BILC and Workshop Overview Peggy Garza BILC Secretary

2015 BILC Conference Madrid, Spain 3-7 May Theme: NATO requirements versus national policies: Bridging the divide at the language school Study Groups Topics: Common Challenges Faced by Language Training Managers Assessing NATO Operational Language Performance Bridging the Divide with Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Beyond the BILC Website: Marketing BILC Events and Courses Forecasting Requirements: From Needs Analysis to Long-term Planning

2015 BILC Professional Seminar Helsinki, Finland, 4-9 October Theme: Increasing proficiency levels: What works and what doesn't Topics Aptitude vs. Attitude in Language Learning Immersion Programmes as Proficiency Enhancers Blended Learning Applying STANAG to Languages Other than English Best Practices in Classroom Based Assessment

BILC Steering Committee Chair Keith Wert GRB (1966-1981) DEU (1982-1996) USA (1997-2008) CAN (2008-2014) PLTCE/USA (2014- 2016) BGR (2016- ) Senior Advisor Dr. R. Clifford Secretary Peggy Garza Julie J. Dubeau Associate Secretaries Jana Vasilj-Begovic

Testing Seminars Hosted by the Partner Language Training Center Europe (PLTCE) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Language Testing Seminar 2 weeks Twice a year Advanced Language Testing Seminar 3 weeks Once a year Language Standards & Assessment Seminar

Testing Seminars New Dates in 2016 Language Testing Seminar 8-19 February 18-29 July Advanced Language Testing Seminar 29 February-18 March Language Standards & Assessment Seminar 19-28 April 29 November-8 December

Why Have Annual Testing Workshops? Need for periodic renorming/standardization Chance to update approaches and knowledge of proficiency testing Forum for exchanging ideas/lessons learned

STANAG 6001 Testing Workshops Zagreb, 2009 Sarajevo, 2010 Focus on standardization, moderation and validation Sarajevo, 2010 Focus on testing speaking Stockholm, 2011 Focus on testing writing Copenhagen, 2012 Focus on testing listening SHAPE Mons, 2013 Focus on Integrating test development stages Reichenau, 2014 Focus on item development practices

Background on 2015 Workshop Theme: Challenges in STANAG 6001 testing Topics suggested by participants at the 2014 Workshop in Reichenau Text editing Authenticity in testing Level 4

Workshop Format Plenary sessions Workshop activities Presentations Panels Workshop activities

20 Nations Represented Austria Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada Croatia Denmark Estonia France Georgia Germany Hungary Lithuania Netherlands Poland Serbia Slovenia Spain Sweden Ukraine United States of America

Facilitators Mary Jo DiBiase Peggy Garza Nancy Powers Gerard Seinhorst Ulle Turk Jana Vasilj-Begovic Maria Veenema

Testing Workshop in 2016 Is there interest? Theme? Any offers to host it?