highly praised and valued by all the participants. The course content prepared the ground for numerous opportunities of group discussions and helped the teachers develop a better understanding of developing appropriate tasks and assessment scales.
The project activities encouraged the teachers to develop a cooperation network and the teachers will participate in a follow-up workshop, as a set of materials on alternative and continuous methods of assessment that could be adapted to the needs of the EFL teachers, was developed and will be presented at the LATE 30th Anniversary Conference on 17-18th August, 2022.
This initiative is carried out within the framework of a cooperation agreement between the European Centre for Modern Languages and the European Commission, entitled Innovative Methodologies and Assessment in language learning.
www.ecml.at/ec-cooperation