Menu
Log in


Our HISTORY


The History of ALTE -The Association of Language Testers in Europe: The first 30 years

Published in 2020, this book charts the story of ALTE through its first thirty years, using the voices of the people involved. It describes the birth, growth and development of the association, emphasising its roles in connecting practitioners, policy-makers, academics and other stakeholders, before setting a course for the future.

You might also like to view this introductory video from Secretary-General, Dr Nick Saville.

List of ALTE Meetings and Conferences

This list shows the numbered biannual ALTE meetings and conferences and the theme. International Conferences are marked IC. Digital Symposia are marked DS. SIG meetings are shown below.

 63 Nov 2025 Pécs, Hungary Accessibility and Inclusivity in Standardised Language Assessment: novel approaches and future opportunities
 62 Apr 2025  Cardiff, Wales, UK Assessing Spoken Interaction
 61 Nov 2024 Istanbul, Turkey The Transformative Power of EDI in Language Assessment
 60 Apr 2024 Bad Homburg, Germany Closing the Gap - Assessment for Skilled Labour
 59 Nov 2023 Rome, Italy ALTE's Commitment to Alignment Using the CEFR: Integrating Learning, Teaching and Assessment
 IC8 Apr 2023 Madrid, Spain Language Assessment Fit for the Future
 58 Nov 2022 Prague, Czech Republic The Less Widely Spoken Languages from the Perspective of Plurilingualism
 57 Apr 2022 Paris, France The Future Place of Humans in Language Assessment
 56 Nov 2021 Perugia, Italy (online only) Respecting Diversity and Bridging Distances: Teaching and assessment of multi-profiles - from literacy to plurilingualism
 DS1 Apr 2021 Digital Symposium Safeguarding the Future of Multilingual Assessment in the Covid World
 55 Nov 2020 Istanbul, Turkey (online only)Pluriculturalism: Implications for language learning and assessment
 IC7 Apr 2020 Madrid, Spain (cancelled) Safeguarding the Future of Multilingual Assessment
 54 Nov 2019 Ljubljana, SloveniaMonolingual Testing in a Multilingual Reality? Language Ideologies and their Influence on Language Testing
 53 Apr 2019 Ghent, Belgium Multilingual Access to Education
 52 Nov 2018 Salamanca, Spain The Roles of Test Takers and Users in Striving for Fariness
 51 Apr 2018 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaMultilingualism and Using Language for Specific Purposes - The Role of Assessment
 50 Nov 2017 Leuven, Belgium The Impact of Language Tests on Education, Migration and Society
 IC6 May 2017 Bologna, Italy Learning and Assessment: Making the connections
 49 Nov 2016 Helsinki, Finland The Future of Digital Assessment
 48 Apr 2016 Stockholm, Sweden Language Assessment: Purpose and usefulness
 47 Nov 2015 Perugia, Italy The Concept of Quality in Language Assessment
 46 May 2015 Bergen, Norway The B2/C1 Levels and Language Tests for Academic Purposes
 45 Nov 2014 London, UK Innovation in Language Testing
 IC5 May 2014 Paris, France Language Assessment for Multilingualism
 44 Nov 2013 Barcelona, Spain Language Assessment to Support Migration and Integration: Different approaches to a common issue
 43 Apr 2013 Salamanca, Spain Language Assessment for Adults in the Context of Lifelong Learning
 42 Nov 2012 Munich, Germany Developing and Implementing Language Tests for Younger Learners
 41 Apr 2012 Lisbon, Portugal The Impact of Language Testing on Learning and Teaching
 40 Nov 2011 Bochum, Germany Achieving Context Validity
 IC4 July 2011 Kraków, Poland Exploring Language Frameworks
 39 Nov 2010 Prague, Czech Republic Fairness and Quality Management in Language Testing
 38 May 2010 Rome, Italy Reference Level Descriptions and Assessment
 37 Nov 2009 Maynooth, Ireland Testing Less Widely Spoken Languages in a Multilingual Context
 36 Apr 2009 Santiago de Compostela, Spain Providing Standards, Sustaining Diversity
 35 Nov 2008 Lisbon, Portugal Quality and Assessment for Language Learning (joint with Eaquals)
 IC3 Apr 2008 Cambridge, UK Language Testing Matters: Investigating the wider social and educational impact of assessment
 34 Nov 2007 Vilnius, Lithuania Language Testing in National Educational Systems: Communicating the code of practice to stakeholder groups
 33 Apr 2007 Sèvres, France The CEFR: from Plurilingualism to Intercultural Competences
 32 Nov 2006 Sofia, Bulgaria Codes of Practice in Language Testing
 31 Apr 2006 Copenhagen, Denmark Aligning Examinations to the CEFR
 30 Nov 2005 Cardiff, UK Language Assessment for Lifelong Learning
 IC2 May 2005 Berlin, Germany Multilingualism and Assessment: Achieving transparency, assuring quality, sustaining diversity
 29 Nov 2004 Bilbao, Spain Testing the Less Widely Spoken Languages
 28 Apr 2004 Kraków, Poland Quality and Language Testing in Europe - Between Standardisation and Diversity
 27 Nov 2003 Athens, Greece (no themes for biannual conferences before 2004)
 26 Apr 2003 Ljubljana, Slovenia 
 25 Nov 2002 Salamanca, Spain 
 24 Apr 2002 St Petersburg, Russia 
 23 Nov 2001 Budapest, Hungary 
 IC1 July 2001 Barcelona, Spain European Language Testing in a Global Context
 22 Apr 2001 Perugia, Italy 
 21 Nov 2000 Lisbon, Portugal 
 20 May 2000 Paris, France (First Conference Day)
 19 Nov 1999 Barcelona, Spain 
 18 Apr 1999 Jyväskylä, Finland 
 17 Nov 1998 Leuven, Belgium 
 16 Apr 1998 Bergen, Norway 
 15 Nov 1997 Athens, Greece 
 14 Apr 1997 Stockholm, Sweden 
 13 Nov 1996 Luxembourg, Luxembourg 
 12 Apr 1996 Frankfurt, Germany 
 11 Nov 1995 Dublin, Ireland 
 10 Apr 1995 Copenhagen, Denmark 
 9 Nov 1994 Salamanca, Spain 
 8 Apr 1994 Arnhem, Netherlands 
 7 Nov 1993 Munich, Germany 
 6 Apr 1993 Paris, France 
 5 Nov 1992 Alcalá de Henares, Spain 
 4 Apr 1992 Lisbon, Portugal 
 3 Nov 1991 Cambridge, UK 
 2 Apr 1991 Perugia, Italy 
 1 Nov 1990 Barcelona, Spain 


In-person SIG meetings

Between 2007 and 2020, additional in-person SIG meetings took place, as well as during the main meeting and conference sessions. These were held twice year until 2010 and 2012-3, and once a year in 2011 and 2014-2020. From 2020 additional SIG meetings take place online. 

Feb 2007 Lisbon, Portugal

May 2007 Munich, Germany

Feb 2008 Perugia, Italy

Sep 2008 Sèvres, France

Feb 2009 Alcalà de Henares, Spain

Sep 2009 Berlin, Germany

Feb 2010 Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Sep 2010 Frankfurt, Germany

Feb 2011 Perugia, Italy

Feb 2012 Copenhagen, Denmark

Sep 2012 Sofia, Bulgaria

Feb 2013 Sèvres, France

Sep 2013 Cambridge, UK

Feb 2014 Frankfurt, Germany

Feb 2015 Arnhem, Netherlands

Feb 2016 Vilnius, Lithuania

Feb 2017 Cardiff, UK

Jan 2018 Maynooth, Ireland

Feb 2019 Klagenfurt, Austria

Feb 2020 Munich, Germany

Historical list of roles

Manager/Secretary-General

 1990-2013 Mike Milanovic, UK
 2013-present Nick Saville, UK


Chair of Executive Committee/Board of Trustees

 2009-2010 Berit Halvorsen, Norway
 2010-2017 Emyr Davies, Wales
 2018-present Waldemar Martyniuk, Poland


Chair of Standing Committee

 2008-2020 Michaela Perlmann-Balme, Germany
 2021-present Vincent Folny, France


Secretariat Manager

 1992-1993 Patrick Cronin
 1993-1997 Rosalie Kerr
 1997-2002 Marianne Hirtzel
 2002-2008 Barbara Stevens
 2008-2014 Martin Nuttall
 2014-2017 Esther Gutierrez Eugenio
 2017-present Graham Seed

 ALTE - the Association of Language Testers in Europe is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered in England, charity number 1184799.

Spanish Translation © Instituto Cervantes and University of Salamanca 2024 | French Translation © France Éducation International 2024 | Italian Translation © University for Foreigners, Perugia 2024 | Dutch Translation © CNaVT 2024 | Romanian Translation © Babeş-Bolyai University 2024 |  | Portuguese Translation © CAPLE-University of Lisbon 2023 | Swedish Translation © Stockholm University 2024 | Catalan Translation © Generalitat de Cataluyna 2024 | German Translation © Goethe Institut and ÖSD 2024

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software