LTRG programme 2025–2026
LTRG is open to staff members, visiting researchers, and PhD and MA students with an interest in language testing and assessment. Staff and students working away from campus can often attend the seminars online. Please contact Tineke Brunfaut (t.brunfaut ‘at’ lancaster.ac.uk), Luke Harding (l.harding ‘at’ lancaster.ac.uk) or John Pill (j.pill ‘at’ lancaster.ac.uk) for details.
LTRG usually meets on alternate Thursdays, from 14:00 to 15:30. Meetings in 2025-26 will be a mix of in-person, online and hybrid events.
Term 1
Coordinator: John Pill
| Date | Time | Location | Presenter | Topic |
| 23 October | 14:00-15:30 | In person Bowland North SR17 + online option |
All | Article discussion |
| 30 October | 14:00-15:30 | online | John Pill, Olena Rossi | IELTS for admissions in an era of technology: Investigating the language skills required by undergraduate students at a UK university [work in progress] |
| 6 November | 14:00-15:30 | online | Luke Harding | Imagined interlocutors and “authentic” chatbots: What can corpus linguistics reveal about constructs in computer-mediated speaking assessment? [a dry-run/practice presentation] |
| 13 November | 14:00-15:30 | online | Paul Fernandez (University of Surrey) |
Language in the sky: linguistics and airline safety |
| 4 December | 13:00-14:30 | In person Bowland North SR08 + online option |
1. Heather Gaddis
2. Rizki Anandi |
Introducing PhD studies:
1. Mixed methods research on mediation 2. Assessing L2 Arabic speaking: Developing a rating scale for L2 spoken Arabic performance |
| 11 December | 14:00-15:30 | online | Mary Forbes, Gareth Jones (Coventry University) |
Integrating GenAI into a Pre-Sessional English course – getting ahead or on the edge? |