Professor Parvaneh Tavakoli
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+44 (0) 118 378 6092
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Professor of Applied Linguistics
Director of PGCert in Language Assessment
Visiting Scholars Coordinator
Areas of interest
Parvaneh's main research interest is in the interface of second language acquisition, second language teaching, and language testing. Drawing on a task-based language teaching (TBLT) approach, she has investigated the role of task and task design in language teaching and their impact on second language performance, acquisition, assessment and the cognitive processes associated with second language development.
Her research also focuses on the measurement and development of speech fluency in language learning, and its relationship with other aspects of linguistic performance. Parvaneh has attracted several prestigious research grants and led a number of national and international research projects.
Postgraduate supervision
Parvaneh accepts new PhD students in areas of second language acquisition, language assessment, and oral fluency. Currently, she is supervising PhD students in the following topics:
- L2 fluency and collocational knowledge
- The relationship between L1 and L2 fluency and lexical complexity
- Task design, task engagement and L2 vocabulary learning
- Depth of processing, language aptitude and learning of new grammatical structures
- Effects of input enhancement (traditional vs. translanguaging) on acquisition of L2 Mandarin
Teaching
Parvaneh teaches the following modules:
- LSMSL: Second Language Learning Principles
- LSMTP: Language Testing Principles
- LSMLCL: Language Curriculum Design
- LSMPRJ: Language Testing Project
Research centres and groups
- Vice-President of International Association of Task-based Language Teaching (IATBLT)
- Founding Member of London Second Language Acquisition Research Forum (L-SLARF)
- Member of the Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (CeLM)
Research projects
Parvaneh's most recent research projects include:
- Digitally-mediated EMI communication in Higher Education classrooms: Transforming evidence to practicalresource: 2022-25 (funded by The British Council's Future of English Research Grants)
- A longitudinal examination of English language improvement in a Mexican higher education context using TOEFL ITP: 2021-23 (funded by Educational Testing Services)
- Towards a model of multi-dimensional performance in the Aptis Speaking Test: 2018-19 (funded by The British Council's Assessment Research Grants)
- Scoring validity of the TEEP Speaking test: 2018-19 (funded by International Study and Language Institute)
- Language Certification as a tool for employability in Mexico: 2017-19 (funded by The Higher Education Links Scheme, British Council)
- Scoring validity of the Aptis Speaking test: Investigating fluency across tasks and levels of proficiency: 2015-16 (funded by The British Council's Assessment Research Grants)
- An overview of approaches to second language acquisition and instructional practices: 2017-18 (funded by The Welsh Government)
Academic qualifications
- PhD Applied Linguistics (King's College London)
- Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (SFHEA),
- PG Cert in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education (London Metropolitan University)
- MA TEFL (Iran University of Science & Technology)
- CELTA (West London College)
- BA English Translation (Tehran Azad University).