Editor’s note: The following piece is shared with TIRF Today readers by Eileen Tyson, Executive Director of Client Relations, Educational Testing Service. Since its initial launch in 1964, the TOEFL® test has undergone several major revisions motivated by advances in theories of language ability and changes in English teaching practices.

Editor’s note: New to TIRF Today this month is our “Grantee Corner” column! Periodically in our newsletter, we will feature news from our grant recipients – their recent research publications, various professional initiatives they are engaged in, graduation updates, and much more. In this month’s first-ever “Grantee Corner” post, we

I am not sure if this concept is used internationally – or if there is an analogous label for the issue I hope to describe in various regions of the world. I also acknowledge, as I’ve noted in many previous issues of TIRF Today, that in terms of weather and

The competition for the 2020 TIRF James E. Alatis Prize for Research in Language Policy and Planning in Educational Contexts is underway but will end soon. All nominations are due tomorrow – October 1, 2019. The 2020 Alatis Prize competition marks the fifth year of TIRF offering the program. For

This year marks the 18th consecutive year TIRF has offered its Doctoral Dissertation Grants (DDG) program to doctoral candidates around the world. With the support of our partners – Cambridge Assessment English, the British Council, and Educational Testing Service, Inc. – along with many individual donors, TIRF has recently completed

Late last year, the Foundation launched the inaugural competition for its TIRF Masters Research Grants (MRG) competition. The program, designed to promote masters-level research and scholarship in Chinese-speaking contexts, drew interest from individuals across mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and has now resulted in the first class of TIRF

TIRF is set to deliver the first session in its speaker series for members of Chengdu Duoweimingju (DWMJ) Institute of Education, based in Chengdu, China. Via this new area of programmatic activity for the Foundation, TIRF’s Trustees and individuals in its network will provide two-hour presentations and discussion sessions for

Earlier this month, TIRF held its fall Board meeting in Virginia and Washington, DC. As TIRF’s programs and operations are continuing to expand, so, too, does the demands the Foundation’s Board of Trustees faces. Evidenced in the variety of issues TIRF’s Board members covered during its meeting, it is clear

In recent years, there have been many films and stories in which human beings develop or are given super-human powers. I’m thinking about the Avengers, the X-Men, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, the Star Wars series, Green Lantern, Batman, and Superman. In terms of books about such beings, the Harry Potter series

The competition for the 2020 TIRF James E. Alatis Prize for Research in Language Policy and Planning in Educational Contexts is underway. The 2020 Alatis Prize competition marks the fifth year of TIRF offering the program. For the 2020 competition, a prize of $500 will be awarded for an article

At the TESOL 2019 Convention in Atlanta, TIRF President, Kathi Bailey, and Derek Liu, Dean of the Chengdu Duoweimingju (DWMJ) Institute of Education, signed an agreement for TIRF and DWMJ to jointly organize a professional development program for Chinese language teachers and researchers. The program was envisioned to take the

TIRF Trustee Michael Carrier recently notified the Foundation of a free British Council publication that will certainly be of interest to many TIRF Today readers. English Public Policies in Latin America: Looking for Innovation and Systemic Improvement in Quality English Language Teaching, edited by Jimena Hernández-Fernández and Javier Rojas, is

Students and teachers around the world are returning to their schools soon to start a new semester. And, as it usually does, TIRF has posted updates to many of its reference lists, in order to help researchers at all levels further their interests. Updates to TIRF’s existing reference lists include