Newsroom
Cambridge PhD scholarships offered on unique English linguistics research project
27 April 2009
University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations is offering two PhD scholarships worth up to £75,000 each to take part in the English Profile programme - a unique interdisciplinary research programme that will provide the first complete set of reference level descriptors of the English language.Cambridge ESOL is funding the scholarships as part of its commitment to English Profile, although the posts will be located in other Cambridge University departments working on the programme:
- The Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics
The PhD candidate will work in the area of English and applied linguistics and/or computational linguistics and investigate criterial, discriminative linguistic features of the different Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) proficiency levels, exemplified in the Cambridge Learner Corpus and other learner texts.
- Cambridge University Computer Laboratory.
The PhD candidate will investigate the use of data/text mining and knowledge discovery techniques as an empirical and systematic method for uncovering criterial, discriminative linguistic features of the different CEFR levels.
Dr Nick Saville, Director of Cambridge ESOL’s research and validation programme said: “English Profile’s core objective is to develop a research-based and verifiable way of understanding exactly how people learn English, and what they learn at each stage of that process. The value of this for learning, teaching and assessment will be enormous. Cambridge ESOL is proud to support posts which will advance this exciting second stage of English Profile.”
The awards are for three-year PhD programmes and will cover fees and maintenance up to £25,000 per annum. Suitable candidates will have first-class honours or equivalent degrees in relevant subjects. International applications are welcomed.
Further information can be found at: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/jobs/ZL866/Cambridge_ESOL_Scholarship
For more detailed instructions about applications please contact: Postgraduate.Admissions@cl.cam.ac.uk.
