Evelina Galaczi

Director of Research - English at Cambridge University Press and Assessment

Evelina Galaczi is Director of Research-English at Cambridge University Press and Assessment (CUPA). She has worked in English language education for over 30 years as a teacher, teacher trainer, materials writer, researcher and assessment specialist. She leads a team of experts in language learning, teaching and assessment, who implement the CUPA research strategy for English learning and assessment products and provide a centre of excellence in English language education internally and globally. Evelina’s expertise lies in second language assessment and learning, with a specific focus on speaking assessment, test development, testing theory and validity and the use of technologies in learning and assessment. Her recent work involves exploring the exciting opportunities – and challenges – of using AI in language assessment and learning.

Evelina holds a Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Applied Linguistics from Columbia University, New York. She was a founding member of the British Association of Applied Linguistics SIG in Testing, Learning and Assessment and currently serves as a non-executive Trustee for the International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF), which promotes effective English language education in multilingual contexts. She is also a recently appointed member of the Management Committee governing the Cambridge University Language Sciences Research Centre.

Evelina is recognised internationally for her expertise. She presents worldwide and has a strong record of academic publications, including papers in Applied Linguistics, Language Assessment Quarterly, Language Testing and Assessment in Education. She is the co-author/editor of Exploring language frameworks (Cambridge University Press) and Measured constructs (Cambridge University Press), and one of her recent co-authored articles on auto-assessment in speaking was recently recognised as a runner-up for the ILTA Best Article Award. She currently serves as Associate Editor for the Language Assessment Quarterly journal and has been appointed to take on the role of co-editor from Jan 2024.

Plenary Speaker Saturday 2:40 PM

Language Learning in the era of ChatGPT: Should We Be Excited? Or Should We Be Worried?

There can be little doubt that the sophisticated Large Language Models (LLMs) which power generative AI tools and which are now widely available have the potential to transform education.

There is plenty to be excited about in the area of language learning. We can create content at speed and at scale. Learners can interact with an AI study buddy that adapts and personalises content to their individual needs. Teachers can have an AI collaborator that produces lesson plans and worksheets. And most exciting of all, we could transform the focus of education to what Human Intelligence can do well alongside appropriate use of Artificial Intelligence. At the same time, Generative AI raises the stakes of the legal, ethical and security concerns that we have to navigate in the domain of learning, since Generative AI content can be inaccurate, biased or inappropriate, or can help students to cheat in classroom and assessment settings. The handling of intellectual property and copyright also raises concerns.

In this plenary I’ll explore the promise and peril of AI in language education, pausing to consider the multi-faced nature of language learning, aspects of our intelligence which set us apart from AI, and the opportunities and dilemmas that teachers face. I’ll share findings from Cambridge research which focuses on teacher’s views and practices in using generative AI tools and will end with suggestions on key questions that education systems, schools and learners need to be grappling with to ensure that we all utilise the promise of AI for language education.