The 9th International Conference of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) took place in Munich, Germany, from 15–17 April 2026. Organised under the patronage of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the event addressed the theme “Responsible Language Assessment to Empower Learners”.
The Council of Europe’s work in language policy and practice was presented at the conference by Dr Sarah Breslin, Executive Director of the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) and Head of Language Policy. In her address on empowering member states to implement responsible language education, she highlighted the synergies with the conference theme, demonstrating that the Council’s human-rights based approach shares the same principles of social justice, learner agency and responsible use of technology. Sarah Breslin emphasised the commitment to plurilingual and intercultural education for democratic culture and presented concrete steps to turn this vision into reality, such as the recently launched Reflection and Planning Survey Tool for member states, forthcoming resources from the ECML’s Programme, Language Education at the Heart of Democracy, as well as ECML Training and Consultancy in-country workshops.
She also represented the Council of Europe on the panel marking the 25th anniversary of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), reflecting on its continued significance in language education in Europe and beyond.
Arzu Burcu Tuner, programme manager within the Language Policy Programme represented the Council of Europe at the launch of the joint ALTE-CoE publication – the revised Manual for Language Test Development and Examining (MLTDE). In their interventions, both Sarah and Arzu highlighted the importance of the long-standing partnership with ALTE, a founding member of the ECML’s Professional Network Forum, in support of quality language education and assessment across Europe.
Conference website: www.alte.org/Munich-2026
Photo credit: Cordula Flegel and Goethe-Institut