Language assessment continues to negotiate a tension between universal constructs of language proficiency - often associated with standardisation, comparability and large-scale use - and situated assessment practices that respond to specific educational, linguistic, and sociocultural contexts.

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While large-scale assessments typically rely on generalisable notions of proficiency, many educational and professional settings increasingly foreground local needs, institutional priorities, disciplinary practices, and diverse learner populations. This raises key questions for the field:

 

To what extent have assessment practices evolved to reflect the contexts in which they are used?

How strongly do universal notions of proficiency continue to shape assessment frameworks and decision-making?

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Conference aims

BAAL TEASIG conferences exists to foster collaboration and dialogue between language educators, assessment specialists, researchers and practitioners and students in the field.

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This year's conference invites interested parties to critically examine how ‘the local’ is conceptualised, operationalised and valued in language assessment. We particularly welcome contributions that explore how applied linguistics perspectives can inform assessment practices that are responsive to local contexts, while remaining theoretically grounded, interpretable, fair, and defensible.

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The conference aims to stimulate discussion around the implications of this tension for assessment design, validation, use and interpretation, as well as for policy and classroom practice.

 

Our aim is to create a space for interdisciplinary dialogue at the intersection of applied linguistics, language assessment and assessment delivery, bringing together empirical, theoretical, and practice-based perspectives.

 

Conference sub-themes

We invite proposals that engage with the overall theme, including (but not limited to):

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• Global versus local assessment constructs and practices

• The role of context, task design and institutional priorities in shaping assessment

• Validity, fairness, and ethical considerations in situated or locally developed assessments

• Localising assessment in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), including discipline-specific and institutionally embedded approaches

• Language assessment practices and policies in English-Medium Instruction (EMI) and Transnational Education (TNE) contexts

• Tensions between standardisation, comparability, accountability and local relevance

 

The sub-themes are intended to capture major areas of interest but are not intended as an exhaustive list. Proposals on other aspects of the main theme of 'Global constructs vs local contexts' are welcome.

 

Presentation formats

We welcome proposals in the following formats:

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• Papers: 20-minute presentations followed by 10-minute discussion

• Work-in-progress presentations: 3-minute presentations offering an opportunity to share emerging ideas, ongoing research, or methodological challenges

• Posters: a chance to allow presenters to showcase their research visually and engage in one-to-one discussion with attendees over lunch as attendees circulate.

 

Who should submit?

We welcome submissions from:

• Academic researchers in language testing, assessment, and applied linguistics

• Educational practitioners involved in classroom assessment, curriculum design, or programme evaluation

• Professionals working in EAP, EMI, or TNE contexts

• Policy-oriented researchers and assessment developers

• Early career researchers and doctoral students

 

We particularly encourage contributions that bridge research and practice, and that foreground real-world assessment challenges.

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Submission information and timeline

If you would like to apply to present at the conference, please follow these instructions:

• Submit an abstract of no more than 250 words.

• Abstracts should clearly demonstrate the relevance of the proposal to the conference theme.

• Submissions may be theoretical, empirical or practice-oriented.

• Include the presenter(s) information: The first author listed will be used as the main contact point for notification from the organising committee, and will be responsible for notifying any co-author(s).

• Abstract submission deadline: Friday 6th March 2026

• Acceptance notifications: Friday 20th of March 2026

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Use this form to submit an abstract: BAAL TEASIG 2026 - Abstract submission form - Google Forms

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