Dr Nick Saville

Dr Nick Saville

Director, Research and Thought Leadership

Nick is responsible for directing the work of the Research and Thought Leadership Division, and is a member of Cambridge Assessment English’s Senior Management Team. He is the elected Secretary-General of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE), on the Board of Trustees for The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF), and is a Board member of Cambridge University’s Institute for Automated Learning and Assessment (ALTA). Nick was a founding associate editor of the journal Language Assessment Quarterly (2004 onwards), is the joint editor of the English Profile Studies series, and jointly edits Studies in Language Testing (SiLT) with Professor Cyril Weir. He has recently completed a volume on Learning Oriented Assessment (LOA) with Neil Jones (SiLT 45).

Nick holds a PhD from the University of Bedfordshire in language test impact, as well as a BA in Linguistics and an MA in TEFL from the University of Reading. Before moving to Cambridge in 1989, he taught English at the University of Cagliari (Facoltà di Magistero) in Italy (1980-1986), and since 1987 he has specialised in language testing and assessment. From 1987 to 1989 Nick managed a test development project for Cambridge in Japan, which was based at the British Council in Tokyo.

Key publications and conference presentations

Deygers, B, Carlsen, C H, Saville, N and Van Gorp, K (2018) The use of the CEFR in Higher Education: A brief introduction to this special issue, Language Assessment Quarterly 15 (1), 1-2.

Saville, N (2018) Global approaches to multilingualism and standardisation, paper presented at the Global Approaches to Multilingualism and Standardisation conference, Cambridge, UK, April 2018.

Gutierrez Eugenio, E and Saville, N (2017) Policy review: The role of assessment in European language policy: a historical overview, available online: http://www.meits.org/policy-papers/paper/the-role-of-assessment-in-european-language-policy-a-historical-overview

Saville, N (2017) Digital Assessment, in Carrier, M, Damerow, R M and Bailey, K M (Eds) Digital Language Learning and Teaching: Research, Theory and Practice, Routledge.

Saville, N (2017) Appropriate uses of the CEFR in planning and implementing language education reforms, paper presented at the 52nd Regional Language Centre (RELC) International Conference, Singapore, March 2017.

Saville, N (2017) English in the international(ised) workplace, paper presented at the Multilingualism in University and the Workplace event, Salamanca, Spain, May 2017.

Saville, N (2017) Key research-based insights into BULATS, paper presented at the BULATS Agents Annual Meeting, Paris, France, June 2017.

Saville, N (2017) Linking learning and assessment to support plurilingual education, paper presented at the 11th International Symposium on Bilingualism, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, June 2017.

Saville, N (2017) A systemic model for connecting assessment with teaching and learning, paper presented at the 4th Annual International Conference of the Asian Association for Language Assessment (AALA), Taipei, Taiwan, June 2017.

Saville, N (2017) Setting and monitoring standards within a professional community of practice, paper presented at Academic Forum on English Language Testing in Asia (AFELTA), Taipei, Taiwan, June 2017.

Saville, N (2017) The construct of multilingualism in applied linguistics and language testing: os assuntos do multilinguismo importam, paper presented at the 39th Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC), Bogotá, Colombia, July 2017.

Saville, N (2017) Teaching knowledge in the API Economy, paper presented at the 18th Association Internationale de Linguistique Appliquée (AILA) World Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2017.

Saville, N (2017) How can multilingualism be supported through language education in Europe?, paper presented at the 18th Association Internationale de Linguistique Appliquée (AILA) World Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2017.

Saville, N (2017) Multilingualism post Brexit: language as part of lifelong learning in Europe, paper presented at the European Day of Languages event, Brussels, Belgium, September 2017.

Saville, N (2017) The future of language assessment, paper presented at Global Portugal: Mapping the Future, Cambridge Assessment English event, British Embassy Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, October 2017.

Saville, N (2017) Data and devices: The 4th Industrial Revolution, paper presented at the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) International Conference, Tsukuba, Japan, November 2017.

Saville, N (2017) How Cambridge English exams would help you learn English and prove your skills to the world, paper presented at the British Embassy, Tokyo, Japan, November 2017.

Jones, N and Saville, N (2016) Learning Oriented Assessment: A Systemic Approach, Studies in Language Testing volume 45, Cambridge: UCLES/Cambridge University Press.

Saville, N (2016) Mixed methods and language assessment: A new frontier, paper presented at the 2nd International Mixed Methods International Research Association (MMIRA) Conference, Durham University, Durham, UK, August 2016.

Saville, N (2016) Breaking out of the box: understanding relationships between learning and assessment, paper presented at the IATEFL Testing, Evaluation and Assessment Special Interest Group (TEASIG), Aigle, Switzerland, October 2016.

Saville, N (2016) Developing and validating test materials within a Common Framework of Reference (based on the ALTE manual), paper presented at the NEAA, Hangzhou, China, November 2016.

Saville, N (2016) Imagine a future where testing makes our student journeys the best in class, paper presented at Navitas, Hanoi, Vietnam, November 2016.

Saville, N and Khalifa, H (2016) The impact of language assessment, in Tsagari, D and Banerjee, J (Eds) Handbook of Second Language Assessment De Gruyter Mouton, 77-94.

Barker, F, Salamoura, A and Saville, N (2015) Learner corpora and language testing, in Granger, S, Gilquin, G and Meunier, F (Eds) The Cambridge Handbook of Learner Corpus Research, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 511-534.

Saville, N (2012) Applying a model for investigating the impact of language assessment within educational contexts: The Cambridge ESOL approach, Research Notes 50, 4-8.