In order to reward excellence and provide greater visibility for new researchers, each year, ALANZ awards prizes for the best Master’s and PhD theses in Applied Linguistics examined and awarded in the previous year in New Zealand. Each university may nominate one candidate for each category. Nominations are called early in the year and a panel of judges from New Zealand universities will be appointed to choose the successful candidate. If you wish your thesis to be considered, please contact your supervisor, or the head of applied linguistics department in the university that awarded your degree.
The prize awarded is:
- Master’s Thesis – $200; one year’s membership for the Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand; an invitation to submit an article for publication in New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics and to be mentored towards its eventual publication.
- PhD Thesis – $500; one year’s membership for the Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand; an invitation to submit an article for publication in New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics and to be mentored towards its eventual publication.
Current Winners
Winners of the 2022 ALANZ Thesis Competition
PhD category: Chujie Dai (Massey University)
Teacher agency in synchronous one-to-one Chinese online language teaching
View Chujie’s presentation on YouTube.
The judges wrote:
This thesis explores the teacher agency of four one-to-one online Chinese language teachers. It contributes new and novel findings into teacher agency and teacher approaches. This thesis is beautifully written. It is clear, concise, and includes a detailed description of the case studies that were performed. The author’s inclusion of their own personal story, both within Chapter 1 and narrated throughout, shows a great passion for the research area and was a nice addition to the thesis.
Master’s category: John Goodall (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington).
Critical Pedagogy in a Chinese Transnational University: Challenges and Possibilities
View John’s presentation on YouTube.
The judges wrote:
The thesis explores a transnational university context through a sophisticated combination of constructivist grounded theory, critical discourse analysis and Bakhtinian dialogism. It shines a light on the complex interplay of ideologies and power that frame critical EAP within this context, concluding that the main challenges to quality education are rooted outside the classroom and directly related to the financial imperative of the modern-day academy. Not only is the research thorough and convincing, but its message will surely resonate with readers far beyond the particular context examined.
Past Winners
| 2021 | ||
| PhD | Alena Shannaq’s (AUT) ‘Investigating How and When International First-Year Second Language Undergraduate Students Deal with Academic Literacies Challenges in the Early 21st Century: A Longitudinal Case Study’. View Dr Shannaq’s presentation on YouTube. | |
| 2020 | ||
| PhD | Ahmed Awad Tayel (Otago University), ‘Teacher Cognition in EFL Teaching: A Study of Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers of English for Arabic-Speaking Students in Egypt with a Particular Focus on Vocabulary‘ | |
| Master’s | Shannon Couper (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington) ‘The power of pleasure: Contributions from embodied Sociolinguistics’. View Shannon’s presentation on YouTube. | |
| 2019 | ||
| PhD | Ahmed Kamal Junina (Otago University) ‘Teacher Cognition in EFL Teaching: A Study of Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers of English for Arabic-Speaking Students in Egypt with a Particular Focus on Vocabulary’ View Dr Junina’s presentation on YouTube | |
| Master’s | Rowan Gardiner (Massey University) ‘Weeaboo Japanese: Exploring English-Japanese language-mixing in online Japanese popular culture fandom‘. View Rowan’s presentation on YouTube | |
| 2018 | ||
| PhD | Fahd Hamad A Alqasham, Massey University, Virtual social network-mediated English language learning in a Saudi tertiary EFL context: Innovation and agency | |
| Master’s | Elisha Gordon, the University of Otago, University Study Abroad in New Zealand: Identity, Ideology, and Investment in English Language Learning | |
| 2017 | ||
| PhD | Thi Ngoc Yen Dang, Victoria University of Wellington, Investigating vocabulary in academic spoken English: Corpora, teachers, and learners | |
| Master’s | Susanne Aldrich, Massey University, Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of the Use of Mobile Technology in University Preparation Classes | |
| Master’s | Randa Saleh Maine Alharbi, AUT University, Responses of Female Non-native Speakers to English Compliments: A Cross-generational Study of Saudi Arabian University Students and Lecturers | |
| 2016 | ||
| PhD | Pham Huy Cuong, Massey University, An ecological perspective on the motivational trajectories of high school students learning English in rural areas in Vietnam | |
| Master’s | Yulia Khan, Auckland University of Technology, Adult migrant English education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand 2002-2014 | |
| 2015 | ||
| PhD | Scott Aubrey, University of Auckland, Effect of inter-cultural contact on L2 motivation and L2 learning: A process-product study | |
| Master’s | Geraldine Anne McCarthy, Massey University, Living and learning in New Zealand: Perceptions of Bhutanese students, parents and teachers of their learning process | |
| 2014 | ||
| PhD | Sara Amani, University of Auckland, Metacognitive strategy instruction and pre-task planning: Impact on L2 argumentative writing ability | |
| Master’s | Rebecca White, Victoria University of Wellington, Adolescent writing, insights from the classroom: An L1 vocabulary development study | |
| 2013 | ||
| PhD | Dawn Booth, University of Auckland, Exploring the washback of the TOEIC in South Korea | |
| Master’s | Rachel Hamlin, Massey University, Marking time: Is there a differential effect on written accuracy following focused or unfocused written corrective feedback | |
| 2012 | ||
| PhD | Long V Nguyen, Massey University, Computer-mediated collaborative learning in a Vietnamese tertiary EFL context: Process, product, and learners’ perceptions | |
| Master’s | Jo Oranje, Otago University, Culture in the classroom of ESL learners: A case study of how culture is represented in the lessons of ESL children at a New Zealand mainstream primary school | |
| 2009 | ||
| PhD | Yiqian (Katherine) Cao (University of Auckland) | |
| Master’s | Susan K. Ruffell (Victoria University of Wellington) | |
| 2008 | ||
| PhD | Gillian Skyrme (Massey University) | |
| Master’s | Seung Hee Pak (University of Auckland) | |
| 2007 | ||
| PhD | Sun Hee Ok Kim (University of Auckland) | |
| Master’s | Judy Jen-Pei Chai (University of Auckland) | |
| 2006 | ||
| PhD | Naashia Mohamed (University of Auckland) | |
| Master’s | Dawn Booth (University of Auckland) | |
| 2005 | ||
| PhD | Martin East (University of Auckland) | |
| Master’s | Yiqian Cao Catherine (University of Auckland) |