ANNOUNCEMENT – TOEFL® COE 2009 RESEARCH PROGRAM

Preliminary applications described below should be submitted via e-mail to Toeflrc@ets.org by July 1, 2008.

Purpose - TOEFL Committee of Examiners (COE) research grants are intended to support research on topics related to TOEFL as identified by the Committee of Examiners and Educational Testing Service. Some of these topics lend themselves to either research syntheses or empirical investigations.
Award Value – Research syntheses will be funded up to $50,000 USD. Studies involving the collection of new empirical data will be funded up to $125,000 USD. These amounts will be inclusive of institutional overhead.

Research Topics

1. Test Preparation
1.1 Investigate how test-takers who have taken the TOEFL iBT prepared for the test and what they found to be useful.
1.2 Document and analyze critically the range of methods and programs of test preparation for TOEFL iBT, their claims, components, evidence, and effectiveness.

2. Test use
2.1 Investigate current practices for using TOEFL iBT scores (total scores and/or subscores) in academic or other contexts for one or more of the following purposes: (a) policy (admissions, financial support, licensing, accountability), (b) program (placement and promotion), or (c) pedagogy.
2.2 Investigate test takers’ interpretations and uses of TOEFL iBT score reports.

3. Validation
3.1 * Compare performance on the speaking section of TOEFL iBT with performance on direct assessments (e.g., interviews, peer or group interactions, or performance in classroom situations).
3.2 * Investigate the extent to which discourse features of writing and/or speaking performance in TOEFL iBT vary with proficiency level, task type, and learner group.
3.3 Use content analysis to compare the constructs, domains, and span of proficiency level descriptors of TOEFL iBT with those in an established set of language standards such as the Common European Framework of Reference, TESOL Standards, Canadian Language Benchmarks, or another competency framework.
3.4 Identify individual, institutional, and societal factors that, in addition to English language and academic proficiency, contribute to persistence and success in higher education.

*Examples of TOEFL iBT items, speaking or writing responses, and scoring rubrics will be provided for use in data collection, as needed.

Eligibility and Conditions - Applications are invited from individuals at not-for-profit organizations and institutions (e.g., universities) with expertise in English Language Learning and Assessment research. Proposals from unaffiliated individuals or for-profit organizations are not eligible. Principal Investigators must be faculty or staff members with the authority to represent their institution in negotiated contracts. These studies are not intended to serve as the basis for student theses or dissertations.

Each awardee will be required to submit interim and final reports and to appropriately acknowledge the support of the TOEFL program when disseminating the results of his or her work

Application Process
Interested applicants are required to submit an application as described below. Applications should not be longer than 4 pages. Invitations to submit a full proposal will be issued to selected applicants based on the quality and cost effectiveness of the initial application.

Application must include
1.Cover page:
a.Title of proposed study
b.Your name and contact information including address, e-mail, telephone
c.Date of submission
2.A 500-600 word précis describing the topic you plan to address, a brief rationale, a short statement about the research questions and design, a time line, and a one- line estimate of the cost. The cost estimate should include institutional overhead. (A full budget is not required at the précis stage).
3.A one page description of the Principal Investigator’s qualifications (in short c.v. format) and the names of two references.

Evaluation Criteria
Invitations to submit a full proposal will be issued to selected applicants based on the quality of the précis. Précis will be evaluated in terms of the relevance to the identified topics, the feasibility of the proposed research, the qualifications of the Principal Investigator, organizational capacity to conduct the research, and cost effectiveness. Evaluative comments on précis will be sent only to applicants who receive an invitation to submit a full proposal

Schedule
July 1, 2008 - Deadline for submission of application and précis.
August 1, 2008 – Response to précis.
October 20, 2008 – Deadline for submission of full proposal.
December 19, 2008 – Response to proposal.

Removal 1 July 2008

2009 Summer Institute in Applied Linguistics
Penn State Center for Language Acquisition
Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research (CALPER)

22 June - 17 July, 2009
Penn State University Park Campus - State College, Pennsylvania

This two- or four-week program will feature an array of topics, with particular focus on the teaching and learning of additional language.

Engage in a community of learning in applied linguistics
Learn from leading international scholars
Pursue your particular interest in applied linguistics
Earn up to 6 graduate credits
Network with colleagues from around the globe
The institute has two sessions, each lasting two weeks:

First Session—June 22 through July 3, 2009
Second Session—July 6 through July 17, 2009
Participants have the option of attending the first session, the second session, or both sessions.

Institute Attire
Casual dress will be appropriate throughout the institute and for all social and recreational activities. During early July, State College is generally warm, with the possibility of cooler evenings. A light jacket or sweater, and clothing that can be layered to make you comfortable on cool days or in air-conditioned buildings, are suggested. Some items that will be helpful in making your stay pleasant include an umbrella, comfortable walking shoes, and a light raincoat.

More information will be available on this site in fall 2008.

Removal 8 July 2008

Request for help with corpus research on Chinese and British students' writing

Maria Leedham is a PhD student at the Open University and is researching Chinese and British students' assignment-writing in UK universities. She is compiling a corpus of Chinese and British students' assessed assignments and needs some contacts in other universities to help me do this. She is using the BAWE corpus (British Academic Written English) as a starting point but needs more assignments by Chinese students, matched by ones in equivalent disciplines written by British students.

If you have access to groups with Chinese and British students studying at undergraduate level in ANY UK university, then she would be very grateful if you could contact her, or forward the email below to them.

Maria Leedham, m.e.leedham @ open.ac.uk

Email for students:- 

Can you help with my research on academic writing?

I'm a PhD student investigating Chinese and British students' writing in UK universities at undergraduate level. To do this I need to collect assignments from lots of students from Chinese students who are now in the UK as well as from British students studying in UK universities. If you'd like to help, please send me ANY assignments from any discipline and level that you've written in English at any UK university. I will anonymise them and they will be used for research purposes only.

If you can help, please email me at: m.e.leedham @ open.ac.uk. OR, you can take part in my online survey on academic writing and I will contact you: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Dno6ISNFa2EOz5tuEt_2bvFw_3d_3d 

Thank you! 
Maria Leedham, PhD Student, The Open University, Milton Keynes, U.K.

Removal 15 August 2008

Newton International Fellowships

The Newton International Fellowships will be the pre-eminent award for postdoctoral researchers wishing to undertake research in the UK. The Fellowships will be launched on 4 June 2008 and will be run by the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society to cover the broad range of natural and social sciences, engineering and the humanities.

Newton International Fellowships aim to attract the world?s best post-doctoral researchers to Britain for a period of one to two years.
Funding for follow-on activities will continue for up to ten years after the Newton International Fellows have returned overseas, with the aim of maintaining links with the UK. In addition, Newton Fellows will have the opportunity to join a national alumni scheme for international fellows run by RCUK.

More details will be available from the Newton International Fellowships website, which will go live on 4th June: www.newtonfellowships.org

Newton International Fellowships
6-9 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1Y 5AG
tel: +44 (0)20 7451 2598
fax: +44 (0)20 7451 2543
info@newtonfellowships.org

*The British Academy
10 Carlton House
London SW1Y 5AH *

Removal 8 September 2008