Doctoral Student awarded prestigious Duolingo English Test Dissertation Research Award

Zhuohan Chen, a Doctoral Student at the Department, has been awarded the prestigious Duolingo English Test Dissertation Research Award for her project: The Impact of Exposure to Global Englishes Accents on Chinese Children’s Learning of EFL (English as A Foreign Language). The award includes a $6,000 grant that will help Zhuohan to achieve her research goals.

The project investigates the impact of exposure to Global English accents on Chinese children’s learning of EFL.

Zhuohan said: “Restricting English listening input to ‘standard’ British/American is no longer ecologically valid in a globalised context. Yet, previous research on accent exposure has focused mostly on adults and on awareness-raising.

“Using a series of cross-sectional and experimental studies, my project examines both linguistic and attitudinal outcomes after children encounter diverse English accents.”

The findings will inform whether and how Global English accents can be safely and productively integrated into early EFL teaching, and support child language assessment as major tests increasingly adopt more accents.

Zhuohan’s supervisors, Dr Robert Woore and Dr Faidra Faitaki commented: “We are thrilled to see Zhuohan receive the Duolingo English Test Dissertation Research Award. This award recognises the originality and real-world impact of her doctoral work on Global English accents and children’s EFL learning. We look forward to seeing her findings inform classroom and assessment practices.”