IELTS partners call for your research funding application

Researchers and academics with an interest in language learning and assessment are invited to apply for funding through the IELTS research project.

Up to £45,000/AUS$70,000 is available for research projects that examine the development, validation and impact of the IELTS test.

Warwick Freeland, Managing Director – IELTS, IDP Education, said the IELTS partners welcome research applications that focus on how we learn and assess language, along with proposals that explore how test takers and organisations are using IELTS to pursue their study, work or migration goals.

“IELTS’ investment in high-quality research has been a key factor in the test maintaining its global leadership position in high-stakes language testing for close to 30 years,” Mr Freeland said.

“We all know increases in technology and global mobility are dramatically shifting how we learn, prepare for and deliver English language testing. The outputs of this research program are critical in ensuring we continually innovate based on rigorous research and feedback from the IELTS community.”

Examples of recently funded projects that inform us of test development and validation include:

• Researching participants taking IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 (AWT2) in paper mode and in computer mode in terms of score equivalence, cognitive validity and other factors
• Investigating IELTS Academic Writing Task 2: Relationships between cognitive writing processes, text quality, and working memory

Examples that provide insights into how the test is used and how IELTS can best support test takers and organisations include:

• Investigating the use of IELTS in determining employment, migration and professional registration outcomes in healthcare and early childcare education in Australia
• Transitioning from university to the workplace: Stakeholder perceptions of academic and professional writing demands

Applications should be submitted by 30 June 2018. For further details, please click here.