Language Testing Research Centre
Faculty of Arts
Welcome to the Language Testing Research Centre. Please take some time to browse our site to familiarise yourselves with our academic achievements and professional services. We work closely with many organisations both in Australia and internationally.
Established in 1990, the Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) at the University of Melbourne has become an international leader in research and development in language assessment and language program evaluation.
Based in the School of Languages and Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts, the LTRC comprises a team of internationally renowned researchers in language assessment and language program evaluation. The Centre work focuses around research and validation of language tests, test development, consultancies and industry linkages. The Centre also owns a variety of language tests which can be licensed for use by external clients. Other focus areas of the Centre include offering the Professional Certificate in Language Assessment; conducting training in language assessment through regular workshops for both teachers and researchers; supervision of Masters and PhD students and chairing the Assessment Research Group run in the School of Languages and Linguistics. The Centre also currently co-edits the regional language testing journal Papers in Language Testing and Assessment: an international journal of the Association for Language Testing and Assessment Australia and New Zealand.
To read our mission statement and more about what we do please visit the the About us web page.
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Ute Knoch talks about language assessment research, reliability and fairness.
Listen to this podcast where Ute Knoch shares her experience on the research that goes into high-stakes language tests.
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Spotlight on Cathie Elder, ILTA Distinguished Achievement Award 2020 winner
In this in-depth interview, Cathie Elder shares her experience on team efforts, highlights of her career, subconscious mentoring and medicine bottles!
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LTRC staff win ILTA Advocacy/Public Engagement Award 2020
Ute Knoch, Cathie Elder and Tim McNamara awarded the International Language Testing Association (ILTA) Advocacy/Public Engagement Award 2020
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ILTA/SAGE Best Book Award Winner 2020
Congratulations to Ute Knoch and Suzy Macqueen; winners of the 2020 award!
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Industry projects
LTRC specialises in measuring the language proficiency skills required for the workplace or for academic study purposes. Projects undertaken with industry partners have focussed on a range of sectors including health, defence, interpreting and translating, aviation and higher education.
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Government projects
The LTRC has expertise in school-based assessment in English and other languages. Government funded projects carried out in Australian schools include the evaluation of assessment tools and frameworks for speakers of English as a second or foreign language and measurement of school achievements in Asian languages.
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Evaluation
The LTRC provides services in the evaluation of language programs, including bilingual, English as a Second Language, and foreign language programs in schools, colleges and universities.
The Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) runs workshops on language assessment on topics relevant to client needs. LTRC staff teach into the Professional Certificate in Language Assessment and the Master of Applied Linguistics program and are actively involved in supervising graduate students.
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Workshops on Language Testing and Assessment
The LTRC offers training to develop your skills in language assessment and/or language program evaluation. Custom-made workshops can be created on demand.
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Professional Certificate in Language Assessment
Term 1 intake - February and Term 3 intake - July
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Master of Applied Linguistics
The LTRC is actively involved in supervising Masters theses on language assessment / testing. More information on the Master of Applied Linguistics...
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Doctor of Philosophy (Arts)
LTRC staff are willing to supervise PhD theses on topics relating to language assessment. More information on the Doctor of Philosophy (Arts)...
The Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) works with clients to develop new language tests that are tailored to their specific needs or to evaluate assessment tools and frameworks that are currently in use. It also offers a number of ready-made tests via online and offline platforms.
The Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) has established links with educational institutions and assessment agencies in many countries including Japan, China, Chile, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, UK and US. Consultancies undertaken for these agencies include research on high stakes admissions tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), test development and analysis, assessor training and professional development.
The Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) has built an international reputation for its prolific research (both commissioned and grant-funded) on the assessment of language proficiency in the context of migration, as well as in various educational and workplace contexts. It has a strong record of publication in both peer-reviewed academic journals and other outlets. The LTRC is also active in mentoring graduate students in language testing through thesis supervision, studentships and via a regular seminar series on language testing and assessment for Doctor of Philosophy (Arts) students and staff.