On 30 January and 3 February 2021 we had the opportunity to participate in the “Good Practices in Online Language Assessments” event organized by METASIG. That was the first official event of the METASIG TESOL Turkey. METASIG stands for Measurement, Evaluation, Testing and Assessment Special Interest Group. It aims to create a platform where members who share interest in the field of language assessment and testing work together, disseminate information, and exchange opinions as well as expertise.

The event was held in two sessions on Zoom. The first session was on Saturday, January 30, and the second one on Wednesday, February 3, 2021. In the first session on January 30, we worked in smaller groups and discussed different aspects of the online assessment practices currently being applied in the institutions during this unprecedented pandemic time. There were seven focus groups (breakout rooms) and each was chaired by one of the METASIG board members acting as the facilitator: listening, reading, speaking, writing, language use, proficiency and alternative assessments.

In the second session on February 3, the whole group got together, and the spokesperson of each focus group shared the outcomes of the discussion with the whole group. After each group’s presentation, a question and answer session followed.

We will also give a detailed presentation about the event to the C&A Unit members and the assessment specialists on February 16, 2021.

Overall, this event gave us the opportunity to meet other professionals in the field of assessment and learn about the online assessment practices in other programmes. It was great to see that we, as Özyeğin University, are on the right track in terms of having appropriate tasks and approaches to online assessments of our students’ language skills.