Professor Parvaneh Tavakoli

Email:
p.tavakoli@reading.ac.uk
Phone:
+44 (0) 118 378 6092
Job title:
Professor of Applied Linguistics

Responsibilities:

Director of, and Admissions Tutor for, the PhD Programmes in Applied Linguistics

Member of the Department Research Ethics Committee

Areas of interest

Parvaneh's main research interest is in the interface of second language acquisition, second language teaching, and language testing. Drawing on a task-based language teaching (TBLT) approach, she has investigated the role of task and task design in language teaching and their impact on second language performance, acquisition, assessment and the cognitive processes associated with second language development.

Her research also focuses on the measurement and development of speech fluency in language learning, and its relationship with other aspects of linguistic performance. Parvaneh has attracted several prestigious research grants and led a number of national and international research projects.

Postgraduate supervision

Parvaneh is currently supervising PhD students in the following topics:

Development of L2 writing skills among young learners in a Dutch context
Use of discourse markers and second language proficiency
The relationship between L1 and L2 fluency and lexical complexity
Monitoring processes and repair strategies in a second language
Identifying atypical speech development among bilingual English-Persian children
Effects of practice on implicit and explicit language knowledge
Factors affecting development of L2 fluency.

Teaching

Parvaneh teaches the following modules:

LSMSL/DSL: Second Language Learning Principles
LDMDIP: Language Teaching Portfolio
LSMLT: Language Testing Principles
LSMAP: Academic Practice (in Applied Linguistics)
LSMPRO: Full Dissertation Proposal.

Research centres and groups

Member of the Steering Committee at the Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism
Founding Member of London Second Language Acquisition Research Forum (L-SLARF).

Research projects

Parvaneh's most recent research projects include:

Towards a model of multi-dimensional performance in the Aptis Speaking Test: 2018-19 (funded by The British Council's Assessment Research Grants)
Scoring validity of the TEEP Speaking test: 2018-19 (funded by International Study and Language Institute)
Language Certification as a tool for employability in Mexico: 2017-19 (funded by The Higher Education Links Scheme, British Council)
Scoring validity of the Aptis Speaking test: Investigating fluency across tasks and levels of proficiency: 2015-16 (funded by The British Council's Assessment Research Grants)
An overview of approaches to second language acquisition and instructional practices: 2017-18 (funded by The Welsh Government).

Academic qualifications

PhD Applied Linguistics (King's College London)
Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (SFHEA),
PG Cert in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education (London Metropolitan University)
MA TEFL (Iran University of Science & Technology)
CELTA (West London College)
BA English Translation (Tehran Azad University).

Publications

Tavakoli, P. (2020) Making fluency research accessible to second language teachers: the impact of a training intervention. Language Teaching Research ISSN: 1477-0954 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362168820951213
Komeili, M. , Marinis, T. , Tavakoli, P. , Kazemi, Y. (2020) Sentence repetition in Farsi-English bilingual children. Journal of the European Second Language Association , 4 (1). pp. 1-12. ISSN: 2399-9101 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.22599/jesla.55
Tavakoli, P. and Wright, C. (2020) Second language speech fluency: from research to practice. Cambridge University Press pp 180. | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781108589109
Duran Karaoz, Z. and Tavakoli, P. (2020) Predicting L2 fluency from L1 fluency behaviour: the case of L1 Turkish and L2 English speakers. Studies in Second Language Acquisition , 42 (4). pp. 671-695. ISSN: 1470-1545 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0272263119000755
Tavakoli, P. and Uchihara, T. (2020) To what extent are multiword sequences associated with oral fluency?. Language Learning , 70 (2). pp. 506-547. ISSN: 0023-8333 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/lang.12384
Tavakoli, P. , Nakatsuhara, F. , Hunter, A. (2020) Aspects of fluency across assessed levels of speaking proficiency. Modern Language Journal , 104 (1). pp. 169-191. ISSN: 1540-4781 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/modl.12620

Nakatsuhara, F. , Tavakoli, P. , Awwad, A. (2019) Towards a Model of Multi-dimensional Performance of C1 Level Speakers Assessed in the Aptis Speaking Test. British Council ISSN: 2398-7979
Awwad, A. and Tavakoli, P. ORCID: 0000-0003-0807-3709 (2019) Task complexity, language proficiency and working memory: Interaction effects on second language speech performance. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching ISSN: 1613-4141 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/iral-2018-0378
Tavakoli, P. (2019) Automaticity, fluency and second language task performance. In: Wen, Z. and Ahmadian, M. , (eds.) Researching L2 Task Performance and Pedagogy. John Benjamins , Amsterdam. pp. 39-52. ISBN: 9789027203304 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/tblt.13.03tav
Hasrati, M. and Tavakoli, P. (2019) The rise of non-dissertation track master’s programmes: an academic literacies approach. Innovations in Education and Teaching International , 56 (5). pp. 639-651. ISSN: 1470-3297 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2019.1570304

Faez, F. and Tavakoli, P. , eds. (2018) Task Based Language Teaching. English Language Teaching Development Series TESOL International Association , Alexandria, VA, USA. pp 50. ISBN: 9781945351334
Tavakoli, P. and Jones, R. (2018) An overview of approaches to second language acquisition and instructional practices. Welsh Government (Research & Statistics) , Cardiff, Wales. ISBN: 9781789034882
Tavakoli, P. and Hasrati, M. (2018) MA TESOL dissertations in a changing global landscape: a case from Iran. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research , 6 (1). pp. 109-128. ISSN: 2322-1291
Tavakoli, P. (2018) L2 development in an intensive Study Abroad EAP context. System , 72 pp. 62-74. ISSN: 0346-251X | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.10.009
Tavakoli, P. and Hunter, A. (2018) Is fluency being ‘neglected’ in the classroom? Teacher understanding of fluency and related classroom practices. Language Teaching Research , 22 (3). pp. 330-349. ISSN: 1477-0954 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362168817708462

Tavakoli, P. , Nakatsuhara, F. , Hunter, A. (2017) Scoring validity of the Aptis Speaking test: investigating fluency across tasks and levels of proficiency. ARAGs Research Reports Online ISSN: 2057-5203
Awwad, A. , Tavakoli, P. , Wright, C. (2017) “I think that’s what he’s doing”: effects of intentional reasoning on second language (L2) speech performance. System , 67 pp. 158-169. ISSN: 0346-251X | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.05.002

Wright, C. and Tavakoli, P. (2016) New directions and developments in defining, analyzing and measuring L2 speech fluency. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching , 54 (2). pp. 73-78. ISSN: 1613-4141 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/iral-2016-9990
Tavakoli, P. (2016) Fluency in monologic and dialogic task performance: challenges in defining and measuring L2 fluency. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching , 54 (2). pp. 133-150. ISSN: 1613-4141 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/iral-2016-9994
Tavakoli, P. , Campbell, C. , McCormack, J. (2016) Development of speech fluency over a short period of time: effects of pedagogic intervention. TESOL Quarterly , 50 (2). pp. 447-471. ISSN: 1545-7249 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tesq.244

Tavakoli, P. and Hasrati, M. (2015) MA TEFL programmes in Iran: change in a globalised era. In: Kennedy, C. , (eds.) English language teaching in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Innovations, trends and challenges. The British Council , London. pp. 139-150. ISBN: 9780863557699
Tavakoli, P. (2015) Connecting research and practice in TESOL: a community of practice perspective. RELC , 46 (1). pp. 37-52. ISSN: 1745-526X | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0033688215572005
Hasrati, M. and Tavakoli, P. (2015) Globalisation and MA TESOL programs in the UK. Higher Education , 69 (4). pp. 547-565. ISSN: 0018-1560 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9790-5

Tavakoli, P. (2014) Storyline complexity and syntactic complexity in writing and speaking tasks. In: Byrnes, H. and Manchon, R. , (eds.) Task based language learning: insights from and for L2 writing. John Benjamins , Amsterdam. pp. 217-236. ISBN: 9789027207296