ALTAANZ Conference 2025
Keynote Speakers: Dr Xiaoming Xi and Professor Luke Harding
Tim McNamara Lecture
Dr Xiaoming Xi
Reimagining what we measure: How Al is challenging the tradition of language assessment
For decades, technology has reshaped "how" we measure language proficiency, from computer-based testing to Al systems that simulate human written or speech interaction. Yet the widespread use of generative Al does more than impact assessment methods; it exposes a mismatch between "what" traditional language assessments measure and "what" matters in real-world communication. Today, language users increasingly develop, edit and refine writing and speaking outputs with the help of Al, blurring the traditional boundaries of language proficiency.
In this talk, I argue that Al is not merely changing "how" we assess, but fundamentally challenging "what" we value as communicative competence. I will explore new, emerging dimensions of communicative competence that reflect how communication occurs in an Al-mediated world. I will also discuss key conceptual and practical challenges associated with giving language users access to generative Al tools during assessment and a potential path forward.
Bio:
Xiaoming Xi is Director at the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, leading the Assessment Technology and Research Division, the Education Assessment Services Division and the International and Professional Examinations Division. Previously she was Executive Director of New Product Development and Senior Director in R&D at ETS. Her research leadership has impacted global large-scale tests such as ETS’s TOEFL, TOEIC and higher education tests as well as Hong Kong’s tests for college admissions, teacher certification and students’ progress monitoring.
A strong contributor to the educational assessment community, Xiaoming has been a Council Member of the International Test Commission (ITC) since September 2023. She has also served on the Executive Board of the International Language Testing Association (ILTA), chaired various ILTA award committees, and currently chairs the ILTA By-Laws Committee.
Xiaoming has been on the Editorial Board of several leading assessment journals, and has won multiple awards, including the 2015 Top 25 Women in Higher Education and Beyond, the Sage/ILTA Best Book Award, and the ILTA Best Language Testing Paper Award.
Xiaoming has published widely in assessment theories and practices including validity, fairness, construct definition, assessment design, human and automated scoring, and AI technology. She has guest edited two AI-related special issues “Automated Scoring and Feedback Systems” and “Advancing Language Assessment with AI and ML” for Language Testing and Language Assessment Quarterly respectively and has multiple patents in applications of AI.
Professor Luke Harding
Title: Tbd
Abstract: Tbd
Bio:
Luke Harding is a Professor of Applied Linguistics at Lancaster University (UK). His research interests are in language assessment and applied linguistics more broadly, particularly assessing listening and speaking, World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca, language assessment literacy, and the use of digital technology in language assessment. Luke served as co-editor of the journal Language Testing from 2017-2022 and is co-editor (with Glenn Fulcher) of the Routledge Handbook of Language Testing (2nd Edition). Luke is currently President of the International Language Testing Association (ILTA).