Dear TIRF Supporters, As we approach the close of 2025, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all TIRFers for your dedication, active participation, and invaluable contributions to making TIRF the strong and impactful organization it is today. This year has been marked by meaningful progress, collaboration, and
We are pleased to announce the approval of a new TIRF Research Topic—Artificial Intelligence (AI)—now published on the Foundation’s website. This new topic reflects the rapidly growing influence of AI across language teaching, learning, assessment, and research, and responds to increasing global interest from educators, researchers, institutions, and policymakers. AI-enabled
We are pleased to announce the release of a major new resource from TIRF — AI Ethics: Policy Guidance for Language Education. The paper, authored by TIRF Trustee Michael Carrier, is now available on our website to download for free. This comprehensive framework offers practical, accessible guidance on the ethical
This note is our final appeal as we approach the close of 2025. There is still time to make a year-end contribution to TIRF—and every donation made before December 31st will continue to be matched dollar for dollar by our Trustees, up to $11,000. Click here to donate today. Your
We are pleased to announce the opening of TIRF’s 2026 Doctoral Dissertation Grants (DDG) competition. The commencement of the current DDG program offering marks the 25th consecutive year the Foundation will make awards to help support doctoral students around the world. There are two different types of DDGs offered from
Dear TIRF Supporters, This month, I am delighted to share wonderful news that speaks to both the generosity of our global community and the growing confidence in TIRF’s mission. Earlier in November, TIRF received a transformational gift of USD 100,000 from Mr. Ung Choi Kun of Macau. This contribution establishes
TIRF is pleased to share that sponsorship of our widely used Reference Lists—already available to institutions—has now officially been expanded to welcome individual sponsors as well. This development reflects TIRF’s commitment to broadening participation and offering more ways for passionate professionals, researchers, educators, and supporters to help sustain this valuable
As we reflect on the progress of 2025 and look ahead to the year ahead, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the many individuals and institutions that form the TIRF community. Whether you have supported our research initiatives, engaged in our professional programming, shared our messages, or simply
We are pleased to announce the 2025 TIRF-British Council Research Mentoring Award (RMA) recipients! Now in its third 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
Dear TIRF Board Members and Supporters, In this month’s Chair’s Report, I would like to reflect on the life and legacy of an extraordinary scientist whom I had the privilege of meeting during my time at Stony Brook University, where I served as Vice President and Vice Provost for Global
Editor’s note: In this piece, we share information from ETS, regarding a current grant opportunity for doctoral research in language assessment. ETS is delighted to announce the call for applications for the 2026 TOEFL® Grant for Doctoral Research in Language Assessment. The grant is designed to support Ph.D. candidates whose dissertation
In a recent blog post authored by Dr. Christine Coombe, a TIRF Trustee and long-time leader in the TESOL community, TESOL International Association and TIRF offer a forward-looking view of how research will shape the future of English language teaching. The post explores commonalities between TESOL’s established Research Directions —
This year marks the 24th consecutive year TIRF has offered its Doctoral Dissertation Grants (DDGs) to doctoral candidates around the world. With the support of our partners – the British Council, Cambridge English (part of the Cambridge University Press & Assessment), Duolingo, and the TOEFL® program at ETS – along with many
Dear TIRF Board Members and Supporters, This month, I had the privilege of delivering the welcome remarks at a symposium titled “Cultivating Global Competitiveness: Technological Innovation and the Development of Postgraduate Education in Macao.” Organized by our Graduate Student Association at the School of Education, the event featured speakers from Macau, Hong
Editor’s note: In this piece, we share information about a doctoral award opportunity from Duolingo. The story below has been adapted for the purposes of TIRF communications. The call for applications is currently open for the Duolingo English Test Dissertation Research Awards, which support dissertation research by doctoral candidates specializing
