Professional Issues Meetings

One-day Professional Issues Meetings (PIMs) are held two or three times a year, usually on a Saturday, in different venues around the country. There is a specific theme for each meeting.

PIMs fees are £60.00 for BALEAP members and £80.00 for non-members while presenters pay £40.00.

Andy Seymour, PIMs Co-ordinator
University Language Centre
University of Reading
Whiteknights
PO Box 241
Reading  RG6 6WB

t  0118 378 6760
f  0118 378 5427
e PIM@baleap.org.uk


FORTHCOMING PIMS

RE-ASSESSING ASSESSMENT IN EAP : CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Centre for English Language Education,
Jubilee Campus, The University of Nottingham
Saturday 13 November 2010

Guest speaker
Special Professor Liz Hamp-Lyons, Centre for English Language Education,
The University of Nottingham

Background
Together with teaching and materials development, assessment is central to the activities of EAP teachers as well as their students. Teachers and students of EAP spend a considerable amount of their time speaking about, preparing for, and even worrying about tests and assessment.

Yet assessment is often given less attention than other EAP areas for a number of reasons : lack of confidence, not enough knowledge about or experience in the topic, and lack of resources, among many others. For all this, we feel that this is the right time to re-assess assessment in EAP.

This BALEAP PIM aims to address these and other related issues in EAP assessment. It will feature plenary talks, concurrent sessions, and a round-table discussion on testing language proficiency in EAP.

Call for papers
Proposals which address one or several of the areas listed below are invited. Other areas will be also considered as long as they show a close relationship with the theme of the PIM. We welcome proposals for paper presentations or workshops that show the results of research, examples of good practice that you or your Centre/Department/University have implemented, and descriptions of classroom practices.

  • EAP assessment and testing
  • The role of assessment in EAP programmes
  • Diagnostic assessment in EAP
  • Standardisation of EAP assessment
  • Language assessment and testing
  • Assessment in EAP teacher education
  • Teacher professional development in EAP assessment
  • Alternative assessment
  • Test development in EAP
  • Assessment of discipline-specific competences
  • The role of feedback in assessment
  • Test development: challenges, constraints and opportunities
  • Types of assessment.

Sessions are scheduled to be 30 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions and comments.

Proposals should include :

  • Details of the presenter/s (Title; name; address; email; phone; 30-word biodata)
  • Session Title
  • How the proposal contributes to the theme of the PIM (max 60 words)
  • Type of Session (Workshop, Presentation or Discussion)
  • Summary of Session (Max 150 words)
  • Details of any technical requirements.

Please use this downloadable template for proposals. (Word 45Kb)

Proposal deadline : Friday 13 August 2010

Information about transport, how to get to Nottingham, Jubilee campus, and hotels will be also available here nearer the event. In the meantime, please contact : baleap.pim@nottingham.ac.uk if you require further information.

Registration for the PIM will be available during September 2010 at the usual PIM fees: £40 for presenters and hosts, £60 for BALEAP members (institutional or individual) and £80 for non-members.


HOW LOW CAN WE GO? EAP FOR LOW-LEVEL LEARNERS
(Provisional Theme)
University of Bristol
Saturday 12 February 2011