27.420, FYI: TOEFL® Young Students: Research Grants

Thu Jan 21 19:20:50 UTC 2016

LINGUIST List: Vol-27-420. Thu Jan 21 2016. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 27.420, FYI: TOEFL® Young Students: Research Grants

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Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2016 14:20:42
From: Veronika Timpe-Laughlin [vlaughlin at ets.org]
Subject: TOEFL® Young Students: Research Grants

ETS is pleased to announce the Research Grants under the TOEFL® Young Students
Series.
Applications should be submitted via email to TOEFLYS at ets.org by March 31,
2016.

For further information, please visit
https://www.ets.org/toefl/grants/young_students_small_research_grants/ 

TOEFL® Young Students Series Research Program: Research Grants — 2016 Call for
Proposals

Purpose:
The TOEFL® Young Students Series (YSS) Research Grants are intended to support
research related to the TOEFL YSS assessments (i.e., the TOEFL® Primary™ and
TOEFL Junior® tests) as well as foundational research that promotes
high-quality language assessment related to young language learners between
ages 8 and 16. This year, priority will be given to proposals that address the
topics identified in the research agenda below. Particular preference will be
given to validation research on the TOEFL Primary and TOEFL Junior tests.

Please note that, for the current grant period, ETS is able to provide
researchers with a TOEFL Junior Standard test form and corresponding
item-level data including demographic information about test takers. However,
we are not yet able to provide similar test materials and data for the TOEFL
Junior Comprehensive or TOEFL Primary tests. Nevertheless, ETS welcomes grant
applications from researchers who plan to recruit participants and collect
data locally in countries where TOEFL Junior Comprehensive and TOEFL Primary
tests are administered.

Eligibility: 
Researchers around the world who hold a Ph.D. (or equivalent doctoral-level
research degree), have expertise in English language learning and assessment,
and who are affiliated with an academic institution or not-for-profit
organization.

Amount of grant: 
Up to US $50,000

Research Topics:

Construct/Content relevance
- Relationship between TOEFL Junior or TOEFL Primary test scores and young
language-learners' English communication skills outside of testing contexts
- Effects of test takers' background characteristics on TOEFL Junior or TOEFL
Primary test scores
- Relationship between young language-learners' strategies and TOEFL Junior or
TOEFL Primary test scores
- Age appropriateness of tasks and task characteristics
- Effect of construct-irrelevant factors on test performance

Test use and impact
- Impact of the TOEFL Junior or TOEFL Primary tests on learning and teaching
- Uses of TOEFL Junior or TOEFL Primary test scores
- User perceptions of the TOEFL Junior or TOEFL Primary tests

Foundational research topics
- Theory of language development in young English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
learners
- Domain analysis of communication skills for young EFL learners
- English education and assessment practices for young EFL learners
- Policy related to the assessment of young EFL learners
- Language development patterns of young EFL learners (including meta-analyses
and studies that analyze longitudinal data)

Innovations in learning or assessment of young EFL learners
- The types of assessment or other evidence teachers use to inform the
teaching and learning of young EFL learners
- Impact of large-scale standardized language assessments on young EFL
learners, teachers, parents and society
- Cognitive and affective factors that influence language development in young
EFL learners

TOEFL Junior® Standard Test Form and Dataset for Public Use:

A TOEFL Junior Standard test form and corresponding item-level data including
demographic information about test takers (age, gender, native language, etc.)
can be made available to grant recipients. For a more detailed description of
the available data, see here. TOEFL Junior Comprehensive and TOEFL Primary
test data and materials are not available to researchers at this time.

Important Dates:
March 31, 2016 - Proposals due
May 20, 2016 - Response to proposals; selected authors invited to revise and
resubmit
July 8, 2016 - Revised proposals due
September 9, 2016 - Notifications sent to grant winners
January 1, 2017 - Tentative start date for funded projects 

Application and Proposal Process:
Proposal materials must be submitted via email to TOEFLYS at ets.org by 11:59
p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, March 31, 2016.

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics

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