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2019 BILC Conference 27-30 May, Tartu, Estonia

2019 BILC Conference 27-30 May, Tartu, Estonia. BILC Update. Bureau for International Language Co-ordination. NATO’s consultative and advisory body for language training and testing issues. Main responsibility: custodian of STANAG 6001

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2019 BILC Conference 27-30 May, Tartu, Estonia

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  1. 2019 BILC Conference27-30 May, Tartu, Estonia BILC Update

  2. Bureau for International Language Co-ordination • NATO’s consultative and advisory body for language training and testing issues. • Main responsibility: custodian of STANAG 6001 • Community of language teaching/testing professionals from MoDs and defense-sponsored organizations. • Mission: To promote and foster interoperability among NATO and Partner nations by furthering standardization of language training and testing. To support the Alliance's operations through the exchange of knowledge and best practices, IAW established procedures and agreements. • Vision: To achieve levels of excellence where progress made by one is shared by all. • Purpose: To foster cooperative professional support among BILC member nations and to extend support to NATO within the field of language training and education and language assessment. • Active participation in BILC activities from 27 NATO nations and more than 20 partner nations.

  3. BILC Steering Committee Chair Emilija Nesheva GBR (1966-1981) DEU (1982-1996) USA (1997-2008) CAN (2008-2014) USA (2014-2016) BGR (May 2016-May 2019) Senior Advisor Dr. Ray Clifford Secretary Col. Petko Petkov Associate Secretaries Julie Dubeau Keith Wert Peggy Garza Jana Vasilj-Begovic

  4. Major BILC Events • BILC Annual Conference in May; • BILC STANAG 6001 Testing Workshop in September; • BILC Professional Seminar in October.

  5. 2018 BILC ConferenceLisbon, 20-24 May 2018 Invigorating Training through Technological Tools Sub-themes: - Measuring success rates before and after the use of technology - The science behind language learning - Using technology to modernize testing - Technology as a tool of teacher/student empowerment - Does technology provide us with shortcuts to language learning success? - Gaming as a learning tool - Enhancing teacher training to match current expectations - Effective language maintenance tools - Social media and project-oriented, computer assisted language learning - Incorporating translation technology in the classroom Study Groups Topics: - Familiarization with STANAG 6001 for Non-Specialists - STANAG 6001 Handbook for Curriculum Development - Revision of the Tri-Service Word and Terminology List - Enhancing Teaching of the Writing Skill for NATO Staff Officers - Distance Learning Enhanced by Technology

  6. 2018 STANAG 6001 Testing WorkshopKranjska Gora, 4-6 September, 2018 SUCCESSFUL TRIALLING: FROM TRIAL AND ERROR TO BEST PRACTICES Sub-themes: -The basic steps of trialling - Bilateral cooperation on trialling - Collecting and analyzing data - Selecting tools/software for data analysis - Using IRT and non-IRT analysis methods - Developing templates for the reporting of results - Revising items with bad stats - Piloting writing and speaking test prompts - Banking items

  7. 2018 BILC Professional SeminarZagreb, 15-18 October, 2018 LANGUAGE LEARNING AND THE ADULT MIND: ENHANCING MOTIVATION AND EFFICIENCY IN THE MILITARY CONTEXT Subtheme/topics: 1. Increasing language learning efficacy in the classroom a) Maintaining motivation in FL teaching/learning b) Promoting efficacy through in-house teacher professional development c) Bridging the gap between 1+/2 and 2+/3 in writing and speaking 2. Purposeful learning environment as a motivational factor a) Language teachers as course designers b) Authenticity of material in a language classroom and its effect on motivation c) Motivational techniques in promoting higher-level thinking skills 3. Strengthening responsibility for one's own learning a) The importance of self-efficacy in learning performance b) Fostering the learner-centered perspective and autonomous learning c) Teaching learning strategies and its impact on the learning process 4. Tester's contribution to learners' motivation and learning efficacy a) Learner-oriented test preparation b) Bridging the gap between teaching/learning and testing c) Training teachers to assess the productive skills

  8. Cooperation between BILC and Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP)

  9. BILC Cooperative Visits May 2018 – May 2019 • Mauritania, September 2018 • Ukraine, November 2018 • North Macedonia, March 2019 • Jordan, March 2019 • Bosnia and Herzegovina, April 2019 • Iraq, April 2019

  10. BILC’s Professional Development Programme in Partnership Cooperation Menu (PCM. i. e. ACT-sponsoured BILC courses) • 1. Language Testing Seminars (conducted at PLTCE): • Language Testing Seminar, ACT.647, 2 weeks; • Advanced Language Testing Seminar, ACT.658, 3 weeks; • Language Standards and Assessment, ACT.648, 2 weeks. • 2. BILC Methodology Workshops • English Teaching Faculty Development Workshop “Teaching Speaking and Writing for Military Purposes”, ACT.659, 2 weeks. Conducted at 3 PTECs PLTCE, Bulgaria and Slovenia. Facilitators: BILC teaching & testing experts from 24 nations.

  11. PLTCE sponsored courses • IRT Workshop - introduction to IRT concepts and the advantages of using Rasch IRT analysis • Applied Consecutive Interpretation Techniques (ACIT) Workshop focuses on the development of skills essential to the task of effective interpreting including: event preparation, memory and comprehension, note taking, and handling linguistic and ethical challenges assertively.

  12. Recent BILC Working Groups’ activities Portability and Recognition of STANAG 6001 Certificates WG formed in 2016 Familiarizationwith STANAG 6001 for Non-Specialists WG formed in 2018 Non-language specialists in NATO staff positions should be familiar with STANAG 6001 language proficiency levels in order to make informed decisions about SLPs and other matters relating to languages such as establishing policy on linguistic interoperability, determining capability targets for languages, and using English as an operational language within NATO, etc. While the STANAG 6001 Overview for Non-Specialists and the full STANAG 6001 descriptors can be used as in promoting a common understanding and interpretation of the descriptors, it has become evident that non-specialists making these decisions remain uninformed. The goals of the WG were to: propose a prototype e-learning module building on the existing BILC documents that will include samples of language at each proficiency level and explanations; explore ways to make the Familiarization with the STANAG 6001 for Non-Specialists module readily available as a practical resource for non-specialists. - Improving recognition of STANAG 6001 certificates both within the militaries as well as by civilian institutions - Exploring more standardization of STANAG 6001 certificates across nations - Rendering to non-specialists the complexities of comparing the STANAG 6001 criterion referenced tests to other types of language tests - Four BILC policy recommendation documents developed and published on the BILC website: • BILC Policy Recommendation on Essential Information for STANAG 6001 Test Certificates • BILC Policy Recommendation on the Acceptance of Commercial STANAG 6001 Certificates • BILC Policy Recommendation on the Longevity of STANAG 6001 Language Certificates • BILC Policy Recommendation on the Portability of STANAG 6001 Language Certifications

  13. Benchmark Advisory Test (BAT) Initiative History of BAT – started in 2003 at the BILC Conference in Harrogate. • Purpose: to provide an external measure against which nations can compare their national STANAG 6001 test results and to standardize testing across the nations. • 8 nations collaborated on the BAT development. • Contract awarded by NATO for the BAT delivery to ACTFL. • In 2009, 11 NATO nations participated, with up to 20 tests each . BILC WG proposed a possible resurrection of the BAT after the 2016 BILC Conference in Riga. - Evidence for the Validity Roadmap (Brno, Sept 2016); - Discussed by the WG on Portability and Recognition of STANAG 6001 Certificates (Bled, Sept 2016); - Survey of interest by BILC Secretary (fall 2017) - 21 nations responded favorably. - In 2018 two BAT Writing & Speaking Forums took place (9-13 July and 6-10 August 2018) at PLTCE, Garmisch Partenkirhen. Some of the Participants were encouraged to receive certification as BAT certificates as interlocutors/raters. - The certification process began a month after the forums. - BAT 2 administration: November 2018 – June 2019

  14. BILC SharP

  15. BILC site – www.natobilc.org

  16. Questions? Contacts: • BILC site https://natobilc.org • Email chairman@natobilc.org

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