Mag. Dr. Armin Berger, MA
T: +43-1-4277-42435
Summer term 2024
120001 SE MEd 03: SE Applied Research Seminar - Language test development and validation: research perspectives
Summer term 2023
126232 VK MEd 01A/B: VK Specific Issues in Language Learning and Teaching - Learning-oriented (and technology-enhanced) language assessment

Berger, A., Heaney, H., & Sigott, G. (2023). Dimensions of language assessment literacy and their difficulty for pre-service teachers of English in Austria. In C. Amerstorfer, & M. V. Blanckenburg (Eds.), Activating and engaging learners and teachers: Perspectives for English language education (pp. 159-182). Narr Francke Attempto. Buchreihe zu den Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik Vol. 27 https://doi.org/10.24053/9783823394600

Berger, A., & Heaney, H. (2023). Language Assessment Literacy in teacher education: Factoring difficulty into course design. In H. Cesnik, N. Dobric, & C. Harsch (Eds.), Festschrift in honour of Günther Sigott: Advanced methods in language testing (pp. 53-76). Peter Lang. Language Testing and Evaluation

Berger, A. (2022). Advanced English language competence at the intersection of programme design, pedagogical practice, and teacher research: An introduction. In A. Berger, H. Heaney, P. Resnik, A. Rieder-Bünemann, & G. Savukova (Eds.), Developing advanced English language competence: A research-informed approach at tertiary level (pp. 1-23). Springer. English Language Education Vol. 22 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79241-1_1

Berger, A. (2022). Designing a speaking competence course for future teachers of English: Exploring students’ needs. In A. Berger, H. Heaney, P. Resnik, A. Rieder-Bünemann, & G. Savukova (Eds.), Developing advanced English language competence: A research-informed approach at tertiary level (pp. 343–363). Springer. English Language Education Vol. 22 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79241-1_28

Berger, A. (2022). Assessing oral presentations and interactions: From a systematic to a salient-feature approach. In A. Berger, H. Heaney, P. Resnik, A. Rieder-Bünemann, & G. Savukova (Eds.), Developing advanced English language competence: A research-informed approach at tertiary level (pp. 297–321). Springer. English Language Education Vol. 22 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79241-1_26


Berger, A. (2022). Refining the vertical axis of the CEFR for classroom purposes: Local reference points. In D. Little, & N. Figueras (Eds.), Reflecting on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and its Companion Volume (pp. 144-158). Multilingual Matters. New Perspectives on Language and Education

Martinek, T., & Berger, A. (2022). The Common Final Test. In A. Berger, H. Heaney, P. Resnik, A. Rieder-Bünemann, & G. Savukova (Eds.), Developing advanced English language competence: A research-informed approach at tertiary level (1. ed., pp. 133–141). Springer. English Language Education Vol. 22 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79241-1_12



Heaney, H., & Berger, A. (2019). From local islands of knowledge to a shared, global understanding: a concept for improving assessment literacy in pre-service teachers of English at Vienna University, Austria. In C. Falkenhagen, H. Funk, M. Reinfried, & L. Volkmann (Eds.), Sprachen lernen integriert - global, regional, lokal: Dokumentation zum 27. Kongress für Fremdsprachendidaktik der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Fremdsprachenforschung (DGFF) Jena, 27.-30. September 2017 (pp. 187-200). Schneider Verlag Hohengehren. Beiträge zur Fremdsprachenforschung Vol. 15

Heaney, H., & Berger, A. (2018). Devloping rating instruments for the assessment of Academic Writing and Speaking at Austrian university English departments. In G. Sigott (Ed.), Language testing in Austria: Taking stock (Vol. 40, pp. 325-346). Peter Lang. Language Testing and Evaluation

Berger, A., & Heaney, H. (2018). Extending CEFR descriptors for an analytic rating scale of academic writing at C1 to C2 - a stop-gap measure? In Der Gemeinsame Europäische Referenzrahmen für Sprachen und seine Adaption im Hochschulkontext: 6. Bremer Symposion zum Sprachenlernen und -lehren (pp. 106-117). AKS-Verlag. Fremdsprachen in Lehre und Forschung Vol. 51

Berger, A. (2018). Rating scale validation for the assessment of spoken English as tertiary level. In Language testing in Austria: Taking stock (pp. 679-702). Peter Lang. Language Testing and Evaluation Vol. 40



Berger, A. (2012). Creating language-assessment literacy: A model for teacher education. In J. Hüttner, B. Mehlmauer-Larcher, S. Reichl, & B. Schiftner (Eds.), Theory and practice in EFL teacher education: Bridging the gap (pp. 57-82). Multilingual Matters. New Perspectives on Language and Education Vol. 22

Berger, A. (2010). German. In R. Walker (Ed.), Teaching the pronunciation of English as a lingua franca (pp. 107-110). Oxford University Press. Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers


Curriculum vitae

currently: Senior Scientist and Senior Lecturer, Department of English and American Studies, University of Vienna; academic coordinator of the English Language Competence programme

2019-2022 University Assistant, Department of English and American Studies, University of Vienna; academic coordinator of the English Language Competence programme

2010-2019 Senior Lecturer, Department of English and American Studies, University of Vienna (language competence)

2015 PhD (Dr.phil.) in Applied Linguistics (language testing), University of Vienna

2012 MA Language Testing and Teaching, University of Klagenfurt

2004-2010 External Lecturer, Department of English and American Studies, University of Vienna; teacher of English and religious education at secondary schools

2004 Master's degree (Mag.theol.) in religious education and English (teacher education), University of Vienna

Research interests

Language testing and assessment
Rating scale development and validation
Assessing L2 speaking
Washback effects on language teaching and learning
Language assessment literacy

Teaching

Language testing and assessment
English language competence
Grammar in use
Integrated language and study skills
Practical phonetics and oral communication skills
In-service teacher education

Assessing writing: Using the revised SRDP assessment scales (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

20 Nov 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing writing: Using the new Assessment Scales B1 and B2 (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

6 Nov 20237 Nov 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Testing and assessing advanced English language competence

Armin Berger (Speaker)

29 Sep 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Consulting pre- and in-service teachers: how their perceptions of difficulty inform sustainable course design promoting LAL

Armin Berger (Speaker) & Helen Heaney (Speaker)

17 Jun 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


English in vocational education: mediation, scenarios, assessment

Armin Berger (Speaker)

8 May 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Student-student interactions in speaking exams: The paired format in the oral Matura (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

15 Feb 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Teaching mediation in the English language classroom: The new CEFR descriptors in action (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

7 Feb 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Developing Language Assessment Literacy: What English teachers should know about testing and assessment (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

6 Feb 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Language Assessment and Feedback: A difficulty-informed assessment course at the University of Vienna

Armin Berger (Speaker)

17 Sep 2022

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Developing advanced English language competence: A research-informed approach at tertiary level

Armin Berger (Speaker) & Pia Resnik (Speaker)

30 Apr 2022

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


The difficulty of understanding the links between language assessment, teaching, and learning: An empirical continuum of assessment-related competencies

Armin Berger (Speaker) & Helen Heaney (Speaker)

10 Mar 2022

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


The art of assessing speaking: How to be a reliable rater (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

13 Dec 2021

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing writing at level B2 (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

29 Nov 2021

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Language Assessment Literacy in Austria: Investigating the vertical dimension

Armin Berger (Speaker)

13 Nov 2021

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Less marking – more feedback: How to give quality feedback for learning (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

8 Nov 2021

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


The CEFR’s new can-do statements in vocational education

Armin Berger (Speaker)

19 Oct 2021

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Foreign Language Teaching in Higher Education

Armin Berger (Speaker)

19 Apr 2021

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


The art of assessing speaking: How to be a reliable rater (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

20 Feb 2020

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Less marking – more feedback: How to give quality feedback for learning (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

19 Feb 2020

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Teaching, not just testing: Effective test preparation without teaching to the test (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

18 Feb 2020

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Refining the vertical axis of the CEFR for classroom purposes

Armin Berger (Speaker)

8 Feb 2020

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Yes, we can. The CEFR’s new can-do statements in action (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

5 Feb 2020

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Less marking – more feedback: How to give quality feedback for learning (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

4 Feb 2020

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing speaking (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

13 Dec 2019

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Teaching and testing writing - the power of washback

Armin Berger (Speaker)

7 Nov 2019

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science



Less marking – more feedback: How to give quality feedback for learning (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

19 Feb 2019

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Foreign Language Teaching in Higher Education

Armin Berger (Speaker)

2019

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Brush up your assessment skills (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

3 Dec 2018

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing speaking and writing (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

21 Feb 2018

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


The implications of a competence-based approach to the EFL classroom

Armin Berger (Speaker), Helen Heaney (Speaker) & Barbara Mehlmauer-Larcher (Speaker)

15 Feb 2018

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing speaking: Task design and interlocutor training (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

12 Feb 2018

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


What the new “can do” descriptors can do for classroom assessment

Armin Berger (Speaker)

27 Jan 2018

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing speaking: The dual role of examiner and assessor

Armin Berger (Speaker)

16 Oct 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science



Assessing speaking: The dual role of examiner and assessor (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

20 Mar 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Extending CEFR descriptors for an analytic rating scale of academic writing at C1 to C2 – a stop-gap measure?

Armin Berger (Speaker) & Helen Heaney (Speaker)

24 Feb 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing speaking: The dual role of examiner and assessor (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

22 Feb 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Speaking task design (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

21 Feb 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Teaching, not just testing: Effective test preparation without teaching to the test (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

15 Feb 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing speaking: The dual role of examiner and assessor (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

8 Feb 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Interacting, not just talking: Teaching students to interact successfully (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

7 Feb 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing speaking proficiency: An empirical definition of progression

Armin Berger (Keynote speaker)

20 May 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing academic speaking skills: Rating scales as the de facto test construct

Armin Berger (Speaker)

16 May 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing speaking: Interlocutor training (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

10 Feb 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing speaking (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

9 Feb 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing writing (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

8 Feb 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Writing task design (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

17 Feb 2015

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Speaking task design (in-service teacher education)

Armin Berger (Speaker)

Feb 2015

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Countdown to the new standardized Matura: Assessing speaking

Armin Berger (Speaker) & Helen Heaney (Speaker)

26 Apr 2014

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Public


Assessing writing (in-service training, Pinkafeld)

Helen Heaney (Speaker) & Armin Berger (Speaker)

24 Feb 201425 Feb 2014

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing writing (in-service training, Innsbruck)

Helen Heaney (Speaker) & Armin Berger (Speaker)

20 Feb 201421 Feb 2014

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Assessing writing (in-service training, Hollabrunn)

Helen Heaney (Speaker) & Armin Berger (Speaker)

11 Nov 2013

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Validating analytic rating scales for assessing speaking at C1 and above

Armin Berger (Speaker)

2 Jun 2012

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Validating analytic rating scales for speaking at tertiary level

Armin Berger (Speaker)

16 Sep 2011

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Testing advanced second language speaking: the validation of rating scales

Armin Berger (Speaker)

14 May 2011

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Mind the gap? – Bridging the theory-practice divide in language testing

Armin Berger (Speaker)

26 Feb 2009

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Department of English and American Studies

Spitalgasse 2, Hof 8 (Campus)
1090 Wien

T: +43-1-4277-42435

armin.berger@univie.ac.at