Award-winning Lancaster MA dissertations in language testing
The 2022 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award has been awarded to Juliana Bahia for her dissertation “An investigation of a speaking rating scale developed for the revised Interagency Language Roundtable framework”.
The 2021 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award was awarded to Svetlana Mazhurnaya for her dissertation “A comparative investigation of the interactional profile of convergent and deviant cases across proficiency levels in a paired EAP oral test”.
The 2020 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award was awarded to Alina Carastoian Reid for her dissertation “Cognitive authenticity and cognitive complexity in multi-text integrated reading-into-writing summary tasks”.
The 2019 BALEAP Masters Award was awarded to Indrit Bulku for his dissertation “What features of legal writing matter to domain and language specialists? An exploratory study investigating indigenous assessment criteria in a second language legal context.”
The 2019 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award was awarded to Dylan Burton for his dissertation “Raters’ perceptions and operationalization of authentic engagement in oral proficiency tests”.
The 2019 Cambridge Assessment Best Student Presentation Award was awarded to Richard Harris at the Language Testing Forum for his MA dissertation-based talk “Enabling interaction: Examiner effects on candidate performance in an interactional English language speaking test”.
The 2017 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award was awarded to Martin Stark for his dissertation “Exploring the relationship between automated analyses of linguistic features and human ratings of test-taker performances on an ESL writing task”.
The 2014 BALEAP Masters Award was awarded to Nikolay Gochev for his dissertation on the “Criterion-related validity of different second language performance assessments in a university pathway programme”.
The 2013 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award was awarded to Benjamin Kremmel for his dissertation “Explaining Variance in Reading Test Performance through Linguistic Knowledge: The Relative Significance of Vocabulary, Syntactic and Phraseological Knowledge in Predicting Second Language Reading Comprehension”.
The 2012 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award was awarded to Veronika Timpe for her dissertation “Strategic decoding of sociopragmatic utterances – A think-aloud validation study”.
The 2010 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award was awarded to Thom Kiddle for his dissertation “”The effect of mode of response on a semi-direct test of oral proficiency”.
Special Commendations
Andrew Fleck’s dissertation entitled “A comparison of multiple-choice and open-ended items in listening tests in terms of difficulty, test takers’ perceived comprehension, and effect on approaches taken” received a special commendation for the 2024 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award.
Catherine Hughes’s dissertation entitled “Exploring and analysing rater perceptions of linguistic proficiency when making holistic judgements of extended speech and the specific factors contributing to these judgements” received a special commendation for the 2021 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award.
Eve Ryan’s dissertation entitled “Investigating the language test development process when the test developers do not speak the language being assessed” was commended by the Executive Board of the 2012 MwALT Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Language Assessment Research.
Gerard Seinhorst’s dissertation entitled “Are three options better than four? Investigating the effects of reducing the number of options per item on the quality of a multiple-choice reading test” received a special commendation for the 2010 Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award.
Award-winning Lancaster PhD theses in language testing
The 2023 Best Student Presentation Award was awarded to Camilo Ramos Galvez for his PhD-based talk “Diagnosing high-level, intertextual reading ability in an English-medium instruction programme” at the Language Testing Forum.
The 2021 Cambridge Assessment Best Student Presentation Award was awarded to Raffaella Bottini for her PhD-based talk “Task effects on lexical complexity in L2 spoken exams: Evidence from the Trinity Lancaster Corpus” at the Language Testing Forum.
The 2021 LTF Three-minute Speed Presentation Poster Award was awarded to Camilo Ramos Galvez for his PhD-based talk “What do we talk about when we talk about diagnostic language assessment? Conceptualisations and practices in EFL teacher education in Chile”.
The 2021 Robert Lado Memorial Award and the 2020 Cambridge Assessment Best Student Presentation Award were awarded to Franz Holzknecht at the Language Testing Research Colloquium (ILTA) and the Language Testing Forum (UKALTA) respectively, for his PhD thesis-based talks “Double play in listening assessment”.
The 2020 ECOLT Best Student Paper Award was awarded to Olena Rossi for her PhD-based talk “The role of specifications and sample items in item writing: An empirical exploration.”
The 2017 LTF Poster Prize was awarded to Olena Rossi for her PhD poster presentation on “Exploring the effectiveness of online item writer training”.
The 2010 Jacqueline A. Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award was awarded to Alistair Van Moere for his thesis “Group oral tests: how does task affect candidate performance and test scores?”
The 2009 Jacqueline A. Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award was awarded to Spiros Papageorgiou for his thesis “Setting standards in Europe: the judges’ contribution to relating language examinations to the common European framework of reference”.
In 2007, Spiros Papageorgiou won the Robert Lado Memorial Award for the best paper presentation by a graduate student at the Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC). His paper was entitled: “Investigating perceptions of language ability in the CEFR Scales”.
The 2001 Jacqueline A. Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award was awarded to Dianne Wall for her thesis “The impact of high-stakes examinations on classroom teaching: a case study using insights from testing and innovation theory”.
The 1996 Jacqueline A. Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award was awarded to Caroline Clapham for her thesis “The effect of background knowledge on EAP reading test performance”.
The 1993 Jacqueline A. Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award was awarded to Gary Buck for his thesis “The testing of second language listening comprehension”.
Yu-Hua Chen’s thesis entitled “Investigating Lexical Bundles across Learner Writing Development” was a finalist for the 2013 Jacqueline A. Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award.
Awards by Lancaster University staff in language testing
Dr Tineke Brunfaut and Dr Luke Harding, in partnership with Trinity College London, were awarded the 2018 eAssessment Award for Best Research. An article based on their study is: Brunfaut, T., Harding, L., & Batty, A. (2018). Going online: The effect of mode of delivery on performances and perceptions on an English L2 writing suite. Assessing Writing.
In 2017, Prof J. Charles Alderson, Dr Tineke Brunfaut and Dr Luke Harding were awarded the 2015 ILTA Best Article Award for their paper: Alderson, J.C., Brunfaut, T., & Harding, L. (2015). Towards a theory of diagnosis in second and foreign language assessment: Insights from professional practice across diverse fields. Applied Linguistics, 36(2), 236-260. (free access)
The 2015 TOEFL Outstanding Young Scholar Award was awarded by ETS (USA) to Dr Tineke Brunfaut for her numerous professional activities and contributions to the field of language assessment.
Dr Dianne Wall was awarded an Honorary Fellowship with Trinity College London in 2013.
Trinity College Laban (London) awarded the title of Honorary Fellow to Prof J. Charles Alderson in 2010.
In 2009, Prof J. Charles Alderson received an Honorary Doctorate from Jyväskylä University in Finland.
The 2009 Excellence in Doctoral Supervision Award was awarded to Prof J. Charles Alderson for his outstanding level of support and coaching of doctoral students at Lancaster University.
In 2008, Prof J. Charles Alderson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Language Testing Association (ILTA) in recognition of the many significant contributions he has made throughout his career to the field of language testing and assessment.
The 1993 ILTA Best Article Award went to Prof J. Charles Alderson and Dr Dianne Wall for their seminal research on the effects of language testing on teaching and learning: Alderson, J.C., & Wall, D. (1993). Does washback exist? Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 115-129.