Winter Research Program 2021

Project duration:

4 weeks. Applicant will be required to be on-campus for weekly meetings, but the majority of the work can be done off-campus.

Description:

Overview: In this project, we will construct and validate two proficiency measures for second language Japanese that can be readily used as a subtask for experimental studies in second language acquisition.

Background:

In studies in second language acquisition, independently measured learner proficiency is considered a moderator variable, and thus is crucial and plays an important role in the interpretation of results. However, selecting a proficiency measure that is valid and reliable is not a simple matter; we often observe tasks that have not been validated. The absence of a valid proficiency indicator, especially in less commonly taught languages, casts limitations to future SLA research.

Approaches:

We construct and validate a written task and an oral task in Japanese. We will examine the sensitivity of these measures to discriminate learners with varying proficiency levels and correlations between scores on these tasks.

The students’ work will contribute to a larger project on proficiency testing in second language Japanese, which has launched in early 2020. A subset of the project was completed by the student scholars in the Summer Research Program. The work in this Winter Research Program will serve as a subset of the same larger project. Specifically, they will work on piloting, coding responses, and data analysis.

Expected outcomes and deliverables:

Students Scholars can gain a wealth of knowledge in terms of technical and analytical skills necessary in conducting research in Applied Linguistics. Students will work closely with supervisors to learn the piloting procedures and data analysis techniques utilized in language testing. Student Scholars will make contacts with other postgraduate students and academic staff members who work in surrounding research agendas. 

Number of hours per week: 

36 hours

Suitable for:

We look for students with positive attitudes in language testing research and are willing to put in the work.

Criteria:

• UQ enrolled students only
• Have postgraduate-level training in Applied Linguistics or equivalent.
• Native or near native level proficiency in Japanese; or have knowledge in analyses used in language testing
• Have a good writing skill in English

Highly organized and with a strong attention to details

Number of participants required: 

1

Primary Supervisor:

Dr. Sanako Mitsugi

Further info: 

Please contact Dr Sanako Mitsugi via email