1. Rodica Pânzaru Tester, Language Center Republic of Moldova
COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS IN LANGUAGE TRAINING AND TESTING
Rodica Pânzaru
Tester, Language Center
Republic of Moldova
BILC Conference, Bruges, Belgium, May 2014

2. What is collaboration?
People/organizations working on different pieces of a whole final product
Individuals/teams focus on specific issues
A common goal, although objectives may be divided among teams
Sharing results/resources
What would be the general elements of a collaboration?
All parties involved are both beneficiaries and contributors.
Sharing results/resources

3. Collaborative ties of the Language Center from the R. of Moldova
Inside the Center
Personnel: military and civilian
Instructors do not test, testers do not instruct, however the backwash effect is a result of the cooperation between both groups
Share information and experience among instructors and testers on current practices (workshops)
Outside the Center/International Collaboration
Local Governmental Organizations
French Alliance
French Military Attaché
German Military Attaché
US Embassy Military Community
Open up new collaborative engagements during BILC
Conferences, LTS, ALTS
Piloting items in Romania
Outside the Center
Local Governmental Organizations – representatives from other governmental institutions may request to participate in courses organized by our center and take the STANAG 6001 TEST. Carabineer, Border Guard Police (both part of the MoI)
French Alliance – military from our National Army attend French courses organized by the French Alliance. Starting with September our Center is planning to begin a course of French and to extend its personnel with French language instructors. This is motivated by the UN Missions that our military are participating in African countries where French is a language spoken by the local population. At the end the students will be tested by the French Military Attaché.
German Military Attaché – students studying German are instructed by personnel hired by the German Embassy and are tested by the German Military Attaché.
US Embassy Military Community – The Speaker Program has the goal of inviting weekly US military representatives to communicate with the students on different topics. Also, the collaboration with the US DoD institutions resulted in the acquisition of lab equipment and didactic materials for English language learning, as well as participation in trainings in US educational institutions.
Open up new collaborative engagements during BILC Conferences, LTS, ALTS
Piloting items in Romania.

4. Legal Framework International Bilateral Agreements Orders of the MoD
Military policies
Language Skills Development Concept

5. Piloting items in Romania
Benefits
A larger and more varied population for piloting
The same native language of the population – Romanian
We received additional guidance on item development, test specifications, text selection.
Issues encountered
For a long time our internal policy did not have a clear statement on piloting items abroad
Incompatibility between the software and the devices used for testing
Communication shows better results after face-to-face meetings. s leave out attitudes, feelings and gestures.
Financial and transportation issues need to be discussed in advance
Postal services proved efficient in sending CDs/DVDs with testing information

6. What makes things happen
Communication between decision making factors
Negotiations regarding benefits and challenges
Practical engagements where information and product sharing happens
Continuity and further development of the relationship

7. Key to success Trust A good interpersonal relationship
Timely and frequent communication
Commitment to the success of this endeavor

8. Writing Assessment Sheet
Writing Assessment Sheet Date_________________ Assessor_________________
Task and Test No.
Candidate’s code
Task completion
Organization
Vocabulary
Syntax and Grammar
Level 1. 2.

9. Writing Rating Factor Grid
User interface
Mutually exclusive phrases
Blank option
Text box
Export to PDF
Designer interface
Add/Remove/Change order of phrases
Add/Remove different types of boxes (Management Elements)
For any technical questions go to Google
WCL

10. If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. —Henry Ford
Collaboration in the BILC environment makes us stronger. Being part of a team with decades of experience in language teaching and testing ready to share achievements, research and practically contribute to raising awareness about new developments in the field, makes each member of the team a better resource for the final beneficiary – the Defense personnel trained to perform in languages.

11. Thank you!