Launch of new independent ELT benchmarking body

ELSA’s co-founders – language-testing experts Sandy Bhangal, Stephen Carey and Karen Ottewell – are hailing the formation of the body as filling a “critical gap in the sector by providing impartial, expert-led insights on the quality and integrity of English language tests used worldwide”.

They said that the need for “unbiased oversight” over the ELT sector “has never been greater” as the need for reliable language tests for university admissions, immigration and employment grows.

“Our mission is simple: to help institutions, educators, and policymakers globally make informed, evidence-based decisions about language testing,” said Ottewell.

“Until now, there has been no independent authority focused solely on the standards and fairness of English language assessments. When selecting which English language tests to accept, institutions have a duty of care – to their own admissions standards, but especially to the international applicants they are seeking to attract. ELSA is here to change that.”

When selecting which English language tests to accept, institutions have a duty of care – to their own admissions standards, but especially to the international applicants they are seeking to attract
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ELSA will offer consultation and advisory services to institutions on how to select and implement English language tests, independent test reviews and language assessment literacy (LAL) training programs for educators, administrators and policymakers.

Its three co-founders have a combined 100+ years of experience in applied linguistic and language assessment. The body hopes to become “the go-to authority for objective and transparent insights in an often opaque ad commercially driven landscape”.

ELSA’s formation comes against a backdrop of major change for language testing in the UK, as the Home Office looks to commission a single government-backed test.

Most recently, the government released a fifth request for information from the sector as part of the ongoing tender, this time exploring digital testing as the primary mode of delivery.

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