Center for Research in Applied Linguistics Receives a Grant to Validate a New TOEFL Test

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YEREVAN, Armenia – The Center for Research in Applied Linguistics (CRAL), one of nine research centers at the American University of Armenia (AUA), has been awarded a $50,000 TOEFL Young Students Series research grant by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the world’s largest nonprofit educational measurement organization.

The research project will validate the TOEFL Junior test, the newest addition to the TOEFL® Family of Assessments, developed to assess English language proficiency for young adolescent learners (ages 11-16) of English as a foreign language.

The CRAL research team will evaluate the TOEFL Junior test as a placement and progress-monitoring instrument in an English as a Foreign Language context. The team will also look at teachers’ perceptions of the usefulness and practicality of the test and the effect of repeated test exposures on students’ perceptions of the TOEFL Junior test.

The project will be carried out in the Experimental English Classes (EEC), an afterschool EFL program administered by CRAL. EEC is a program specially designed to develop English language communication skills of school children in Armenia. The project is an opportunity to introduce this newest addition to the TOEFL® Family of Assessments in the EEC program, allowing teachers and students to measure their achievement against a widely accepted international standard.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a US-style education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.