The OPIc Arrives in China

The Oral Proficiency Interview computer system (OPIc), developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), was recently introduced in Shanghai to assist those seeking employment with international companies to demonstrate their proficiency. Currently, the OPIc covers 13 languages and five of them, English, Russian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish, are now available in China.

“The system was introduced in China because it contains evaluation tests for multiple languages, rather than a single language like other tests,” said Li Peize, President of the Beijing-based Chinese Testing International of the Confucius Institute. “It was designed by more than 10,000 language experts around the world.”
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Visit LTI @ SHRM (April 18-20) Booth # 308

Visit LTI at Booth # 308 in Florida during the SHRM Talent Management Conference & Exhibition – 4/18-20. While here, take a spin at our Prize Wheel where you can win gift cards, free tests and much more! Speak with one of Language Testing professionals and learn how we work with the HR community to ensure the best hires.

The SHRM 2016 Talent Management Conference & Exposition gives you the tools, resources, innovations and solutions you need to evolve your human capital strategies. The conference provides ideas to advance you personally and professionally, while boosting your talent management strategies.  More than a thousand HR professionals will join us in Orlando April 18-20, 2016—this is an excellent opportunity to make new connections, network with old friends and expand your list of contacts.

Visit LTI @ the TESOL Expo (April 5-8) – Booth #633

Language Testing International is excited to once again participate and exhibit at TESOL this year. For those of you attending, be sure to stop by the LTI booth (#633) and speak to one of our Language Testing professionals.

And don’t forget to take a spin at our “PRIZE WHEEL” where everyone is guaranteed to win!

We also urge you to attend our informative Workshop Sessions on Wednesday, April 6th. See below for more details.

 

  • Wednesday, April 6th @ 2pm – Room #323 – “ACTFL Testing Proficiency Performance/K12 & Higher Education.” Presented by Brett Laquercia.
  • Wednesday, April 6th @ 3PM – Holiday #1 – “Empowering Language Learners by Developing and Recognizing 21st Century Literacies” – (Sponsored by ACTFL) Presented by: Marty Abbott.

To learn more about TESOL or to view the Expo schedule click here!

Improvements to AAPPL Shorten Test Segments

Starting April 1, 2016, ACTFL has launched new updates to AAPPL, The ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages.

The changes shorten test segments by 10 minutes and impacts all three current levels that include:

Novice, Intermediate and Advanced.

Due to these improvements, the test segments are now 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes. Each level (Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced) now has three topics.
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ACTFL Signs Memorandum of Cooperation with University of Guadalajara

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO — Earlier this month, The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) announced a strategic international partnership to expand and enhance foreign language collaboration at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico. ACTFL and the Centro Universitario de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades (CUCSH) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation initiating a new educational alliance to support academic research, new language assessments, and professional development workshops for language instructors at the University.

Leading the delegation (and pictured on left) was ACTFL Director of Professional Programs, Elvira Swender, along with the CEO of Language Testing International (LTI), Helen Hamlyn. Representatives from the University included CUCSH Dean, Héctor Raúl Solis Gadea and Dora Meléndez Vizcarra, Chair of the Department of Languages.

Click here to read the entire article on the ACTFL website.

World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages

The World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages define the central role of world languages in the learning career of every student. The five goal areas of the Standards establish an inextricable link between communication and culture, which is applied in making connections and comparisons and in using this competence to be part of local and global communities.

The World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages create a roadmap to guide learners to develop competence to communicate effectively and interact with cultural competence to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world.
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Superior Social Skills Tied To Bilinguals

It’s well-known that being bilingual has  obvious advantages. Some of which are that it allows you to take advantage of new experiences new conversations.  But in recent years, psychology researchers have demonstrated some less obvious advantages of bilingualism, too. For instance, bilingual children may enjoy certain cognitive benefits, such as improved executive function — which is critical for problem solving and other mentally demanding activities.

Now, two new studies demonstrate that multilingual exposure improves not only children’s cognitive skills but also their social abilities.

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ACTFL Receives ACE Recommendations for Two New Tests!

LTI is happy to report that ACTFL has once again received credit recommendations by The American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE) for the following: OPI, OPIC, WPT and for the first time, both the Reading and Listening Proficiency Tests (RPT and LPT).

“ACTFL is extremely pleased with the renewal of college credit recommendations for ACTFL speaking and writing assessments (OPI, OPIc, and WPT) and the initial recommendations for ACTFL reading and listening tests (RPT and LPT),”  said Elvira Swender, Director of ACTFL Professional Programs. “The implications of ACE College Credit Recommendation for ACTFL tests cannot be overestimated.  These recommendations allow even non-traditional language learners to demonstrate their language proficiency according to the national and internationally recognized ACTFL scale, and to be recommended for college credit based on that credential.”
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LTI Announces New Chinese Partner

Earlier this month, Chinese Testing International (CTI) became LTI’s exclusive distributor for the delivery of ACTFL Assessments in the People’s Republic of China. This agreement brings forth significant opportunities for all parties, in all markets, including commercial, government and educational fields.

The agreement also adds to the expanding distributor list that is a main focus of LTI in 2016 and beyond. The agreement was reached through combined efforts on many fronts. They included negotiations made by LTI’s Managing Director of Business Development, Gabriel Cruz and CEO, Helen Hamlyn, who last week signed the agreement in a ceremony at CTI headquarters in China.

This is a very exciting time for LTI and this announcement continues our positive, forward progress.

CREDU, Parent Company of LTI, Re-brands as Multicampus

Credu, our parent company, has undergone a re-branding that will change its official corporate name to Multicampus Co., Ltd. effective March 11, 2016. Credu however, will remain as a brand name in the online education division of Multicampus.

The name change and re-brand comes over a period of time that saw the acquisitions and partnering of Foreign Language Proficiency Testing Leader, LTI & ACTFL, Multimedia Knowledge and Information Services company, SERICEO and the #1 off-line education service provider, Samsung SDS Multicampus.

With these various levels of services and product experience, it was decided to move forward and unite these brands under one, unique identity. Multicampus means Multiple/Multifarious HR services that are to be provided in the multiple locations around the globe. Language Testing International is the center of the global business division of Multicampus.

This is a very exciting time for LTI as this announcement will further expand our reach in various markets and continue positive momentum through 2016 and beyond.