May 3-6 this year the 6th International Conference of the Association of Language Testers of Europe ALTE took place in Bologna (Italy). This unique multilingual forum provided a platform for the exchange of ideas and practical knowledge, the results of studies conducted in the field of testology  in different educational and cultural contexts around the world.

The Association of Language Testers in Europe is a professional organization that unites consortium, institutes and universities that are world leaders in the field of language competence assessment: Cambridge University, Goethe Institute, Alliance Française, Cervantes Institute, Stockholm University, Russian Test The consortium (MSU, St. Petersburg State University, PFUR, PIER), and also the Kazan Federal University, which in 2015 became an affiliated member of the association after the approval of the Supervisory Board of the KFU and the admission of the application member Board of ALTE.

The conference, held under the patronage of the Council of Europe, addressed the issues of teaching, learning and language assessment. The delegates, who are researchers, teachers, testing specialists, and politicians, discussed a number of burning issues, such as: language policy, new challenges and opportunities in language education, the impact of language assessment on educational processes, the impact of information technology on education and evaluation in the field of linguistics.

ALTE Secretary-General, Dr. Nick Sevil, opening the conference, said: "ALTE international conferences are aimed at establishing connections, and the theme of the conference in 2017 clearly emphasizes the relationship between learning, teaching and language assessment at every level, from national politics to the school class. One of the main goals of the conference is to establish connections  between specialists from different professional communities. This year, at our conference, we gathered experts and practitioners working in different languages ​​and in professional contexts from all corners of the globe, and this will give us the opportunity to gain new knowledge and experience."

The delegation of KFU consisting of Deputy Director G.Sadykova, Professor M.Solnyshkina and Associate Professors A.H. Ashrapova and E.V. Kharkova presented a report on the topic "Assessment of Training Needs in teaching Tatar as a non-native language", in which the authors talked about Spectrum of functions of the modern Tatar language. The results of the survey conducted at the Institute of Philology and Intercultural communication (KFU) showed that the graduates of the courses name the retransmission of the Tatar culture  the main reason for studying the Tatar language. This fact should be reflected not only in the content of the course on the Tatar language, but in the final tests. The report attracted interest primarily from delegations representing bilingual regions and countries such as Wales, Ireland, Spain. The delegation of the KFU established business friendly relations with a number of specialists from universities of Great Britain, Australia, the USA and other countries.

The main issues of the conference became a topic for discussion at a round table organized by the Department of German Philology on May 18. Prof. Solnishkina emphasized the concept of social cohesion as a particularly significant, put forward by the Australian prof. Joseph Lo Bianco, and also talked about the program TextInspector, developed by the team of Stefan Baks, a professor at the Open University (UK). Finishing the round table, prof. R.R. Zamaletdinov stressed the importance of participating in international professional associations and using the experience of participating in foreign conferences to promote his scientific interests, including those related to the study of the Tatar language.

Source of information: Gulnara Vasilyovna Sadykova, Deputy Director for International Activities Institute of Philology and Intercultural communication KFU