Representation

Prof. Dr. Utami Widiati, the president of TEFLIN, was invited to join an international panel discussion commemorating the launch of PakTESOL Balochistan chapter. The event with a theme of “Language Teachers Associations and Professional Development: Opportunities and Challenges for Pakistani English Language Teachers” was held virtually on Google Meet on January 17, 2022. It was held in LUAWMS, Uthal Balochistan in collaboration with RELO and AIOU. The panelists invited were Dr. Kelli Odhuu (RELO), Prof. Dr. Shameem Rafik-Galea (President MAALIC, Malaysia), Prof. Dr. Andrew Lian (President of AsiaCALL, Thailand), Prof. Dr. Datin Cynthia Yolanda Doss (Vice President MELTA, Malaysia), and Prof. Dr. Utami Widiati (President of TEFLIN, Indonesia), and was moderated by Dr. Munir Khan (President of PakTESOL Balochistan chapter). They discussed possible and upcoming challenges Pakistani English language teachers would face, especially in light of the newly launched PakTESOL chapter.

Prof. Fuad Abdul Hamied, the Coordinator of TEFLIN Advisory Board, represented TEFLIN to attend the 15th International and 51st Annual Conference of English Language Teachers’ Association of India (ELTAI). The conference was held virtually on November 27, 2021. The virtual conference is a platform to share participants’ experiences, experiments, and insights, which would lead to shaping indigenous approaches and practices. The participants can also learn from such initiatives in other countries, especially those where English is not the native language of most people. This attempt is just the beginning in thinking aloud and concretizing alternative approaches, methods, and practices collaboratively.

The virtual conference prepares participants in ‘newer’ ways to meet the emergent and emerging scenarios. The needs of learners for learning English and acquiring a minimum global standard level of proficiency have changed, and so have the demands on teachers of English and the educational system at all levels as well as the trends in modes of learning and course delivery, especially towards online and blended learning.

The 7th British Council New Directions in Language Assessment was conducted successfully on 8-9/12/2019 in Yokohama, and the opening session was attended and welcomed by the United Kingdom’s Ambassador for Japan and the Yokohama city mayor. Professor Suwarsih Madya, the Coordinator of Evaluation Division of TEFLIN Board was among the 300 worldwide participants to represent TEFLIN in the conference.

Suwarsih reported that the conference presented five plenary speakers:

1. Profesor Joseph Lo Bianco (University of Melbourne, Australia) gave a talk on Influencing Policy: Reflections on the different languages if ELT Research, professional practice and policymaking,
2. Satoshi Hagiwara (President of National Association of Upper Secondary School Principal, The principal of Tokyo Metropolitan Nishi Senior High School, Japan): English Education Reform and Assessment: Challenges Japanese Senior High Schools Face now,
3. Dr. Talia Issacs, (UCL Institute of Education, UK): Assessing “ea and tongue skills”: Standards, washback effect, and policy implications,
4. Professor Yoshinori Watanabe, (Sophia University, Japan): Learning to be assessment-literate –Critically analyzing the results of 2019 nationwide English examination.
5. Professor Barry O’Sullivan, (British Council, Assessment Research Group): Making a comprehensive learning system work: the case of Japan.

The conference was also presenting two panel discussions on

1. Language Assessment Policy, with panelists: Professor Joseph Lo Bianco (University of Melbourne), Huu Nguyen (National Foreign Languages Project, Vietnam), Professor Yoshinori Watanabe (Sophia University, Japan); Profesor Mitsuharu Ota (Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Japan) and
2. Technology and Consequences, with panelists: Alistair Van Moere (Metametrics, USA), Talia Isaacs (UCL Institute of Education, UK), Eng Han Tan (ACT, China), Aaron Elliot (Benese, Japan), dan Ruiji Fu (IFLYTEK, China). Suwarsih further reported that there are 53 speakers from many different countries.

On the occasion, Suwarsih had an opportunity to meet with the Assessment Team from the British Council and reached an initial agreement to work together in developing the Test of Teachers’ Classroom English Proficiency (TOTCEP). Further arrangements will be discussed in the near future. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to attend the conference and hopefully I can present a paper at the next Conference”, Suwarsih closed her report while informing that the next conference will be held in Singapore at the end of October 2020.