The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF)
TIRF (The International Research Foundation for English Language Education) is a nonprofit organization, whose goal is to generate new knowledge AbOUT English language teaching and learning. TIRF promotes research and best practices to improve the use of English in the emerging global knowledge economy of the 21st century.
Mission
Over the last three decades, the English language teaching profession has witnessed phenomenal growth and development in two major areas: (1) revolutionary changes in language teaching theory and practice (Kumaravadivelu, 2006; Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2011; Savignon, 2007; and Widdowson, 2004), and (2) a virtual population explosion of learners worldwide - millions of people who have a need to learn English; see, for example, data about English language learners in China and Brazil. At the same time, the gap has widened between practice and the research needed to inform practice, in language learning and teaching, as well as in teacher training. With these realities in mind, TIRF's mission embodies four major goals:
- to implement a research and development program that will generate new knowledge and inform and improve the quality of English language teaching and learning;
- to promote the application of research to practical language problems;
- to collect, organize, and disseminate information and research on the teaching and learning of language; and
- to influence the formation and implementation of appropriate language education policies, taking cognizance of the complementarity of English as an international language and indigenous languages and cultures worldwide.
History
In 1999, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. provided the original seed-money for TIRF in its funding initiatives. At that time, the acronym "TIRF" stood for the TESOL International Research Foundation. However, in order to distinguish TIRF from TESOL, Inc., the Foundation's name was later changed to The International Research Foundation for English Language Education. TIRF is now an independent organization recognized with 501(c)(3) status by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service 1954 tax law. TIRF applies research findings to practical language problems, promotes discussions, and develops networks among teachers, researchers, authors, publishers, philanthropic foundations, government agencies, and major companies towards a unified development program to collect, organize, and disseminate research findings.
TIRF continues to focus on research and development activities related to issues in language learning and teaching, and in the area of education in English as a second/foreign language. The Foundation gives priority to the development of a coherent program of language learning research, teaching research, and information dissemination.
TIRF's fundraising initiatives support research projects selected from applications submitted in response to TIRF's annual call for proposals. The Foundation concentrates on the development of a research agenda which is flexible and dynamic, both addressing perennial issues and evolving as critical questions present themselves. TIRF receives and distributes funds for these purposes.
English in the Workforce
TIRF is developing a series of reports that address questions regarding policies and practices in English language education worldwide. The current focus is on English in the 21st-century workforce. Specifically, while promoting individual and community language rights, TIRF is investigating how the language proficiency of individuals who are non-native speakers of English influences their ability to access and participate in the global economy. Recent research on the benefits of English language capacities for individuals in societies has been conducted in Cameroon, Nigeria, Rwanda, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. For example, in these countries, there is evidence that English ability positively impacts workers' access to employment, to opportunities for further training, and to increased earnings.
As a means to address unanswered questions about English in the workforce, in 2012 TIRF released the full version of a commissioned paper entitled, English at Work: An Analysis of Case Reports about English Language Training for the 21st-century Workforce. TIRF commissioned twenty case reports of English language training programs that describe training for English in the workplace. The Foundation hired Anthony Fitzpatrick and Robert O'Dowd to conduct the research. The executive summary of this report is also available.
In 2009, TIRF commissioned its first report to address the issue of English language training for the workforce. The report is entitled The Impact of English and Plurilingualism in Global Corporations. This report addresses the ways in which global corporations define and assess language requirements, including but not limited to the ability to communicate in English, and how these corporations both support and evaluate the development of the language capabilities of their employees. The questions that motivated the research were: (1) What language requirements do global corporations have? (2) What are the economic purposes and benefits of these requirements? (3) How do global corporations assess whether workers meet their language requirements? (4) What have global corporations done to address the language challenges they face? and (5) What is the impact of employees’ language abilities on individuals, firms, and economies? This report was referenced in an article published by The Guardian in the United Kingdom. In 2010, a Chinese version of this study was published in English Career, a Taiwanese magazine.
Grant Programs
In order to accomplish the above goals related to research, the Foundation has supported grant-funding initiatives in three categories: Doctoral Dissertation Grants, The Sheikh Nahayan Fellowships, and Priority Research Grants.
Doctoral Dissertation Grants
Since 2002, TIRF has supported graduate students completing their doctoral research on topics related to the Foundation’s research priorities. Each year, applicants who have been advanced to candidacy in legitimate PhD or EdD programs are invited to submit proposals for Doctoral Dissertation Grants (DDGs). DDG applicants do not need to be US citizens or members of any particular professional organization. Proposals are reviewed by a TIRF committee of established international researchers. DDGs are provided in amounts of up to US $5,000 per awardee.
Many of the Doctoral Dissertation Grant recipients have gone on to publish scholarly articles based on their TIRF-supported research. Dr. Semire Dikli, a 2005 DDG recipient, published her work in the Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment. Dr. Steven Talmy, the first DDG recipient, in 2002, published two articles based on his TIRF-funded research in Pragmatics and Applied Linguistics. Dr. Kara McBride, also a 2005 DDG recipient, published her work in the Computer Assisted Language Learning Journal. Dr. Lucie Moussu, another 2005 DDG recipient, published an article based on her TIRF-funded research in Language Teaching.
Overview of Eligibility
Applicants for TIRF's DDG program must meet the following criteria:
- be enrolled in a legitimate doctoral program;
- be advanced to candidacy and have had a research plan approved by a faculty committee at their university;
- write a proposal which is clearly related to TIRF’s research priorities;
- follow specific instructions located in the call for proposals on TIRF's website; and
- have their research supervisor submit an official letter of support attesting to the applicant’s readiness to complete the doctoral dissertation.
Research Priorities
TIRF's research priorities were initially established at an invitational conference that was held in 2001. Participants included researchers, TIRF Trustees, publishers, governmental representatives, and educational organizations. Since that time, the Trustees have regularly updated TIRF's research priorities. As of 2011, TIRF’s research priorities are the following:
- Bilingualism/Plurilingualism in Business and Industry
- Language Assessment
- Language Teacher Education
- Optimal Uses of Technology in the Delivery of English Language Instruction
- Students’ Age and Effective English Language Education in Schools
Sheikh Nahayan Fellowships
Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the United Arab Emirates, provided TIRF with a grant to support research on the teaching and learning of English in the Arab world.
Nine young scholars have received Sheikh Nahayan Fellowships to date, and an edited volume based on their research is forthcoming. Some have already published articles in books and academic journals. For example, Muhammad Mahmoud Abdel Latif has published several articles based on his TIRF-funded study, including one in the Canadian Modern Language Review and another in the International Journal of English Studies. Another 2008 Sheikh Nahayan Fellow, Laila Rumsey, published a paper that was based on her TIRF-funded research in an edited book entitled Establishing and Maintaining Standards. Another 2008 Fellow, Dr. Fíodhna Gardiner-Hyland, publisher her TIRF-supported research in a book she co-edited, Contextualizing EFL for young learners: International perspectives on policy, practice and procedure.
Priority Research Grants
Between 2002 and 2007, the Foundation provided support for established researchers through the Priority Research Grants (PRG) program. Successful applicants in the PRG competitions submitted proposals involving researchers in two or more countries. Studies were funded that focused on TIRF’s stated research priorities, and proposals involving mixed-methods studies were given preference in the rating process.
From 2005 to 2008, TIRF-sponsored research was funded by a grant from Betty Azar, author of the Azar Grammar Series (Pearson Longman). Her donation funded five Priority Research Grants and six Doctoral Dissertation Grants to assess the effectiveness of principled approaches to teaching grammar to adult English language learners around the world.
Many of the PRG recipients have published studies based on their TIRF-supported research. For example, Dr. Ahmar Mahboob, a 2003 PRG recipient, published his TIRF-supported research in a chapter in the book entitled Learning and teaching from experience: Perspectives on nonnative English-speaking professionals and later he was the editor of The NNEST lens: Non native English speakers in TESOL. Dr. Kim McDonough and Dr. Wichian Sunitham, 2004 PRG recipients, published their TIRF-funded research in TESOL Quarterly. Dr. Anne Burns and Dr. Simon Borg, 2005 PRG recipients, published their TIRF-supported research in Applied Linguistics.
The Board of Trustees
TIRF is served by an all-volunteer Board of Trustees. As of December 2012, TIRF's Board of Trustees is composed of twenty Board members from various regions throughout the world:
- Asia: Jun Liu, Ken Yoshida
- Australia: Joseph Lo Bianco, David Nunan
- Europe: Michael Carrier, Michael Letgutke, Michael Milanovic
- The Middle East: Yehia El-Ezabi
- North, Central, and South America: James Alatis, Kathleen Bailey, Richard Boyum, Antonieta Celani, Donna Christian, MaryAnn Christison, Lorraine de Matos, Joanne Dresner, Marti Estell, Ana Sylvia Ramirez, Andrew Sugerman, G. Richard Tucker