MPhil and Phd in Applied Linguistics
An MPhil and PhD in Applied Linguistics are offered in the Department of English & Language Studies. These degrees are co-ordinated by Professor Adrian Holliday|, who is also Head of the Graduate School|, which provides cross-institutional support and facilities for research students within an interdisciplinary community.
In the Applied Linguistics programme there is a major emphasis on critical qualitative research into social and cultural issues in language education; but there is also interest in grammar, discourse and pragmatics.
There is a small, cohesive and friendly community of about ten full-time and twelve part-time students in the department. There is a strong pastoral ethos, where full-time students can see their supervisors regularly and part-time students can have regular email contact. There is an open-agenda student discussion group held in Adrian Holliday's office every Thursday lunch-time. The annual Cutting Edges conference |provides an international forum in which students can engage in discussion with world-class academics in their field.
Topics we can supervise
Several members of the department take part in the supervision of research students, and have the following interests:
Professor Adrian Holliday: cultural issues in TESOL professionalism, the politics of curriculum change, intercultural communication.
Dr Charlotte Franson: postgraduate teacher training in English as an additional language, educational policy and provision, second language pedagogy and teacher education with respect to English as a second/additional language students.
Dr Chris Anderson: social, political and cultural issues in language education, pedagogy and learning/acquisition; cross-cultural pragmatics and intercultural communication; Discourse and discourse; sociolinguistics.
Dr Goodith White: the teaching of listening, issues of langiuage and identity, ICT and learning, teacher development, world Englishes and endangered languages
Dr John Kullman: cultural issues in language teaching and learning, intercultural communication, the education and mentoring of student teachers, language programme design, materials design and evaluation.
Dr Martin Hyde: professional discourses and conceptualizations of culture, situated in conferences, training, classrooms and curriculum projects, the issues of cultural imperialism and intercultural relations and literacies.
Dr Pamela Aboshiha: the development of ELT in the primary sector, teacher education and the challenges facing English language teachers in a globalising world.
Richard Cullen: the role of classroom interaction and teacher talk in second language learning through analyses of lesson transcripts, the evaluation of reflection on teacher education programmes, learning and teaching of second language grammar and phonology.
Recent student research projects include:
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An analysis and operational typology of intertextual reference in the discourse of English.
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Appropriate Methodology in a Mexican secondary school.
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Cultural identity and cultural values in the UK-published ELT coursebook. Cultural transfer in translation: a psycholinguistically-orientated, empirical investigation into the translation of culture-bound lexis.
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Discursive Struggle: linguistic imperialism and resistance on Chinese university campuses.
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Filial piety: a barrier or a resource? A qualitative case study of English classroom culture in Hong Kong a secondary school.
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Gender awareness, confidence and achievement in English language learning in China.
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'Loud and clear': students' voices of disaffection on university practices in Mexico.
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Perceptions and attitudes held by Chinese language teachers toward western influence on English language teaching in China.
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Perspectives on change among English language teaching professionals. Producing and reproducing a professional culture of English language teacher training.
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Revolution or evolution in educational change in the English language teaching and learning context of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Teacher attitudes to the use of the 1st language in a Ugandan secondary school.
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The mobilization of culture in professional discourse within the international ELT profession.
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The role of group interactions in 2nd language learning. The socio-cultural construction of learner independence in a tertiary EFL institution in Turkey.
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Tracing the changes of attitude and belief among student teachers in Mexico.
Modes of study
Full-time and part-time study programmes are available, with opportunities for data-collection in overseas contexts. The University supports research students with various seminar programmes in research methods.
Application and award of places
The minimal qualification for MPhil and PhD applicants is:
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A good bachelor's degree in a relevant subject
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An excellent research proposal
However, a masters degree is often preferred as evidence of some experience in research. The majority of students in TESOL also have professional experience, which adds to their maturity in research perception.
The normal process for application is:
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Completion of an application form and the provision of two academic referees who can comment on their research potential.
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A 1500-word research proposal.
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Interview of applicants who have the required academic qualifications and a promising research idea.
(The proposal proforma plus an example can be found here|.)
During the interview candidates should be able to demonstrate: a basic understanding of research methodology (e.g. the difference between and the limitations of qualitative and quantitative methods); that the research topic has sufficient breadth and depth to sustain three to four years of investigation and a thesis of 80-100,000 words; how and where data can be realistically collected; sufficient drive and determination to sustain extended self-directed study. Where the applicant is an overseas student recourse may be made to telephone interviews.
Full-and part-time study
In line with the majority of British universities, PhD candidates enrol initially for the MPhil, to be upgraded to PhD in mid term.
Full-time MPhil students enrol for a period of two years, and PhD students for three years. Up to one year can be spent away from the University if this is necessary for the collection of empirical data. This provides international students with the opportunities to return home to collect data in their own education environment.
Part-time MPhil students enrol for three years and PhD students for five years. Unlike many British universities, Canterbury Christ Church University allows part-time students to spend all this time away as long as the following conditions are fulfilled:
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Candidates must have relevant experience of empirical research, preferably within a British masters programme.
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The location of the research must be the place where data is being collected.
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Candidates must be able to visit the University at least once per year for their annual review and at other times as agreed.
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There must be an adequate library at the location of the research.
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There must be local academic support in the form of a "mentor", with whom the student can talk intelligently about the research.
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There must be sufficient access to a suitable academic research community.
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There should be easy email contact.
Where there is a group of students from one location, with an appropriate increase in fees, arrangements can be made to provide supervision at that location. We currently have eight part-time students in Mexico who are supported by a week of research methods training in Mexico each year.
Supervision
Each student has a supervision committee with comprises a 1st supervisor, a 2nd supervisor and a Chair. The 1st supervisor sees the student (or makes email contact) on a regular basis. The frequency of contact is by mutual arrangement. The students are expected to initiate her or his own research approach and programme; and the 1st supervisor plays a responsive role unless there is need for intervention. The 2nd supervisor sees the students less frequently and is therefore able to provide a more distanced evaluation of the students' work. The Chair, who is either a Professor or Reader in a related academic area, sees the student once per year at the annual review, meeting. The purpose of the annual review is to evaluate the student's work and help ensure appropriate academic standards. At mid term, the annual review is the time when upgrade to PhD is considered.
Researcher development
Full-time students must attend a programme in researcher development during the 1st year. This is an institution-wide, inter-disciplinary programme which covers the full-spectrums of research approaches. It thus allows the student to establish a broad perspective within which to place her or his work, and also to become part of a larger community of research students.
Students' profiles
Our PhD students range from novice to accomplished professionals or academics from across the world. Many of them are part-time students, and manage to do their research while conducting busy professional schedules. Their places of work are the bases for the data collection. The following profiles of two students demonstrate the impact a PhD study has had on their careers.
Alejandro Armellini was a classroom teacher and the Head of a small language school in Montevideo, Uruguay. After completing his MEd in Educational Technology and TESOL at Manchester University, he did his PhD full-time and completed in September 2000. As a result of this he became Head of the Distance Education Department at the Universidad ORT Uruguay, the largest and most prestigious private university in Uruguay. He is involved in a joint educational project between the university and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). More recently he has become a lecturer at Manchester University.
Trevor Grimshaw, with an MEd TESOL from Leeds University, was a materials and curriculum developer on a DfiD-funded project in China. He completed his PhD full-time in 2002, after spending one year in China collecting data. He is now a lecturer at the University of Bath.
Other graduating students have subsequently gained posts at Essex University, Zayed University UAE, the Foreign Studies University Beijing, the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Education and in our own department.
Further information
Contact Professor Adrian Holliday for any specific enquiries about PhD study in the field of Applied Linguistics. Application forms can be obtained electronically from the Graduate School Administrator (graduateschool@canterbury.ac.uk|)