Profile
Biography
I hold a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, an MSc in TESOL from California State University, and an Executive MBA from the University of Newcastle. Before joining the Department of Education at York in 2009, I lectured at La Trobe University in Australia and Newcastle and Birmingham universities in the UK.
I am Professor of Language Education and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
Teaching
I have been involved in designing, leading, and delivering both master’s and undergraduate modules, including Discourse Analysis and Language Learning; Language Curriculum Design and Evaluation; Teaching and Learning Language; Teaching and Learning in Schools; Theories of Learning and Development; Research Methods in Applied Linguistics and TESOL; Research Methods in Education; and Introduction to Skills for Studying Education and Studying English in Education.
Departmental roles
I have held the following key departmental roles:
- Chair of the Board of Studies
- Inaugural Chair of the Education Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Forum
- Director of Graduate Studies
- Chair of the Education Graduate School Board
- Deputy Director of the MA in TESOL programme
- Member of the Education Ethics Committee
- Member of the Mitigating Circumstances Committee
- Member of the Academic Misconduct Committee
- Member of the Education Internationalisation Group
University roles
My broader university roles have included:
- Member of the Academic Promotions Committee
- Elected Member of the University Senate
- Member of the Hull-York Medical School Joint Senate
- Elected Member of the Faculty of Social Sciences
- Member of the University Teaching Committee
- Member of the York Research Performance Task and Finish Group
- Chair of the Staff Race Equality Steering Group
- Member of York’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
- Co-Founder and Chair of the Postgraduate Special Interest Group
Research
Overview
My programme encompasses basic research in classroom interaction and discourse analysis, as well as applied research in dialogic pedagogy and teacher education. I focus on the intersections between these areas and their impact on enhancing learning, engagement, and educational outcomes across various subject disciplines and all phases of education in both high- and low-resource educational contexts.
My research activities have included a large-scale, two-year Randomised Controlled Trial of a teacher professional development intervention designed to enhance the quality of classroom talk, learning, and attainment in primary schools serving socio-economically deprived areas of England. This is a collaborative research project with Professor Robin Alexander of the Cambridge Primary Review Trust and Professor Frank Hardman of the Institute for Effective Education at York. I have also conducted observational research studies, focusing on classroom dialogue to teach and learn in higher education in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences.
Informed by my research, I contribute to professional development courses for practitioners on teaching and learning in schools and higher education, both nationally and internationally. My research impact activities have also included delivering invited talks to policymakers and school leaders, producing professional development videos for primary and secondary school teachers, submitting research evidence to inform educational policies, and serving as a member of national and international scientific advisory boards for research projects and research institutes.
Projects
Examples of my recent research projects include:
- Educational talk and dialogic pedagogies: from research to impact: ESRC Impact Acceleration Account
- Dialogic teaching and classroom talk: Education Endowment Foundation.
- Randomised Controlled Trial entitled ‘Classroom Talk, Social Disadvantage and Educational Attainment: Closing the Gap, Raising Standards’: Education Endowment Foundation
- The discourse of student-led discussions in problem-based learning in medical education: University of York.
- Dialogic pedagogy and student learning across subject disciplines in higher education: University of York.
Research group(s)
- Centre for Advanced Studies in Language and Education (CASLE), University of York
- Member of the York Asia Research Network (YARN), University of York
- External partner of the Cambridge Educational Dialogue Research Group (CEDIR), University of Cambridge
- Member of the International Scientific Advisory Board of the National Institute for Research on the Socioeconomic Impact of Diseases and Systematic Risks (SYRI), Czech Republic (2023-2026)
- Member of the International Scientific Advisory Board for "Research on Peripheries to Strengthen the Resilience of Czech Society”, Czech Republic (2026-2029)
- British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
- American Educational Research Association (AERA)
Supervision
Successful PhD completions
- Nor Haslynda A. Rahman - Malaysia's primary English language curriculum: From reform to classroom practice.
- Erdem Akbas - Commitment-detachment and authorial presence in postgraduate academic writing: A comparative study of Turkish native speakers, Turkish speakers of English and English native speakers.
- Golebamang Galegane - Interactional patterns in communication and study skills classes at the University of Botswana.
- David Brining - The challenges teachers of English as a second language encounter with young learners in international contexts, along with their training, development needs, and opportunities.
- Clare Cunningham - Saying more than you realise about 'EAL': discourses of educators regarding children who speak languages beyond English.
- Sermin Arslan - The discourse of student-initiated contributions in English language classrooms.
- Onsutee Sudwan – Dialogic teaching in higher education in Thailand.
- Sarah Crellin – Pupils’ responses to teacher-written feedback in primary English in UK schools.
External activities
Editorial duties
Member of the International Advisory Board for:
- Journal of Modern Languages (JML)
- Focus on ELT Journal (FELT)
Reviewer for journals, including:
- Teacher and Teacher Education
- International Journal of Educational Research
- Journal of the Learning Sciences
- Language, Culture and Curriculum Journal
- International Journal of Educational Development
- Language and Education
- Asian Journal of University Education
- GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies
Reviewer for publishers (book proposals and books)
Reviewer for funding bodies:
- Economic & Social Research Council
- British Academy
- Education Department Pump Priming, University of York
Conference & seminar organisation
Examples:
- Educational talk and dialogic pedagogies: from research to impact, ESRC-funded
- Researching in Asia: concepts, values and practice. White Rose Doctoral Training
- Critical thinking in a community of inquiry. Joint Education-HYMS Research Seminar, University of York
- Annual MA research seminar series in Education
Consultancy
Examples:
- An external review of the MA in TESOL Programme, University of Malta
- A baseline study of the quality of teaching and learning in Tanzanian primary schools, UNICEF
- An external review of the English for Further Studies Curriculum, International College Network, Melbourne, Australia
- An evaluation of the English language teaching methodology in Hyderabad primary schools, Centre for British Teachers, UK
- An external review of the English language teacher training programme, Chongqing, China, University of Newcastle and British Council
International links
- La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
- University of Technology MARA, Malaysia
- University of Malaya, Malaysia
- Masaryk University, Czech Republic
- University of Malta
- University of Botswana
- UNICEF
