APPLYING LINGUISTICS TO LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT
Spotlight on... Assessing comprehensibility and fluency in a globalised, technology-rich world
Friday 2nd October 2026 - 12:00-14:00 UK time
Comprehensibility - the extent to which a speaker can be easily understood - is central to successful communication and a key goal for many second language (L2) learners. As English continues to function as a global lingua franca, communicative success increasingly depends on effective interaction among speakers from diverse linguistic, cultural, and professional backgrounds.
Despite its importance, comprehensibility remains a challenging construct to define and assess. Mainstream language tests often continue to draw, implicitly or explicitly, on native-speaker norms when evaluating proficiency. Closely related to comprehensibility is fluency: the smooth, effortless, and rapid production of speech in real time, which plays a crucial role in making spoken messages easier to understand.
In this webinar, Professor Parvaneh Tavakoli and Dr Sheryl Cooke will:
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Explore contemporary understandings of comprehensibility and fluency
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Examine the relationship between these two key constructs
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Discuss challenges for standardised language testing
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Consider the implications of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) for assessment
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Reflect on both the opportunities and threats that artificial intelligence presents for assessing spoken language
The webinar draws on insights from their recent co-authored book, Comprehensibility in Language Assessment: A Broader Perspective, available in Open Access format.
About the presenters
Parvaneh Tavakoli is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Reading. Her research focuses on the interface of second language teaching, learning, and assessment. Over the past two decades, she has led numerous international research projects investigating spoken language and its assessment, publishing extensively in leading journals and with major academic publishers.
Dr Sheryl Cooke is Research Lead for Engagement & Dissemination with British Council English Language Research. Her work spans language assessment, learning, and teaching, with particular interests in speaking assessment, English as a Lingua Franca, and the consequences of language assessment in global contexts. She is also series co-editor for the British Council Monographs on Modern Language Assessment.
