Fwd: CFP: MwALT 2026 Call for Proposals Now Open! | October 10, Iowa City

[ten grrl]

Dear colleagues, 

Happy May!

We are delighted to announce that the Call for Proposals for the 27th Midwest Association of Language Testers Conference (MwALT 2026) is now officially open. This year's conference will take place at the University of Iowa on Saturday, October 10, 2026. Join us as we welcome MwALT back to Iowa City for the fifth time this October! Please circulate this call (and consider for yourselves, collaborators, and graduate students!). 

Conference Theme

MwALT 2026 is themed Language Assessment Through Multiple Lenses: Uses, Innovations, and Impacts, highlighting three interrelated dimensions of our field: 

• Uses: the practical applications of language assessments in educational, professional, and social contexts.
• Innovations: emerging methodologies, technologies, and tools shaping language assessment.
• Impacts: the broad effects of language assessment on learners, educators, institutions, and society. 

Proposal Submission Guidelines

We welcome submissions across a broad range of strands and topics reflecting the full scope of research and practice in language testing and assessment. We invite proposals for the following two presentation formats: 

• Paper presentation
• Roundtable discussion (including work-in-progress)

Detailed submission guidelines, including proposal requirements, presentation formats, and evaluation criteria, are available on our conference website (https://education.uiowa.edu/mwalt2026) and in the hyperlinked Call for Proposals document. 

Submission Portal

https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7NT4jGTmcqHrU0e

Plenary Speakers

Dr. Jamie L. Schissel, Professor of TESOL, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

• Humanizing Approaches for Language Assessment in the Age of GenAI: Peoples and Possibilities

Dr. Ping-Lin Chuang, Language Measurement Scientist, Duolingo

• Technology as a Mediator of Language Assessment: From Construct Representation to Test-Taker Experience

Important Dates

• Opening date: May 1, 2026
• Proposal submission deadline: June 30, 2026
• Results announced: July 31, 2026

Mark your calendar for October 10, 2026, and join us for an exciting event that promises to bring a fascinating lineup of presentations that will inspire and foster critical reflection and dialogue on best practices, ethical and social implications, and future directions of language assessment.

 

We look forward to your submissions. Questions and inquiries may be directed to MwALT...@uiowa.edu.

Sincerely,

MwALT 2026 Organizing Committee

 

Lia Plakans, Professor of Multilingual Education, University of Iowa

I-Chun Vera Hsiao, PhD Candidate in Multilingual Education, University of Iowa

Xinyue Shui, PhD Candidate in Multilingual Education, University of Iowa

Andy Jiahao Liu, PhD Student in Multilingual Education, University of Iowa

Kwangmin Lee, Assistant Professor of TESOL, Western Michigan University

Renka Ohta, Senior Research Project Manager, ETS

Ray J. T. Liao, Assistant Professor, National Taiwan Ocean University

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