2023
Plenary Speech
Vahid Aryadoust
The Next Frontier: Advancing Language Assessment with Science of Learning and Generative AI
In this plenary speech, I will be presenting the opportunities and challenges of integrating the Science of Learning (SoL) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance language assessment. SoL provides insights into how individuals learn, process, and acquire language, and sensor technologies play a crucial role in gathering data that can inform these insights. The use of sensors such as eye trackers, neuroimaging technology, and facial emotional analysis allows for the collection of rich and diverse data on language learners' cognitive and affective states, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the language learning process. Furthermore, adopting Generative AI in language assessment can lead to even more powerful applications. Generative AI can generate various forms of content beyond language, such as auditory, verbal, and multimodal content. I argue that this capability has significant implications for language assessment and learning, where learners can receive personalized content and feedback tailored to their individual needs and preferences, practice in a variety of contexts, and engage with different types of media.
Vahid Aryadoust, an Associate Professor of language assessment at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, specializes in language assessment, meta-analysis, Scientometrics, and sensor technologies. His research has been published in prestigious journals such as Computer Assisted Language Learning, Language Testing, System, Current Psychology, Language Assessment Quarterly, Assessing Writing, Educational Assessment, Educational Psychology, among others. He has also contributed to books and book chapters published by renowned publishers like Routledge, Cambridge University Press, Springer, Cambridge Scholar Publishing, Wiley Blackwell, and more.
Dr. Aryadoust has led assessment research projects supported by educational fund-providers in Singapore, USA, UK, and Canada. He serves on the Advisory Board of several international journals and was awarded the Intercontinental Academia Fellowship in 2018-2019. As an advocate for knowledge-sharing, equity, and free education, he established the "Statistics and Theory" YouTube channel to share his expertise in quantitative methods and theory. In recognition of his exceptional use of social media, his YouTube channel received the John Cheung Social Media Award in 2020.