Carolyn Westbrook headshot

Dr Carolyn Westbrook, Test Development Researcher

Carolyn is a Test Development Researcher in the English Language Research. She works on test development and validation projects, primarily for productive skills and integrated tasks. She was a co-editor of the Assessment Research Awards and Grants scheme and the Research into Reading Grants scheme. Carolyn delivers assessment literacy training around the world and was the Co-Lead on the British Council’s Language Assessment in the Classroom MOOC. She also works on projects to improve assessment within the British Council teaching programme. 

Formerly an Associate Professor in EFL, she is a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (now Advance HE) and has worked as a teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer for over 30 years. She has a wide range of experience teaching and assessing General English, Business English, ESP and EAP in several countries. Her main research interests are in integrated assessment as well as EAP and ESP assessment.

Carolyn has published in Journal of English for Academic Purposes and Language Teaching and has co-authored a chapter on ESP testing as well as a number of EAP textbooks, promotional presentations and online teacher training materials for Cambridge University Press. She regularly reviews articles and proposals for journals and conferences in the language testing field.

Areas of expertise

  • Integrated assessment
  • EAP assessment; ESP assessment
  • Language assessment literacy

Publications

Westbrook, C., & Spiby, R. (forthcoming). Providing continuous professional development through a language assessment literacy MOOC. In: Baker, B., & Taylor, L. (Eds.) Studies in language testing - language assessment literacy and competence, volume 2: Case studies from around the world. Cambridge University Press.

Westbrook, C. (2023). The impact of input format on written performance in a listening-into-writing assessment. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2022.101190

Griffiths, M., & Westbrook, C. (2021). The impact of Covid-19 on higher education admissions practices in the UK: Phase 1 of a UKALTA-sponsored project to investigate Higher Education Assessment Literacy (HEAL) in the UK context. UKALTA. https://ukalta.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/HEAL.pdf 

Nakatsuhara, F., May, L., Inoue, C., Willcox-Ficzere, E., Westbrook, C., & Spiby, R. (2021). Exploring the potential for assessing interactional and pragmatic competence in semi-direct tests. British Council Validation Series

Spiby, R., & Westbrook, C. (2021). Developing classroom practice: The use of a MOOC to increase teachers’ language assessment literacy. Collated papers for the ALTE 7th international conference (pp. 116-123). ALTE.

Westbrook, K., & Westbrook, C. (2021). A holistic approach to EMI: Where is the language teacher? Focus on Language Education and Research – International Journal of NATE Russia, 2(1), 29-33. https://fler.press/fler/article/view/10091/8903

Bullock, N., & Westbrook, C. (2021). Testing in ESP: Approaches and challenges in Aviation and Maritime English. In B. Lanteigne, C. Coombe, & J.D. Brown (Eds.), Challenges in language testing around the world (pp. 67-77). Springer.

O’Sullivan, B., Dunlea, J., Spiby, R., Westbrook, C., & Dunn, K. (2020). Aptis General Technical Manual, Version 2.2. British Council. 

Kvasova, O., Westbrook, C., & Westbrook, K. (2020). Provision of English Medium Instruction: Trends and issues. ARS Linguodidactae, 5(1), 11-21. http://journals.uran.ua/ald/article/view/225735/225624 

Westbrook, C., Baker, L., & Sowton, C. (2019). Unlock level 3 reading, writing, and critical thinking student’s book (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Westbrook, C., Noble, A., & John, P. (2018). Achieving quality in Maritime English tests of productive skills. In Proceedings of the International Maritime Lecturers’ Association 30th International Maritime English Conference (IMEC)

Westbrook, C., & Ostrowska, S. (2018). Unlock combined skills level 3 student’s book. Cambridge University Press.

Baker, L., & Westbrook, C. (2018). Prism reading level 2 teacher’s manual. Cambridge University Press.

Baker, L., & Westbrook, C. (2018). Prism reading level 2 student’s book with online workbook. Cambridge University Press.

Noble, A., Westbrook, C., & John, P. (2017). Piloting Maritime English: Developing a universal English proficiency test for deck officers. In The International Maritime Lecturers’ Association 29th International Maritime English Conference (IMEC) (pp. 331-337). 

Asplin, W., Frazier, L., & Westbrook, C. (2017). Unlock combined skills level 5 workbook. Cambridge Discovery Education.

Korenev, A., Westbrook, C., Merry, Y., & Ershova, T. (2016). Language teachers’ target language project: Language for specific purposes of language teaching. Language Teaching, 49 (1), 146-148. doi: 10.1017/S0261444815000373

Westbrook, C., & Holt, P.S. (2015). Addressing the problem of outside assistance in pre-sessional writing assessments. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 18, 78-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2015.03.004

Education

  • PhD, Language Assessment, CRELLA, University of Bedfordshire, 2020
  • MA, Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching, University of Southampton, 2008
  • DELTA (Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults), CLIC International House, Seville, 2008