Dr Sheryl Cooke, Head of English Research Dissemination & Engagement

Dr Sheryl Cooke is Head of Research Engagement and Dissemination with the British Council's English Language Research team. She leads on aligning the team’s dissemination work with strategic goals and our engagement with a range of stakeholders in language teaching, learning and assessment. Sheryl also works on test development and candidate preparation projects, and conducts assessment focused research. Previously, she led a regional team, engaging on language testing issues with partners and stakeholders across East Asia and working on projects such as the development of Aptis for Teens Advanced and linking China’s Standards of English to IELTS and Aptis. Sheryl has over 25 years’ experience in language assessment and training, including examiner management, examiner training and item writing.

Sheryl is currently co-editor of the British Council Monographs on Modern Language Testing.

Areas of expertise

  • Comprehensibility and language assessment
  • English as a lingua franca
  • Rater training
  • Managing teams

Publications

Cooke, S. (2025). The assessment of English as a lingua franca and the comprehensibility construct [Doctoral thesis]. University of Jyväskylä. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-86-0588-1

Dunlea, J., O’Sullivan, B., Patel, M., Westbrook., C., Cooke, S., Motteram, J., Lightfoot, A., Felice, M., Karaöz Duran, Z., & Spiby, R. (2025). Assessing English as an international language. In A.F. Selvi & N. Galloway (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English as an International Language. Routledge. ISBN 9781003203261

Tavakoli, P., & Cooke, S. (2024). Comprehensibility in language assessment: A broader perspective. British Council Monographs on Modern Language Testing. Equinox Publishing.

Cooke, S. (2020). Assessing real-world use of English as a lingua franca (ELF): A validity argument. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 36(4), 47-62. doi:10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4574

Education

  • PhD, Centre for Applied Language Studies, Jyäskylä University, Finland, 2025
  • MA, Language Testing and Assessment, Lancaster University, 2015
  • MA, Linguistics, SOAS, University of London, 2000
  • DTEFLA (DELTA), International House, Barcelona, 1998
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