[EDLING:1638] CFP: TOEFL COE Research Program

[Francis M. Hult]

TOEFL COE Research Program -  2007 Call for Proposals
      
  Preliminary applications described below should be submitted via e-mail to 
Toeflresearchcoordination at ets.org by August 1, 2006.
   
  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.
   
  Award Value - Awards will be up to $75,000 USD for empirical studies and 
$30,000 USD for research syntheses. These amounts are inclusive of 
institutional overhead.
   
  1.       Topics for Empirical Studies:
   
  1.1  Investigate the ways that TOEFL scores and other relevant information 
are used by intensive English institutes and English for Academic Purposes 
programs preparing students for entry to higher education in North  America. 
   
  The study will examine how TOEFL scores and other information (other test 
scores, student characteristics) relate to one or more of the following: 
   
  -          The success and progress of students in the program(s)
  -          The nature of the curriculum followed and teaching practices used
  -          Institutional policies for admission, placement, and advancement.
   
  1.2  Examine the effectiveness of teaching, testing preparation and learning 
practices and/or materials that are reflective of iBT related tasks. 
   
  2.      Topics for Research Syntheses, involving critical reviews and 
systematic evaluations of:
   
  2.1  Approaches to describing the conceptual complexity of reading or 
listening materials and implications for grading and selection of teaching and 
test materials.
   
  2.2  The utility of computer-assisted tools for the development of academic 
speaking skills in English.
   
  2.3  The effectiveness of different kinds of feedback that might be used to 
improve automated writing evaluation tools for English for Academic Purposes 
teaching and/or individual writing development. 
   
  2.4  Prior research on assessing the development of academic English 
language proficiency over time focusing on different methods used to measure 
gain and the variables that have been the target of analysis.
   
  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.
   
  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 
   
  
   Cover page: 
      Title of proposed study
      Your name and contact       information including address, e-mail, 
telephone
      Date of submission

   
  
   A 500-600 word pr?cis 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 pr?cis stage).
   
  
   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 pr?cis. Pr?cis 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 pr?cis 
will be sent only to applicants who receive an invitation to submit a full 
proposal
   
  Schedule 
   
  August 1, 2006 - Deadline for submission of application and pr?cis.
   
  September 1, 2006 ? Response to pr?cis.
   
  October 16, 2006 ? Deadline for submission of full proposal.
   
  December 21, 2006 ? Response to proposal.