Announcing the 2024 TIRF-British Council Research Mentoring Awards Recipients

We are pleased to announce the 2024 TIRF-British Council Research Mentoring Award (RMA) recipients!

First offered last year, the RMA program is designed to support new researchers and improve the quality of research undertaken by students in doctoral programs within the field of English language education on issues of mutual interest to TIRF and the British Council. The awards are offered to doctoral students in more than 60 countries from four different geographic regions around the world: Africa, Latin America, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. For further background information about the awards, the program’s key features, and past recipients, click here.

This year, five individuals have been awarded RMAs. The recipients’ names, bio statements, home countries, dissertation titles, and the TIRF Research Topics investigated follow here.

2024 TIRF British Council RMA Recipients

	Name & Bio: Daniela Appelgren Muñoz is a Ph.D. candidate in education at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her dissertation investigates how teacher educators understand interculturality when preparing future English teachers. The RMA helps to enable her to map dominant and marginalized perspectives on interculturality among teacher educators, contributing to the field of L2 teacher education.# Print the bio-statement Home Country: Chile Dissertation Title: Knitting Understandings: Exploring Teacher Educators’ Understandings of Interculturality in Chilean Initial Teacher Education for English Teachers TIRF Research Topic Investigated: Language Teacher Education
	Name & Bio: Hawa Mohammed is a researcher and senior lecturer of English at Woldia University and a Ph.D. candidate at Wollo University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in TEFL from Bahir Dar University. She has taught English at various elementary, secondary, and preparatory schools in Ethiopia. Her research aims to transform English language teaching and enhance student engagement by integrating technology-enhanced lesson strategies into Ethiopian secondary school English curricula. Home Country: Ethiopia Dissertation Title: Effects of Computer-mediated Multimedia Glosses with Output Production Instruction on Overhauling Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from Ethiopian Secondary Education TIRF Research Topic Investigated: Digital Technology in Language Education
	Name & Bio: Joko Slamet is a Ph.D. candidate at Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia. His research focuses on ELT methodologies, ESP, and technology integration in language learning. He has worked on research and design projects to enhance language education with digital tools, including gamification. Home Country: Indonesia Dissertation Title: Empowering Autonomous Learning: Designing a Gamified MOOC Platform for an ESP Course through the Self-Directed Learning Approach TIRF Research Topic Investigated: Digital Technology in Language Education
	Name & Bio: Tran Thi Tuyet Mai is a Ph.D. student at Hanoi University. She is an English language teacher in the Faculty of Tourism and Foreign Languages at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture. Her research interests include language testing and assessment and teaching methodologies. Home Country: Vietnam Dissertation Title: English Language Teachers’ Assessment Literacy: Their Knowledge and Practices TIRF Research Topic Investigated: Language Assessment
	Name & Bio: Wilfred Madata is a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Linguistics at the University of Dodoma, Tanzania. He is researching how the use of local games in English instruction may affect primary school learners’ reading and writing skills. His study aims to show that integrating culturally relevant games into English teaching can enhance learners’ abilities and improve their English proficiency. Home Country: Tanzania Dissertation Title: The Impact of Local Games on Learning English and Writing Skills in Tanzanian Primary Schools TIRF Research Topic Investigated: Teaching English to Young Learners

TIRF is aiming to continue to offer the RMA programs next year and beyond. Please follow our updates by signing up to receive TIRF Today – our monthly newsletter – if you have not already done so.

Please join us in congratulating the 2024 TIRF-British Council Research Mentoring Award recipients!