2026 ILTA/SAGE Best Edited Volume Award

The 2026 SAGE/ILTA Book Award committee is pleased to recognize two exceptional works as co-recipients of the 2026 ILTA/SAGE Best Edited Volume Award: 

Fundamental Considerations in Technology Mediated Language Assessment by Karim Sadeghi and Dan Douglas, published by Routledge in 2023. 

and

Language Assessment Literacy and Competence Volume 1 and 2 by Beverly Baker and Lynda Taylor, published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment in 2024. 

Both works are well-written and timely, making significant contributions to the field. While they differ in focus and scope, each addresses a critical and growing area of language assessment scholarship.

Sadeghi and Douglas's volume offers a well-grounded treatment of technology in language assessment, capturing core developments and concerns at a pivotal moment in the field. The volume is anchored in the field's theoretical foundations, and the overall vision of the volume is clearly articulated, framing technology-mediated language assessment in terms of both what it is and how it operates in practice. The extensiveness of coverage is a particular strength. Chapters address a wide range of technological applications, from large-scale standardized tests and national evaluation programs to web-based tutoring, placement tests, diagnostic testing, and classroom-based assessment. Topics rarely treated within the academic domain, such as security and technology in classroom practice, are given welcome attention. The volume places a strong emphasis on practice, with several chapters offering perspectives on test development processes rarely detailed elsewhere. With technology playing an ever-increasing role in language testing research and practice, this book is poised to have considerable impact, providing a solid foundation for future studies in this domain. 

Taylor and Baker's two-volume set represents, in many respects, a coming-of-age collection for research and practice in language assessment literacy. Taylor and Baker cast a wide net, offering a panoramic and diachronic view of language assessment literacy and competence as a field of study. The first volume interrogates and significantly elaborates the construct itself through empirical and theoretical contributions, while the second volume documents experiences through case studies drawn from a diverse range of geographical and educational settings. The editorial framing across both volumes is a particular strength, arguing for the importance of language assessment literacy both within and beyond the field of language assessment and how its issues and understanding may vary across time. The introductory chapters helpfully situate language assessment literacy and competence in terms of its historical development (Volume 1) and its contextualized practices (Volume 2). The combination of empirical studies, theoretical reflections, and practice-oriented research gives the set both breadth and depth, representing a substantial contribution to the field's understanding of language assessment literacy.

Together, these two works exemplify the vitality of current scholarship in language assessment. The committee congratulates Karim Sadeghi, Dan Douglas, Lynda Taylor and Beverly Baker as deserving co-recipients of the 2026 ILTA/SAGE Best Edited Volume Award.

The 2026 award committee

The International Language Testing Association (ILTA), in collaboration with Cambridge University Press & Assessment, is delighted to announce that Professor Barry O’Sullivan has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Cambridge/ILTA Distinguished Achievement Award. This prestigious award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the field of language testing through scholarship, professional leadership, and service to the global language assessment community.

Title of Professor O’Sullivan’s talk:
... and no Bob, the answer isn't blowin' in the wind!
 
In over three decades of work on language testing Barry O’Sullivan has written extensively on the subject and presented his work at conferences around the world on hundreds of occasions. His work includes the British Council’s Aptis test, the socio-cognitive model of test development and validation and the Comprehensive Learning System. He currently leads a major project at the British Council exploring the application of AI and machine learning to teaching, learning and assessment.

He was granted fellowship of the UK’s Academy of Social Sciences (2016); elected fellow of the Asian Association for Language Assessment (2017); and awarded an OBE by the UK government (2019). In addition, he received the e-Assessment Association’s Lifetime Contribution Award (2023), and the English Language Testing Society’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award (2025).

ILTA invites proposals from individuals or teams for hosting LTRC 2029. As per ILTA’s venue rotation policy, our expectation is that the 2029 conference would be held in North/South America, following LTRC 2028 in Guangzhou, China, and LTRC 2027 in Ghent, Belgium. Proposals for a virtual or semi-virtual conference will also be entertained by the ILTA Executive Board.

Those interested in hosting LTRC 2029 should familiarize themselves with the “Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Presenting a Proposal To Host LTRC” and review previous successful proposals. Potential hosts should complete an “expression of interest form” by Friday, April 10. This brief form includes a rationale for hosting the conference, information about the organizing team, a possible venue, and the likely dates of the conference. 

Following discussion with the ILTA Executive Board, the ILTA President will offer feedback and, if appropriate, invite the proposer to prepare a full proposal due by May 15. The full proposal will be vetted by the Executive Board and revised if necessary, then presented to the ILTA membership at the Annual Business Meeting at LTRC Montreal 2026. 

Dr. Christopher DeLuca, Queen’s University, Canada. 
Title: “From Literacy to Legitimacy: Validity in the Assessment Literacy Ecosystem.” 

Dr. Christopher DeLuca is a Professor of Educational Assessment at Queen’s University, where he serves as Director of the Queen’s Assessment and Evaluation Group. His research examines the alignment of assessment, curriculum, and pedagogy through socio-cultural frameworks, with a focus on supporting teachers in navigating these interconnected areas of practice to enhance student learning for all. Dr. DeLuca’s work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the AERA Outstanding Paper in
Classroom Assessment Award, the R.W. Jackson Award, and the National Mentorship Award. He has served as Chair of the AERA’s Classroom Assessment SIG, President of the Canadian Educational Researchers’ Association, and Editor of the Canadian Journal of Education. Dr. DeLuca is currently Lead Editor of Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice.

The 2025 LTRC Organizing Committee and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) are pleased to announce that Professor Lyle Bachman delivered the Messick Award lecture at the 46th Language Testing Research Colloquium in Bangkok.

Lyle F. Bachman is Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is a Past President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics and of the International Language Testing Association. He has received numerous awards for his research and service to the profession, including: 

• TESOL/Newbury House Award for Outstanding Research
• Modern Language Association of America Kenneth Mildenberger Award for outstanding research publication
• Sage/International Language Testing Association award for the best book published in language testing
• Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Language Testing Association
• Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award from the American Association for Applied Linguistics.

He has published numerous articles and books in language testing and other areas of Applied Linguistics, including:

• Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing
• Language Testing in Practice and Language Assessment in Practice: Developing Language Assessments and Justifying their Use in the Real World (with Adrian Palmer)
• Interfaces between Second Language Acquisition and Language Testing Research (Co-edited with Andrew Cohen)
• Statistical Analyses for Language Assessment, and Language Assessment for Classroom Teachers (with Barbara Damböck)

He has served on several committees of the National Research Council, and has served as a member of the Board on Testing and Assessment, a standing board of the National Academies of Science, the Board of Trustees of the Center for Applied Linguistics, and the Technical Advisory Committee of the WIDA ACCESS test. He has also served as a consultant in language testing research projects and in developing language assessments for universities and government agencies around the world. His current research interests include validation theory and validation practice, classroom assessment, and epistemological issues in Applied Linguistics research.

The 2025 LTRC Organizing Committee and the ETS extend our sincere congratulations to Prof. Bachman for being awarded this year’s Messick Lecture Award and greatly enjoyed his keynote presentation, "A Personal Odyssey through Language Assessment and the Fields of Validity" at LTRC.

Below is the citation prepared by the Award Committee:


This study offers a groundbreaking perspective on self-assessment in language testing, demonstrating that, with proper instrument design, self-assessment predicts speaking proficiency at a considerably higher rate than previous research would suggest, providing profound implications for both research and classroom assessment. To assess the relationship between the self-assessments and the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview – computer (OPIc) scores of adult learners of Spanish in the US, the authors employed polyserial correlation and continuation-ratio modeling on data from a computer-adaptive self-assessment instrument. Unlike prior studies that relied on Pearson correlations, these methods account for the ordinal and adaptive nature of self-assessment data. Continuation-ratio modeling examined whether the thresholds within the adaptive self-assessment functioned appropriately. There was a moderate correlation (0.61) between self-assessment scores and OPIc scores. In addition, the analysis showed that each additional point on the OPIc scale more than doubled the likelihood of passing the self-assessment threshold. The authors concluded that self-assessments, especially computer-adaptive ones, are useful for placement, tracking progress, and fostering learner agency. 

The study is expertly carried out, offering a refreshed look at self-assessment of L2 oral proficiency and demonstrating its feasibility in second language acquisition studies and low-stakes contexts with adult learners. It is notable both for its rigorous methods as well as its valuable review and discussion of previous meta-analyses of self-assessment. Its direct implications for language assessment and teaching make it a standout contribution to the field.

The following articles were also shortlisted by the Committee, and we congratulate the authors for their excellent work:

Valentini, A., & Serratrice, L. (2023). Longitudinal predictors of listening comprehension in bilingual primary school-aged children.Language Learning, 73(1), 5–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12513

Villa Larenas, S., & Brunfaut, T. (2023). But who trains the language teacher educator who trains the language teacher? An empirical investigation of Chilean EFL teacher educators’ language assessment literacy.Language Testing, 40(3), 463–492. https://doi.org/10.1177/02655322221134218

We would like to thank the Best Article Award Committee for their hard work and diligence in reaching the final decision and extend our congratulations to the authors.


Best wishes,

ILTA Executive Board

• To encourage discussion of practices in integrated assessment from multiple stakeholder perspectives around the world (including researchers, educators, administrators, and test developers)
• To create opportunities for networking, collaboration, and transparency among users of integrated assessment
• To connect the research community with research questions arising from practice and with opportunities to share their findings with a broader community

Proposed Activities of the Integrated Assessment SIG:

• A dedicated listserv for the IASIG in which events, news, questions, and ideas could be shared
• Regular meetings (two per semester: one research presentation and one practice oriented)
• Coffee hours at conferences 
• Potential for a yearly newsletter spotlighting/interviewing local integrated assessment

For more information, contact the Integrated Assessment SIG Co-Chairs or visit the SIG webpage at https://www.iltaonline.com/page/SIGs.

Co-Chairs: 
Sharareh (Sharry) Vahed, Purdue University, USA
Xun Yan, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
Rebecca Yeager, University of Iowa, USA

Information on how to join a SIG:
There is no additional charge to join a SIG. To add a SIG membership to your ILTA membership record:

• login to your profile at iltaonline.com (http://iltaonline.com/)
• you will be directed to the Manage Profile page
• select Groups under the Community section
• Under Group Permissions, select SIGs
• select the name of the SIG you would like to join
• Select Join Group
  

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact info@iltaonline.com.

Save the dates of June 4-8, 2025.

Language Assessment in Multicultural Contexts: West meets East

Chairs
JiradaWudthayagom, PhD; Chulalongkorn University
Punchalee Wasanasomsithi, PhD; Chulalongkorn University
Sunyoung Shin, PhD; Indiana University

Organizing Committee
Raveewan Viengsang; Chulalongkorn University
Chanisara Tangkijmongkol,Chulalongkorn University

• Sun-Young Shin, Building pathways between language assessment theory and practice in Thailand
  
• Sabrina Machetti, Paola Masillo, & Guilia Peri, Promoting language assessment literacy and innovation for the Italian language: a three-day workshop on scenario-based assessment
  
• Liberato Silva dos Santos, Language assessment literacy in English language teaching contexts (Brazil)

ILTA hopes and expects that the grants will help to diffuse knowledge of language testing issues and practice among various groups of test users in these parts of the world. We hope that the awards will contribute to the establishment of permanent local organisations that will conduct further practical activities in language testing in the future.

The 2022 Joint ILTA/Duolingo Collaboration and Outreach Grant Committee
Sara Cushing (Chair)
Antony Kunan
Luke Harding
Cecilia Zhao

Both studies were interesting, important, relevant, and sophisticated. The presentations were clear, didactic, substantive, and polished. It was very difficult to choose a winner, so we waffled and chose two.

Edward Getman’s paper was “Age, task characteristics, and acoustic indicators of engagement: Investigations into the validity of a technology-enhanced speaking test for young language learners” 

The committee was impressed with the focus of Getman’s paper, which examined the assessment of young language learners, and specifically how different task characteristics in a technology-enhanced test affected test-takers’ engagement with the tasks. The paper used sophisticated, innovative, and original research methodologies (including acoustic measures from the spoken responses to examine test-taker engagement, as well as verbal reports) and analyses (including Many-Facet Rasch, Multivariate G-theory, and SEM|) to provide evidence supporting a test validity argument. The presentation was superb, taking a complex and multi-faceted study and presenting it in a coherent and easily comprehensible manner.

Franz Holzknecht’s paper was “Double play in listening assessment.” The committee was very impressed with the quality of Holzknecht’s paper. His study examines a fundamental task characteristic of listening assessment (how many times the aural text is played). He examined how double play affects test scores, but more importantly, used questionnaires, eye-tracking, and verbal recalls to investigate how double play affected test-taker behavior, including processing, strategic behavior, and anxiety levels. One of the strengths of the study is that the author was able to provide very clear and practical consequences for L2 listening assessment. While the study had many different parts, he was able to present it coherently and make it accessible for a non-technical audience. 

Congratulations to Eddie, Franz, and all of the student presenters.

With gratitude to the Lado Award committee members:  Elvis Wagner (Chair), Lorena Llosa, Ute Knoch, Yan Jin, and Benjamin Kremmel.

Sara T. Cushing, PhD