[Postgraduate studies and research] [Teaching] [Research Interests] [my blog] [select publications] [about.me]
Postgraduate studies and research I am very keen to work with postgraduate students in the following areas:
If you are interested in coming to Cardiff to explore one (or more) of these topics, please contact me to discuss the opportunities offered at Cardiff University in terms of MA studies, PhD research or collaboration. My teaching and research interests (see below) are in the fields of Linguistics and Computer-mediated Communication. Whenever possible, I like to merge these interests. Currently I teach the following modules:
If you are interested in learning more about Systemic Functional Linguistics; you can follow the links below. I won't reproduce a list of useful links here since Mick O'Donnell's site has just about everything you might want to know and I'll add a link here to some of the work that's been done here at Cardiff University.
Words and Meaning
This module explores the world of words. What is a word? What range of meanings does a word have? How are word meanings related? How can we tell them apart? How do words ‘behave’ in texts? Where do words come from and how do they change? In this module we will explore a number of different approaches to the semantics of words. We will take an investigative look at our words from various perspectives. Part of the basis for investigating words will be through electronic corpora (e.g. what can tools like Google or other search engines tell us about words?). The emphasis will be on how speakers actually use words in texts. Students will be given the opportunity to gain some hands-on experience using electronic resources (e.g. the Sketch Engine, British National Corpus). Language and Mind This module explores the ways in which researchers examine the relationship between language and the mind. How do we plan what we say and write, and how do we understand what we hear and read? How are words organised in our memory and why do we sometimes forget them? Why do we sometimes make slips of the tongue? We’ll consider whether it is true that ‘everything important about language is in the head’—how does psycholinguistics relate to the other things we know about language, including context and social interaction? We will critically examine, and try out, the methodologies that psycholinguists use when they attempt to pin down features of language processing. This module will be highly relevant to any student with interests in language learning, language disorders, teaching, or generally in how language works. This module aims to introduce students to the key ways
in which psycholinguistic investigations can inform our
understanding of language and the mind, and the limitations
of these approaches. By considering language in its biological,
cognitive and social contexts, the contribution of various
methods used in psycholinguistic research can be evaluated,
including how we should interpret ‘lab’-based
observations and experiments in relation to findings from
other areas of linguistics. Theoretical models of language
processing (e.g. speech production, reading, writing)
will be examined, with particular reference to evidence
of planning errors (e.g. slips of the tongue). Digital Literacies and Language The aim of this module
is to introduce digital language and literacy as an area of
study. We will focus especially on Internet-based discourse,
including for example e-mail messages, Twitter, discussion
lists, chat, Social Network Sites, HTML and Web pages, blogging,
and virtual communities. In this module, we will investigate
the nature of digital text(s) as a Mode of Discourse, including
the relation between text, meaning and technology.
Digital technology has changed almost everything and this has changed the way we learn, work and live. According to JISC, an estimated 77% of UK jobs involve some form of information and communications technology (ICT) competence. This module explores the nature of language in the digital age and issues related to digital literacy. This includes considering the register and genre of various types of digital text (Twitter, Facebook, blogs, wikis, Tumblr, etc.), including the semiotic resources available and the relationship between text, meaning and technology. In doing so digital language will be explored in various contexts (e.g. personal, work, education).
Conference Presentations
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