“Moving ahead: Change, challenges and innovation in language assessment and ESP” was the theme of the IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) Joint Conference attended by our Head of Competence Center for Business English, Catherine Prewett-Schrempf, from September 6-7, 2024.
The event was organized by two of IATEFL’s Special Interest Groups: Testing, Evaluation and Assessment (TEASIG) and English for Specific Purposes (ESPSIG) and hosted at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
In addition to attending diverse sessions by leading experts in the field, Catherine Prewett-Schrempf gave a well-attended and well-received talk on how to meaningfully integrate AI into a student writing task. She also elaborated on a new approach to assessing students’ critical evaluations of AI-generated text. Her motto for the talk was “resonate – replicate – ruminate”: It resonated very well with the audience, as AI has become a popular partner for students around the world, changing the face of language teaching and learning. Additionally, many of the attendees plan to replicate the model which has been tried and tested at FHWien der WKW.
And finally, the audience were invited to ruminate on the content together in a lively feedback discussion.