ALTE's Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are an important part of the life of the association as they pursue important issues connected with language testing. ALTE has two types of SIGs, Project Groups and Discussion Groups. These meet face-to-face as part of biannual meetings, but also online as needed. They can be chaired by any individual from a Member organisation or an Individual Expert Member. Co-chairs can come from Institutional Affiliate organisations.
Project Groups have coordinators with a clear idea of what they want to achieve. Project Groups have a set purpose, which might be to create and publish a specific piece of documentation or set of materials, create a video, webpage, webinar or academic paper, or any other project that has a specific goal; an appropriate time limit, e.g.. to run for 2-3 years in order to complete a particular piece of work with no necessity to extend beyond this; and an appropriate cost limit, e.g. to accomplish the purpose using an appropriate amount of funds approved by ALTE’s Board of Trustees. This results in a very concrete, focused group, with a clear aim and under no obligation to continue indefinitely.
Discussion Groups, or Input Groups, are one-off meetings, where an individual (or two) within the association puts forward a topic for discussion. It is a forum for all members and affiliates to learn, be trained, share and collaborate.
A discussion group is likely to take place on one occasion only, probably at the same time as a SIG (i.e. the Thursday of a biannual conference/meeting), or alternatively online or at another specified time and location. The individual acts as the group coordinator and manages the input and discussion. Specific output may result in a follow-up discussion group or even project group, but does not have to. These sessions are an opportunity to engage in practical issues affecting members and share research and good practice in one area.
Current SIGs as of February 2020 are as follows. New Project Groups and Discussion Groups will be set up from summer 2020 onwards.
Il gruppo di lavoro QMS è stato istituito dai Membri dell'ALTE Members per rivedere e correggere la documentazione per gli audit. Il gruppo per il Sistema di Gestione della Qualità lavora a stretto contatto con il Comitato Permanente, infatti il suo programma solitamente è stabilito da questo comitato. | Il SIG per la Valutazione Linguistica per la Migrazione e l'Integrazione lavora attualmente allo sviluppo di un Toolkit, un'iniziativa del Consiglio d'Europa per supportare i docenti volontari nel contesto migratorio, e all'elaborazione di descrittori per l'alfabetizzazione da utilizzare con i migranti. |
The
Special Requirements and Circumstances SIG is gathering information on how and to
what extent accomodations
for candidates with special requirements can be granted in order to ensure fairness and
barrier-free access to tests. | Il SIG per la Lingua per Scopi specifici è attualmente impegnato nello sviluppo di un Supplemento LSP al Manuale per l'Analisi e lo Sviluppo dell'Esame di Lingua. È in corso un nuovo progetto per illustrare il Supplemento all'interno del processo di sviluppo di un autentico test per LSP. | Il gruppo si riunisce in momenti prestabiliti durante gli eventi dell'ALTE, quando si rendono disponibili gli argomenti richiesti per il dibattito o le presentazioni. Qualsiasi membro o affiliato che condivida un interesse in un certo settore è invitato a partecipare. |
The group meets once a year at the ALTE winter conferences. Any member or affiliate with an interest in the area is welcome to attend. The last two meetings have been held jointly with the LAMI SIG, looking at teachers' needs in the context of migration and integration. |