Professor Luke Harding
Professor in Linguistics and English LanguageResearch Interests
My research interests are in the area of language assessment and applied linguistics more broadly, with a focus on:
- Listening assessment, and particularly the role of speaker accent (Harding, 2011; Harding, 2012)
- Pronunciation assessment and intelligibility (Harding, 2012; Harding, 2017a; Harding, 2017b; Isaacs & Harding, 2017)
- English as a Lingua Franca and communicative language assessment (Harding, 2014; Harding & McNamara, 2017)
- Language assessment literacy (Pill & Harding, 2013; Harding & Kremmel, 2016)
- Diagnostic language assessment (Alderson, Brunfaut & Harding, 2015; Harding, Alderson & Brunfaut, 2015)
* Links to open-access papers provided
Current Teaching
I teach on several modules on the MA in Language Testing (by distance), the MA TESOL (by distance), and the MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL (on campus), including:
- Language Test Construction and Evaluation
- Background to Applied Linguistics for Language Testing
- Issues in Language Testing
- Statistical Analysis for Language Testing
- Research in Applied Linguistics
- Classroom Language Assessment
- Curriculum Design and Teacher Development
I have also contributed to undergraduate modules and the PhD by Thesis and Coursework.
During summer, I teach on in the Language Testing at Lancaster course: http://www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/study/languagetesting/index.htm
Research Overview
My research interests are in language testing and assessment, and applied linguistics more generally. I am particularly interested in second language listening and pronunciation assessment, and specifically the interface between sociolinguistics and language assessment (for example, the challenge of English as a Lingua Franca for language assessment). I also work on diagnostic language assessment (together with colleagues Tineke Brunfaut and Charles Alderson), and language assessment literacy (with Benjamin Kremmel).
PhD Supervision Interests
I am principally interested in supervising doctoral students in a range of areas related to the assessment of listening and speaking, and in topics around English as a Lingua Franca, including its implications for assessment
Linguistic demands of EMI in Higher Education: A corpus-based analysis of reading and writing in EMI university settings in China, Italy and Thailand
01/09/2022 → 28/02/2025
Research
NWSSDTP: Item writing skills and their development: Implications for operational item writing and item-writing training
01/10/2021 → 30/09/2022
Research
Linking the Trinity College London Graded Examinations in Spoken English to China's Standards of English Language Ability (TCL-CSE)
01/10/2020 → 30/06/2022
Research
TOEFL Small Grant - Myriam Siloni Iliovits
01/02/2020 → 30/04/2020
Research
Construction and Corpus-Based Analysis of the British Council-Lancaster University APTIS Corpus
01/09/2018 → 30/06/2022
Research
An Investigation of the Impact of Delivery Mode on the Integrated Skills in English (ISE) exam (phase 1)
01/02/2017 → 31/08/2018
Research
Austrian nationwide listening and reading test project
01/06/2015 → 31/10/2016
Consultancy
Investigating the construct underlying the CEFR phonological control scale
01/01/2013 → …
Other
Linking the GEPT Listening Tests to the CEFR
01/04/2012 → 31/12/2013
Research
Linking the GEPT listening test to the Common European Framework of Reference
01/04/2012 → 31/12/2013
Research
An Exploratory Study of Differences in GESE Examiner Orientations in the UK, India and China
19/03/2012 → 31/03/2015
Research
Language Test Design and Evaluation in Luxembourg
01/09/2011 → …
Other
Language Assessment Quarterly (Journal)
Editorial activity
Language Testing (Journal)
Editorial activity
Papers in Language Testing and Assessment (Journal)
Editorial activity
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation (Journal)
Editorial activity
Language Assessment in an International Academic Context (CIP Symposium 2012)
Participation in conference
Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching (4th annual conference)
Participation in conference
Northern Association of TESOL (NATESOL) conference
Participation in conference
- LTRG - Language Testing Research Group