Teachers revolutionize language assessment: TALE project receives award!

Teachers revolutionize language assessment: TALE project receives award!

On July 7, 2025, Professor Dr. Karin Vogt and lecturer Veronika Fröhlich from the Heidelberg University of Education were honored for their significant contributions to the EU project “Teachers’ Assessment Literacy Enhancement (TALE)”. The project, which ran from 2015 to 2018, aimed to develop digital learning modules for foreign language teachers to promote their skills in assessing language performance. This award was presented online for the first time this year by the Promotion of Language Assessment Literacy Award, organized by the English Language Testing Society (ELT).

The Erasmus+-funded TALE project not only focused on improving teachers' assessment skills, but also on developing high-quality assessment materials and appropriate classroom practices. The researchers, who come from Germany, Greece, Great Britain, Hungary and Cyprus, surveyed teachers about their confidence in their assessment skills and determined the need for further training content. Based on these surveys, online modules for the interactive TALE self-study course were developed and evaluated by teachers. Christine Coombe from the ELT Society described the TALE course as a significant contribution to foreign language performance assessment and to strengthening teachers.

Results and further development

The revised version of the TALE course and a manual are available free of charge on the Internet and are used worldwide in training and further education. The course has now recorded more than 2,000 registrations, underlining the high demand and benefits of the materials and modules on offer. The TALE project website, taleproject.eu, provides additional information about the courses and content available.

The project offers a total of nine separate courses on language assessment, which are also important for teachers of other languages. Access to these courses is available upon login and helps create an efficient and sustainable training infrastructure for English language teachers (ELTs).

Erasmus+ and its effects

The Erasmus+ initiative not only promotes the international exchange of teachers, but also encourages them to reflect on their everyday school life. Participants report on newly learned methods that they integrate into their lessons. These teaching designs are often interdisciplinary and project-oriented. The findings are based on the summary of the Erasmus+ impact study “Learning mobility in Europe”, which was published in 2025.

In summary, it can be said that the TALE project and the associated award for the Heidelberg scientists are of great importance not only for the teachers involved, but also for the entire educational landscape. The ongoing commitment to improving assessment skills is seen as crucial to the future development of language education and the successes of the project are clear evidence of this.