New Directions Brazil 2023 program

See the Plenary Abstract from our speakers!

Plenary Abstract: What AI can and can’t do for language assessment by Dr. Evelina D. Galaczi

Have you been exploring the latest AI software?  Perhaps even generating AI poetry on ChatGPT? AI has brought us to a watershed moment in society, which inevitably has implications for assessment. In this plenary we’ll explore the promise and peril of technology in language assessment, pausing to consider opportunities and dilemmas around auto-scoring, adaptive learning, content generation and ethics.  You will (hopefully) emerge with a deeper understanding of the complexities which face assessment organisations, learners and test takers, and apply those insights to next-gen assessment products which leverage new tech while keeping the human at the centre of learning and assessment.

Plenary Abstract: The role of assessment in the Brazilian education context and its (potential) washback effects by Dr. Gladys Quevedo-Camargo

The aim of this plenary is to discuss the role of assessment in the Brazilian education context and its (potential) washback effects. We will take into consideration the implementation of the National Common Curricular Guidelines in 2018, an official document that rules Brazilian elementary and secondary education which established English as a compulsory subject to be taught from the 6th grade onwards. The discussion will be supported by a panorama of Brazilian and foreign large-scale exams applied in the country. In addition, language assessment policies currently adopted by the Brazilian government will be analysed.