About the Centre for Applied Language Studies
Our department was established as a separate department of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ on 1 January 1974. Initially it was called the National Language Centre, but this was soon changed to the Language Centre for Finnish Universities. Our mission was to coordinate and develop the teaching provided by the language centres established in the 1970s in Finnish universities and higher education institutions, to produce teaching materials and to provide in-service training for language centre teachers.
As the language centres became established parts of the universities over the years, our activities became increasingly research-oriented. In 1996, the department became part of the Faculty of Humanities and its name was changed to its present form: the Centre for Applied Language Studies or CALS.
One of the core areas of research is language assessment. Since 1992, the centre has been coordinating the National Certificates of Language Proficiency in cooperation with the Finnish National Agency for Education. The centre is responsible for developing the testing system and for conducting related research.
Along with the emphasis on research CALS started to offer postgraduate education. At the turn of the millennium, CALS concentrated on offering postgraduate education mainly for teachers working at universities of applied sciences. CALS has also provided instruction in Applied Linguistics. Nowadays the education activities are focused on doctoral education and training of test writers, interviewers, and assessors of the National Certificates of Language Proficiency. CALS also provides in-service training especially in cooperation with other units in the field of Linguistics at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥.
Since 2009, the Centre for Applied Language Studies has been coordinating (Kieliverkosto). The network brings together actors in the field of language education policy, organises events, promotes research and education in the field, and influences decision-making about language education in Finland.
Publication activities at the Language Centre for Finnish Universities and the Centre for Applied Language Studies
The Language Centre for Finnish Universities produced material for the teaching of several languages and for various specific purposes. In total, over 120 titles were published. The centre also published the newsletter in 1973-1992 and in 1993-1996. In 1981-1995, the centre also published the first Finnish scientific journal on Applied Linguistics, called .
After becoming the Centre for Applied Language Studies, the centre published the series [Applied Language Studies in Theory and in Practice] in 1999-2002. The peer-reviewed Open Access journal was launched in 2001 (nowadays in cooperation with the JYU Language Campus). The Finnish Network for Language Education Policies has published the e-journal since 2010.
