Following the success of the New Directions in Language Assessment conference in Hanoi in 2016, the British Council partnered with the National Foreign Languages Project (Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training) to host the Vietnam Language Assessment Symposium (VLAS) in 2017 and again in 2019. After a hiatus of three years, and in great anticipation of the return to Vietnam of the New Directions in Language Assessment East Asia conference in October 2023, a flagship event of the UK-VN Season 2023, we are delighted to be hosting the New Directions Series VLAS event at Van Lang University in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday, 25 March 2023.
The New Directions Series events build on our successful global conferences, connecting stakeholders and continuing discussion around the key topics in language assessment and reform. These New Directions Series events focus on topics that are particularly relevant at a local level and seek to bring together local and UK expertise to engage on challenges and solutions as part of a holistic approach to English language teaching, learning and assessment. Participants in our New Directions Series events can expect a strong focus on their own educational context while being part of a broader, global discussion around language teaching, learning and assessment, connected through the international New Directions conference events.
This year, the New Directions in Language Assessment conference and Series sits within a wider celebration of UK-Vietnam relations with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries and the 30th anniversary of the British Council in Vietnam. The New Directions Series event on 25 March 2023 launches a range of activities around the assessment of English that culminate in the regional conference at the end of October 2023.
In collaboration with the National Foreign Languages Project, the first New Directions Series event will centre on two key themes:
- Teaching, Learning and Assessment in education systems: Empowering teachers
- Assessing young learners, spanning grades 6 to 12
These themes will be echoed in the main New Directions in Language Assessment conference in October 2023.
This one-day event includes plenary presentations, discussion and showcases practical tools for teachers, teacher educators and assessment professionals more generally.
