1. it’s probably fair to say that the world of assessment and testing is in ferment at present. Just in case your experience of taking exams is as out-of-date as mine is, here’s advice from Duolingo (ear scanning included!), How to set up your space for the Duolingo English Test https://blog.englishtest.duolingo.com/duolingo-english-test-setup-secondary-camera-room-scan/#
The Duolingo English Test (DET) was designed to make language testing accessible to everyone, wherever they live, and your testing environment plays a big part in that. Taking an English test from home is convenient and flexible—but the right setup helps ensure a smooth, secure experience.
This 7-step guide walks you through how to prepare your space, your equipment, and yourself for success—especially now that the DET includes a secondary camera, room scan, and ear scan as part of our standard security check. These checks help ensure every Duolingo English Test score is reviewed fairly and can be certified without delays.
2. More on the same theme: Assessment Evolved: The ELT Edition is a Pearson webinar at 15:00 UK time next Wednesday, June 24th which is repeated at 09:00 UK time the following day, Thursday June 25th. More info and links to registration for both sessions here – scroll down the page for the registration buttons https://events.zoom.us/ev/AriBpXzF2pZGmP8-brza8YNGMgqSoqUo4idj3WtiRUgI2ENfUT6Y~ApSadZDlz-I3BDjJo60yTRRtt6xoBY-l3IV6PVKxAzxqkTL9kw45EeZ3WA
The webinar is based on Pearson’s new report, Assessment Evolved: The ELT Edition (copy below) and will explore:
- How AI is changing language teaching and assessment
- Why formative assessment matters more than ever
- Practical ways to integrate AI meaningfully into ELT classrooms
- How teachers can focus on process, thinking, and communication — not just outputs
- Strategies to support learning integrity while preparing students for an AI-driven future
3. What Should Pre-Primary English Achieve? Early Language Learning Explained with Sarah Hillyard & Faidra Faitaki is the first in a four-part series from Oxford ELT exploring not only what effective language teaching looks like in the very early years but also how to do it well! https://youtu.be/lF0bqrRC8jA
What should we really aim for when teaching English to very young learners? In this episode, Sarah Hillyard and Faidra Faitaki explore how language learning for very young learners differs fundamentally from teaching older learners, and why a traditional focus on vocabulary and grammar is not enough in pre-primary English language teaching. Instead, they highlight the importance of supporting the whole child, where language develops alongside cognitive, social, and emotional growth. Through practical examples, they show how meaningful input, interaction, stories, and everyday experiences create the foundation for early language learning, offering a more realistic and effective framework for pre-primary English.
4. I’ve just subscribed to The Atlantic for the first time and get ten ‘gift’ articles a month which I must remember to use. Here’s their take on the Trump Iran peace deal https://tinyurl.com/9y4hnejs There’s an audio version, too.
President Trump has announced that the United States and Iran have reached a deal to end their war. “Congratulations to all!” he said in a posting on his Truth Social site this evening. He then headed off to oversee the garish public spectacle he’d arranged for his birthday on the South Lawn of the White House. The United States, however, has little to celebrate: Trump and his team, in record time, just lost a war to a militarily mediocre—but nonetheless extremely dangerous—adversary.
Plus, a gift article from The Daily Telegraph on Iran with a different perspective on Iran, In post-war Iran, Khamenei is more vulnerable than ever: Islamic Republic’s supreme leader will struggle to hold on to power in a hotbed of rivalry and plotting https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/7a15233dd58a3515
5. And, finally, you can decide whether Louis de Bernières is simply an old fart (who wrote one great novel) or is actually making a valid point in this piece for The Guardian, The hill I will die on: I really don’t like ‘like’ – or other imprecise and redundant speech https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/13/the-hill-i-will-die-on-like-imprecise-redundant-speech-junk-food-britain
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