Behind the Test: a new podcast for ELT teachers
Behind the Test, by Fiona Aish and Jo Tomlinson, is a podcast for ELT teachers, test writers, materials developers, and anyone interested in language assessment.
What really goes on behind an English language test? How are assessment decisions made, what does a particular CEFR level actually mean, and how can teachers make better use of tests and practice materials in the classroom?
Two highly experienced ELT practioners, Fiona Aish and Jo Tomlinson, are exploring these questions in their new podcast, Behind the Test – and we are delighted to help spread the word.
Created for ELT teachers, test writers, materials developers and anyone interested in language assessment, Behind the Test aims to make the sometimes complex world of language testing more accessible.
Language assessment is a specialist field, and many teachers understandably encounter the finished product – the examination, placement test or practice paper – without necessarily having access to the thinking that went into creating it. Fiona and Jo want to take listeners behind the scenes.
Drawing on their extensive professional experience as item writers, assessment designers, teacher trainers and exam-preparation authors, they explore the principles behind language testing and, importantly, connect them with real-world teaching and learning.
Making language assessment practical
One of the strengths of Behind the Test is its deliberately practical approach.
Rather than treating assessment purely as an academic discipline, Fiona and Jo examine the kinds of questions teachers, schools and materials writers encounter in practice.
The first full episode, ‘What is C2?’, for example, looks beyond the idea that C2 simply means extremely advanced English. Fiona and Jo explore the level through concepts including control, appropriacy and precision, considering what these actually look like in a learner’s spoken and written English.
Their latest episode, ‘Large-scale or homemade? How to decide’, turns to an important question for schools and institutions: should you use an established large-scale assessment or develop something locally?
Rather than assuming that one approach is automatically better, Fiona and Jo consider the question through three practical lenses – resources, ownership and fit – and discuss the trade-offs involved in choosing an assessment that works for a particular institution and purpose.
Future discussions will continue to open up areas of testing that teachers do not always have an opportunity to explore. This includes an episode looking specifically at working with listening practice tests – a particularly useful topic for teachers preparing students for external examinations and for institutions using exam-practice materials as part of their programmes.
From test writers to Prosperity Education authors
Many members of the Prosperity Education community will already be familiar with Fiona and Jo’s work.
They are the authors of several successful resources published by Prosperity Education, and their combination of classroom, assessment and materials-writing experience has always been central to their approach.
For us as a publisher specialising in English language teaching and examination preparation, that is also what makes Behind the Test such an interesting project. Good exam preparation should involve more than teaching students how to complete a particular question type. Understanding why a task has been designed in a particular way, what it is intended to assess, and what successful performance actually demonstrates can help teachers make much more informed use of assessment and practice materials.
The podcast provides an opportunity for Fiona and Jo to explore those ideas in a relaxed and accessible format, drawing on experience that teachers might not ordinarily encounter in their day-to-day professional development.
Useful listening for ELT professionals
We think Behind the Test will be particularly valuable for:
English language teachers and exam-preparation teachers
Directors of Studies and academic managers
teachers responsible for placement and progress testing
schools choosing or developing assessment systems
ELT materials writers and editors
aspiring test and item writers
teacher trainers
anyone interested in how language proficiency is assessed.
For teachers using examination-practice materials, it also offers something particularly useful: an opportunity to see testing from the other side of the desk.
As Fiona and Jo themselves acknowledge, language testing is an enormous field and there are rarely simple answers. Behind the Test is therefore not intended to provide a set of definitive rules. Instead, it opens up the conversation, explains some of the thinking that normally happens behind the scenes, and gives teachers practical insights they can take back into their own classrooms and institutions.
We are very pleased to support Fiona and Jo as they launch this new venture, and we encourage teachers, schools, materials writers and other ELT professionals in the Prosperity Education community to give it a listen.
Listen to Behind the Test
The podcast is available now on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and other major podcast platforms.
Listen here: https://jokpq.podbean.com/
New episodes will explore further aspects of language testing and assessment, so follow or subscribe to Behind the Testto hear future discussions as they are released.
Congratulations to Fiona and Jo – we look forward to hearing what goes on Behind the Test!
