PhD Supervision Interests

I am interested in supervising doctoral students in the area of language testing (particularly listening assessment,speaking assessment, specific purposes language testing andassessor decision-making), as well as topics concerning the challenges of World Englishes/English as a Lingua Franca for language teaching and assessment.

Profile

My research interests are mainly in language testing and assessment. I am particularly interested in second language listening assessment, issues surrounding the assessment of pronunciation, assessor decision-making, assessment literacy, and the challenges of World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca for language testing.

Some of my recent publications include:

Pill, J. & Harding, L. (in press). Defining the language assessment literacy 'gap': Evidence from a parliamentary inquiry. Language Testing, 30(3).

Harding, L. (2012). Accent, listening assessment and the potential for a shared-L1 advantage: A DIF perspective. Language Testing, 29 (2), 163-180. [Related podcast - Issue 9 - available here]

Harding, L., Pill, J. & Ryan, K. (2011). Assessor decision making while marking a note-taking listening test: The case of the OET. Language Assessment Quarterly, 8 (2), 108-126.

I have also published a book titled Accent and Listening Assessment through Peter Lang (see here) 

Current Teaching

I am the Director of Studies for the Hong Kong MA TESOL programme, and I have taught the following modules in Hong Kong:

• Classroom Language Testing
• Curriculum Design and Teacher Development in Language Education

I also teach on several modules on the MA in Language Testing (Distance), including:

• Language Testing Construction and Evaluation
• Background to Applied Linguistics for Language Testing
• Issues in Language Testing
• Statistical Analysis for Language Testing

I have taught on the following modules on the on-campus MA TESOL/TEFL:

• Language Test Construction and Evaluation
• Research Methods in Linguistics and English Language

 During summer, I teach on in the Language Testing at Lancaster course: http://www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/study/languagetesting/index.htm

• Linking the GEPT Listening Tests to the CEFR

  01/04/2012 →
  ... Read more»

• An Exploratory Study of Differences in GESE Examiner Orientations in the UK, India and China

  19/03/2012 → 30/09/2013
  ... Read more»

• Language Test Design and Evaluation in Luxembourg

  01/09/2011 →
  This project involves the training of a team of English language teachers in language test design and evaluation, and the development of a CEFR A2-level test for use in secondary schools in Luxembourg ... Read more»

• European Association of Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) conference, Siena, 6-8 May 2011

  31/05/2011
  Our language testing team was well represented at the EALTA conference held in Siena, 6-8 May 2011. Three staff members gave presentations. Charles Alderson - 'Diagnosing foreign language reading prof ... Read more»

• Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching (4th annual conference)

  (Invited speaker) 24/8/2012 → 25/8/2012
  Activity: Participation in conference
  Read more»

• Language Assessment in an International Academic Context (CIP Symposium 2012)

  (Invited speaker) 1/11/2012
  Activity: Participation in conference
  Read more»

• Northern Association of TESOL (NATESOL) conference

  (Keynote/plenary speaker) 9/6/2012
  Activity: Participation in conference
  Read more»

• Language Testing

  (Editorial board member) 1/1/2013
  Activity: Editorial activity
  Read more»