Research projects
The Language Testing Research Centre is recognised as a world-leader in research in the areas of language assessment and language program evaluation.
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Diagnostic English Language Assessment (DELA)
DELA is designed to identify the English language needs of undergraduate and graduate international students
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Pearson Education Grant projects
The Language Testing Research Centre was awarded two Pearson grants in 2019 for the research projects outlined in this section
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General English Proficiency Test
We work on projects that focus on linking GEPT writing tests to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)
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British Council Aptis Test
We work on projects relating to the Aptis test; the online language proficiency test designed by the British Council.
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Language placement test review
This study focusses on a suite of online language placement tests for seven languages
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Refitting the Lexile text complexity trajectory in the Chinese context: A corpus-based study
This study explores the text complexity trajectory across different educational levels in China with Lexile and a large corpus
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Test development for Japanese school language assessment
We work with a company in Japan that delivers language assessments to school children at different levels of proficiency
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Pearson Education Grant projects 2016 - 2018
The LTRC was awarded two research grants from Pearson Education in 2016, focusing on Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE A).
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Occupational English Test (OET) test development and validation research
The Occupational English Test is a test to evaluate the English-language competency of qualified medical and health professionals who wish to practise in an English-language context.
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ARC Linkage Grant (Occupational English Test Writing Criteria)
The ‘Towards Improved Quality of Written Patient Records’ project was completed in 2017. Industry partner: Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment.
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Diagnostic English Language Assessment (DELA) Standard setting
DELA is used to determine if new students entering with the minimum required English test or VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) results are likely to meet the standards of English needed to succeed in their studies, or if they are at risk and in need of additional English language skills support.
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Australian Education Assessment Services (AEAS) test development
Test development for Australian primary and secondary school language assessment.
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Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) research projects
TOEFL is the most widely used English language test in the world, used principally for the selection of students from non-English-speaking backgrounds for entry to higher education in the US and elsewhere.
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National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing - remote indigenous communities
Investigating the impact of NAPLAN testing on remote indigenous communities.
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Language proficiency screening options for the National Authority for Interpreters and Translators (NAATI)
NAATI approached us with the request of conducting a feasibility study. Since then, we have been engaged in several projects.
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Australian Defence Force School of Languages (DFSL) project
The Australian Defence Force commissioned the Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) to assess their School of Language's curriculum.
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International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
The IELTS test is one of the most widely used English Language proficiency tests in the world.
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Benchmarking university-entry English language courses
Benchmarking the language assessments used for direct entry into undergraduate programs.