ACTFL Selects 2021 Research Grant Recipients

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ACTFL is pleased to announce the 2021 awardees of the ACTFL Research Priorities grants. Each project either initiates a new research study, supports or expands a study under way, or explores an emerging research area that is connected to one or more Research Priority areas. The studies were selected after a thorough review by the Research Priorities Task Force.  The selected studies will each receive a grant up to $3800 with $2500 payable upon acceptance and the remaining $1300 upon final report and article submission to Foreign Language Annals (FLA). 

 "The ACTFL Research and Assessment Committee was impressed by the quality of the proposals submitted. Funding these projects is critical to language education. The resulting work will support ACTFL's five pillars and provide inspiration and opportunity to the field for years to come." according to Dr. Margaret (Meg) Malone, ACTFL Director of Assessment and Research.

The purpose of the ACTFL Research Priorities Project is to support empirical research on five priority areas that are currently critical to improving World Language education. Priority areas include Assessing Learning Outcomes in K-16 Settings, Equity and Access in Language Teaching,  Immersion/Dual Language Programs, Intercultural Teaching and Learning, and K-16 Language Teacher Development.  ACTFL looks forward to sharing the results of the research with our membership. The recipients, their institutions and project titles follow.

Sarah Albrecht, University of Arizona: Pedagogical Translation For Reading Comprehension in Mixed HL-L2 Secondary Classrooms 

Jersus Colmenares, Northern Arizona University: Spanish teachers' knowledge and use of corpus data and tools for materials development: A national survey

Andie Faber, Kansas State University, with Christina Beaubien, Westfield State University: Promoting equity through assessment: Ungrading in 3^rd and 4th semester Spanish courses 

Joseph Fees, Delaware State University: Delaware Dual-Language Immersion, ACTFL Standards and Spanish Conversation

Lauren Goodspeed, with Mandy Menke and Helena Ruf, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities: Social Justice in Language Education: Postsecondary Instructors' Cognition and Identity Construction

Alice Gruber, Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, with Manuela Wagner, University of Connecticut: Fostering Intercultural Citizenship with Virtual Reality in a World Language Virtual Exchange project

Hiba Ibrahim, York University: Examining Learner Experiences of Interculturality in Virtual Exchange 

Dianna Murphy, with Hadis Ghaedi, Felicia Lucht, Jana Martin, Sonya Sedivy, and Chen Sun, University of Madison-Wisconsin:  The speaking proficiency outcomes of face-to-face and online intensive summer programs in less commonly taught languages

Kelly Paciaroni, with Patricia J. Brooks, The Graduate Center, CUNY: The impact of a text-based secondary school curriculum on the oral language production of intermediate Italian students.  

Dara Tafazoli, The University of Newcastle: Key Enablers and Barriers to Integrating Technology into Iranian Language Teaching Profession

Janire Zalbidea, Temple University: Writing Performance in Spanish as a Heritage Language: Investigating Task and Individual Difference Factors

About ACTFL:
Providing vision, leadership and support for quality teaching and learning of languages, ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 13,000 language educators and administrators from elementary through graduate education, as well as government and industry. Since its founding in 1967, ACTFL has become synonymous with innovation, quality, and reliability in meeting the changing needs of language educators and their learners. It is where the world's educators, businesses, and government agencies go to advance the practice of language learning.

ACTFL's work as a trusted, independent center of excellence empowers educators to prepare learners for success in a 21^st century global society; helps government agencies build language capacity in the U.S. and abroad; and connects businesses with the resources and relationships they need to succeed.

SOURCE ACTFL