Computer technology is a primary concern to faculty and students investigating how computers can best be used in second language teaching and learning. In a range of areas within second language acquisition and teaching, faculty and graduate student work bridges theory and practice. Topics include the study of individual differences such as learning strategies and learning style as well as issues in second language phonology , second language writing and research methods in second language acquisition . Work on second language assessment at Iowa State investigates issues associated with choice of particular testing methods for assessing learners language ability. Of central interest is testing language for specific purposes , such as testing the English of a prospective teacher, doctor, or airline pilot.
Faculty contribute to a number of national and international testing projects , as well.
Studies in grammar use computer-assisted methods to investigate the grammatical patterns in large corpora of texts. This work in corpus linguistics produces novel grammatical descriptions, methodological innovations, and practical applications.