Sheryl Cooke, Head of English Research Dissemination & Engagement

Sheryl is Head of Research Engagement and Dissemination with the British Council's English Language Rresearch team. She leads on aligning the teams work with strategic goals, disseminating it through publications, conferences and other activities, and engaging with a range of stakeholders through our work on research grants, sponsorship and the New Directions conference series. Previously, Sheryl 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, including examiner management, examiner training and item writing. 

Areas of expertise

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

Publications

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 Candidate, Centre for Applied Language Studies, Jyäskylä University, Finland, current
  • 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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