School of Languages and Cultures

Summer Research Program - 2022/23 Projects

Engage in a formal research project over the summer semester with the UQ Summer Research Program.

The UQ Summer Research Scholarship Program offers scholarships to students wishing to gain experience working alongside a researcher in a formal research environment in their area of interest at UQ.

Applications for the 2022/2023 Summer Research Program have now CLOSED.

Participation is open to undergraduate (including honours) and master by coursework students who are currently enrolled and will remain at UQ for the entirety of the research program.

Discover more about the Summer Research Program

Applications have closed

Available 2022-23 Projects

  1. Communicating Public Health: Stories in the Time of COVID-19
  2. Brisbane’s voices: A pragmatic analysis of conversations in Spanish and Russian communities
  3. Mapping experiences of torture during Aceh’s separatist war
  4. Potential impact of learner background factors on their second language communication
  1. Peer Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) in Academic English MOOCs
  2. Socio-pragmatic understanding of (im)politeness in spoken Korean discourse
  3. Other Projects

5. Peer Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) in Academic English MOOCs

Project title: 

Peer Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) in Academic English MOOCs

Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode

  • 10 weeks during Summer Vacation
  • 20-25 hrs per week
  • A minimum of four pre-arranged meetings will be held during the duration of the project. These will be on-campus (face-to-face), though if COVID-19 restrictions are (again) required, virtual meetings via Zoom are also entirely possible.

Description:

Program background

This Summer Research Project establishes the foundation for a potentially larger research project and paper in the future with a focus on Academic English MOOCs.

This part of the project begins with an investigation into what factors affect academic English learners’ engagement in Peer Written Corrective Feedback in a MOOC environment, and how these factors manifest in learners’ overall learning outcomes.

Aim

The aim of this paper is to establish the importance of peer feedback within an academic MOOC, and factors affecting peer WCF in the MOOC.

These relationships will be explored by production of an in-depth literature review on this topic, and the generation and piloting of a new questionnaire relevant to this topic (as below).

Expected outcomes and deliverables:

The expected outcomes/deliverables from this project are:

  • first, an in-depth literature review on factors affecting provision of and engagement with Peer Written Corrective Feedback in Academic English MOOCs; and
  • second, the generation and piloting of a new questionnaire exploring the different factors influencing peer feedback in the MOOC.

Applicants can expect an opportunity to undertake and improve their skills in the following areas:

  • Strategic literature searching
  • Review of relevant literature
  • Co-writing of a literature review on the topic, mentored by experienced co-authors
  • Development and piloting of a research questionnaire concerning WCF in an academic MOOC

Successful applicants will develop excellence in the following skills:

  • General database and internet searching
  • Technical editing, proofreading, and referencing skills (using the APA7 referencing system)
  • Being succinct and clear in academic writing
  • Critical thinking skills
  • Gain knowledge in the general area of academic MOOCs

Students may have an opportunity to submit as a co-author for a later publication.

Suitable for:

We encourage students with an interest in development of academic English to apply.

We particularly invite applications from persons with a background in applied linguistics, translation, or academic writing at an undergraduate or postgraduate level, and who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in these areas.

Applicants should have a working knowledge (or the desire to gain such knowledge) on how to provide Written Corrective Feedback in a MOOC environment (or other context), and they should have at least basic MS Word and Excel skills.

This project is ideal for students who are curious about academic language development and are motivated to discover factors that make a difference.

Primary Supervisor:

Dr Peter Crosthwaite

Dr Teresa Hsieh

Further info:

Should potential applicants have questions about the scholarship, they are welcome to contact Peter Crosthwaite (p.cros@uq.edu.au) or Teresa Hsieh (teresa.hsieh@uq.edu.au) via email prior to submitting an application.