Language Testing Specialist at the Center of Applied Linguistics

What degree did you receive from Illinois and when?

Graduated with a Masters degree in TESL in 2018

What have you been doing since you graduated? What is your current title/position? How long have you worked there?

Since graduating in August 2018, I have worked as a Language Testing Specialist at the Center for Applied Linguistics, where I develop test content and rater training materials for the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs test.

What are you working on right now?

Language assessment: As a Language Testing Specialist at CAL, I review and revise test content across all four language domains and all five of the WIDA grade-level clusters, focuses especially on Speaking and Listening at grades 6-12. My work also includes selection of benchmark responses for training of Writing and Speaking raters, review of item performance statistics, coordination with external item writers and content experts, and quality control of test content and format.

Private tutoring: I provide private pronunciation and fluency tutoring to UIUC graduate students planning to retake the EPI and become Graduate Teaching Assistants.

Conference presentations and publication: I have presented the results of my MATESL thesis research at ECOLT, SLRF, and MwALT this year, and am working to submit a manuscript of my findings for publication.

How has your degree from Illinois helped you in your career?

The MATESL program offers high-quality coursework in language assessment and a variety of opportunities to apply this knowledge in the real world, e.g., as a Teaching Assistant and EPT rater. The mentorship of talented professors such as Dr. Xun Yan has also been invaluable in helping me succeed.

Contact: E.Latham.Academic AT gmail DOT com

Posted: 10/14/19