Language Assessment @ Bremen – who we are
Language Assessment @ Bremen (L@B) is a research group comprising researchers from the Faculty of Linguistics and Literary Studies at University of Bremen, Germany, as well as language teachers and language course coordinators working at the Languages Centre of the Universities in the Land Bremen.
L@B is diverse and international
Established in February 2019, the L@B group cooperates across four universities, four cultural institutes – and 21 languages. Following a collaborative approach, we enable language teachers, course coordinators, and researchers to share their insights and knowledge with one another.
Through cross-sectoral collaboration and exchange, involving guest researchers and institutions from all over the globe, we promote a multi-perspective view on language learning, language testing, and assessment. Our work and findings is represented in both national and international journals, and is presented at conferences worldwide.
Our research interests and activities
L@B group activities comprise the cooperation on applied projects and research addressing all issues in relation to language testing and assessment. Current projects include: the alignment of local exams to the learning and teaching objectives associated with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), language assessment literacy, or a multi-perspective and mixed-method research project on the linguistic integration of both international students and students with a refugee background into the Higher Education context. Moreover, group members work in diverse fields, i.e., tutoring of autonomous language learners, the construction of integrated writing tasks, speaking assessment in the educational contexts, and the role of language assessment in transition phases.
Claudia Harsch is the coordinator of L@B is, she is Professor for Research into Language Learning and Teaching at Bremen University, and Director of the Languages Centre of the Universities in the Land Bremen. From 2016-2019, Claudia was the President of the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA), and is currently the President of the International Language Testing Association (ILTA).