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Professor Parvaneh Tavakoli

Professor Parvaneh Tavakoli
  • 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:
  • Digitally-mediated EMI communication in Higher Education classrooms: Transforming evidence to practicalresource: 2022-25 (funded by The British Council's Future of English Research Grants)
  • A longitudinal examination of English language improvement in a Mexican higher education context using TOEFL ITP: 2021-23 (funded by Educational Testing Services)
  • 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).