PhD fellowship at the intersection of corpus linguistics, second language acquisition and language testing - Corpora

15 Jul 2024


      The Centre for English Corpus Linguistics (CECL, UCLouvain, Belgium) has an opening for a PhD fellowship in linguistics.
*   Full-time (100%) PhD fellowship for one year, renewable (max. 4 years)
  *   Start date: October 2024
The main objective of the PhD project will be to use the method of Comparative Judgment to explore whether the theoretical construct of ‘phraseological complexity’ (Paquot, 2019) is reflective of collective understandings of the linguistic phenomena we wish to measure with such a construct. The project will centre around two main objectives: (1) test empirically whether reliable human judgments of phraseological complexity are attainable (both at the level of multi-word units and at the text level); (2) explore the degree to which various automated measures of phraseological complexity align with human judgments of phraseological complexity, which is to be understood as our ‘gold standard’ to assess construct validity.
For more information about phraseological complexity, the method of Comparative Judgment and the use of human judgments to explore the multidimensionality of our research constructs, see:
*   Kyle, K., Crossley, S. A., & Jarvis, S. (2021). Assessing the Validity of Lexical Diversity Indices Using Direct Judgements. Language Assessment Quarterly, 18(2), 154‑170. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2020.1844205
  *   Paquot, M. (2019). The phraseological dimension in interlanguage complexity research. Second Language Research, 35(1), 121–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658317694221
  *   Paquot, M., Rubin, R. & Vandeweerd, N. (2022). Crowdsourced Adaptive Comparative Judgment: A community-based solution for proficiency rating. Language Learning 72(3), 853-885. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lang.12498
Qualifications and expected profile
The candidate will meet the following qualifications:
*   Master degree in (Applied) Linguistics or Natural Language Processing
  *   Excellent record of BA and MA level study
  *   Excellent oral and written English (minimum level: C1)
  *   Excellent analytic skills
  *   Knowledge of corpus linguistic techniques is a requirement
  *   Knowledge of statistics and R is an asset
  *   Autonomy, sense of teamwork, ability to listen and analyse needs, responsiveness
  *   Willingness to live in Belgium and to travel abroad (to attend international academic conferences)
Conditions of engagement
This doctoral fellowship is subject to the following conditions:
*   The contract will initially be for one year, three times renewable, with a total of four years.
  *   The candidate receives a doctoral fellowship grant (starting at approx. EUR 2400 net per month) and full medical insurance.
  *   This position requires residence in Belgium for the duration of the mandate.
  *   Applicants from outside the EU are responsible for obtaining the necessary visa or permits, with the assistance of UCLouvain staff department.
Application
Application deadline: 1 September 2024
The application file should include :
*   a cover letter in English, in which you specify why you are interested in this position and how you meet the job requirements outlined above;
  *   a curriculum vitae in English;
  *   a concise academic statement in English, in which you outline your expectations about and plans for graduate study and career goals;
  *   a copy of BA and MA diplomas and degrees;
  *   a copy of your master thesis and academic publications (if applicable);
  *   the names and full contact details of two academic referees.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview (in situ or via video conferencing) in the second half of September 2024.
Applications (as an email attachment) and inquiries should be addressed to Dr. Magali Paquot (<magali.paquot@uclouvain.bemailto:magali.paquot@uclouvain.be>)