The University’s Centre for Research in English Language Learning & Assessment (CRELLA) have been awarded a grant worth £50,000 to build a learning-oriented  assessment platform for Shangruitong (STR), one of the leading online teacher training and support providers in China.

CRELLA’s Lecturer in Language Assessment Dr Sathena Chan said: “Although learning English is becoming more and more important in China, there is currently no compulsory exit English exams at primary level.  As long as the national curriculum is followed, there is no standardised way of teaching and assessing English in the classrooms– it very much depends on the teachers.

“However when the children move up to secondary school, they will be expected to take high-stakes exams in English Language. SRT wants to bridge that gap and ensure teachers are supported in assessing their students.”

CRELLA, in partnership with the British Council in China, will build an online and mobile assessment platform that links in closely with the curriculum, textbooks and current classroom tasks.

“Because the assessments can be done using a mobile app, we hope it will be more engaging for the children to use. It also generates useful data so teachers can track the progress of their students more easily,” said Dr Chan.

The new platform and services will be ready for trial in September. After the trial, the tool will be made available to primary and lower secondary English teachers in China.