Language Testing Forum 2026

The Language Testing Forum (LTF) stands as one of the UK’s longest-running and influential annual conferences, held since 1980 and dedicated to the field of language testing and assessment. LTF is organized by different institutions or groups within the language testing community each year, with 2026 being hosted in Oxford by Oxford University Press.

The conference serves as a platform for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the language testing community to come together to discuss recent developments, share research findings, and explore practical issues related to language testing and assessment.

Since 2016, LTF has been the official conference of the UK Association for Language Testing and Assessment (UKALTA) and features the UKALTA Annual General Meeting (AGM). The conference plays a vital role in advancing the field of language testing in the UK and promotes professional standards in language assessment.

Conference theme:

The theme for LTF 2026 is ‘Methodological Choices in Language Assessment: Traditions and New Directions’. The theme invites researchers and practitioners to reflect critically on how methodological decisions shape the evidence we gather, the claims we make, and the impact our assessments have across diverse contexts. As the field navigates expanding data sources, emerging and evolving technologies, and increasing expectations for ethical and transparent research, methodological flexibility and rigour are more important than ever.

Featured topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Traditional and contemporary quantitative and qualitative research methods in language assessment

  • Methods for investigating constructs and gathering validity evidence

  • Methods for examining rating processes and rater behaviour

  • Process‑oriented and digital methodologies

  • Methodological approaches to classroom-based assessment

  • Methods for exploring stakeholder perspectives, test use, and washback

  • Methods for investigating accessibility, accommodations, and inclusive principles in test design

  • Ethical, reflective, and conceptual approaches to assessment methodology, including methodological transparency and replicability

The topics provide a platform to interrogate established practices, explore innovative approaches, and consider the implications of methodological choice for the future of language assessment.

Submit your abstract (max. 300 words) by 25 July 2026 using our online submission form>

Event Date
Abstract submission deadline 25 July 2026
Notification of acceptance 29 August 2026
Registration deadline 7 November 2026
Conference dates 13–15 November 2026
(Friday afternoon to Sunday midday)

For any queries, please email ltf.2026@oup.com.

Venue and Accommodation

The Language Testing Forum 2026 will take place across Oxford. The Friday programme will be hosted at Oxford University Press, while the Saturday and Sunday sessions will be held at Worcester College, in the heart of the city.

Friday, 13th November

Oxford University Press
Great Clarendon Street
Oxford OX2 6DP

Saturday and Sunday, 14-15th November

Worcester College
Walton Street
Oxford OX1 2HB

Accommodation information will also be provided, including suggested options close to the conference venues.

Email: ltf.2026@oup.com for queries regarding LTF 2026.