Dr Amy Devine

Dr Amy Devine

Senior Research Manager

Amy manages research supporting the validation of Cambridge Assessment English examinations and products, including digital learning and assessment tools, examinations for young learners, and impact research. Her background is in Psychology, and Amy received her Master’s from the University of Otago and completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2018. Amy’s research interests include the role of affective variables in learning, with a particular focus on test anxiety, self-beliefs and motivation.

Amy was born and raised in New Zealand and moved to the UK in 2007. Prior to joining Cambridge Assessment English, she worked on several funded research projects investigating primary and secondary school students’ mathematics and science learning (Faculty of Education and Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge). Amy also worked for Cambridge Assessment’s Research Division in 2013. In her spare time, Amy enjoys yoga, walking, independent film and art.

Key publications and conference presentations

Pickles, M and Devine, A (2019) How video games can help people to learn English, English Teachers Association of Switzerland (ETAS) Journal Supplement 37 (1), 28-30.

McElwee S, Devine, A and Saville, N (2019) Introducing CEFR pre-A1 descriptors for language instruction and assessment: Consequences, opportunities and responsibilities, Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung 30 (2), 214-231.

Devine, A, Cheung, K Y F, Gallacher, T and McElwee, S (2017) Preparation for the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT): Candidates’ use of free and commercial resources, paper presented at the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Annual Conference, Helsinki, Finland, August 2017.

Devine, A, Taylor, L and Cross, B (2017) The biomedical school applicant: Considering the test taker in test development and research, in Cheung, K Y F, McElwee, S and Emery, J (Eds) Applying the Socio-cognitive Framework to the BioMedical Admissions Test: Insights from Language Assessment, Studies in Language Testing volume 49, Cambridge: UCLES/Cambridge University Press, 17-34.

Fyfe, M, Devine, A, Cheung, K Y F and McElwee, S (2017) Prospective medical school applicants’ perceptions of various selection methods: Implications for widening participation, paper presented at the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Annual Conference, Helsinki, Finland, August 2017.

Fyfe, M, Devine, A and Emery, J (2017) The relationship between test scores and other measures of performance, in Cheung, K Y F, McElwee, S and Emery, J (Eds) Applying the Socio-cognitive Framework to the BioMedical Admissions Test: Insights from Language Assessment, Studies in Language Testing volume 49, Cambridge: UCLES/Cambridge University Press, 143-180.