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Shengkai Yin

Scholarly Teacher Level A

Contact

Campus

Berwick Campus

Biography

Dr Shengkai Yin holds double PhD degrees in educational measurement and applied linguistics from the University of Melbourne and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He is currently a lecturer in the Institute of Education, Arts and Community. His primary research interests straddle assessment and evaluation, including the design and validation of all formal examining, testing and for-learning assessment activities in the broader education and linguistics field. 

Shengkai is the recipient of the 2025 Asian Association for Language Assessment (AALA) Outstanding Dissertation Award. He has also been awarded prestigious research grants from leading organisations, including Duolingo Dissertation Research Award in Language Assessment in 2022, British Council Assessment Research Award in 2023, TOEFL/ILTA (International Language Testing Association) Travel Grant Award in 2024 and 2025, and TOEFL Grant for Doctoral Research in Language Assessment in 2025.

Shengkai's work is published in top-tier journals in education and applied linguistics. 

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More about Shengkai

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Melbourne
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Areas of interest

  • Educational assessment and evaluation  
  • Language assessment  
  • Critical thinking  
  • Mixed-methods analysis  
  • ESL/EFL learning and teaching 
  • Initial teacher education 

Grants

  • TOEFL Grant for Doctoral Research in Language Assessment (USD 6,000)  
  • TOEFL/ITLA Student Travel Grant (USD 2,000) 
  • The University of Melbourne Arts Graduate Research Essentials Grant ($5,990) 
  • The University of Melbourne Graduate Research in Arts Travel Scheme ($1,500) 
  • Research and Graduate Studies Grant (Languages and Linguistics) ($2,000) 
  • British Council Assessment Research Awards (GBP 2,500) 
  • Duolingo Dissertation Research Awards in Language Assessment (USD 6,000) 
  • Seed Funding of Shanghai Jiao Tong University- The University of Melbourne Joint PhD Program (Fellowship) (WH610160507/047) ($20,000) 

Awards

  • 2025: The AALA Outstanding Dissertation Award  
  • Outstanding Student Award, First Prize, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

  • Applied linguistics  
  • Foundation literacy  
  • Initial teacher education

Specialist roles

  • Associate Editor: TESOL in Context (2026–2028)

  • Publications

To Assign a Topic or Not: Examining Critical Thinking in English as a Foreign Language Speaking