phd linguistics cardiff university

Language and Linguistics

Dr Anfal Almarshd

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Dr Aeshah Alnemari

Ms nagla alqaedi, mr wael alqahtani.

Miss Zeen Alrasheed

Arwa altuwayjiri.

Mr Axel Bergstrom

Miss debbie cabral lima, ms jen jordan-grote, mrs ngum njende, miss lisa pomfrett, dr elisa ramírez pérez, mr hoss rezaie.

Mr Phanupong Thumnong

Miss stephanie tilliridou, miss katharine young, school of english, communication and philosophy.

We offer a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes which combine the highest levels of traditional scholarship with innovative approaches to our core interests in language, communication, literature, critical theory, and philosophy.

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Languages and Translation Studies (PhD/MPhil) Cardiff University

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PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Cardiff University

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Course summary

We have a strong, intellectually stimulating and vibrant research culture into which postgraduates are inducted and embedded.

Our research community of academics and scholars are committed to producing world-class research and our ranking at 7th place in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework is evidence of our strong international reputation for excellence.

Our research programme aims to offer knowledge and expertise in subject-specific and generic skills, qualifying you for both academic and non-academic positions in a variety of organisations.

We offer supervision across a wide range of research topics, including

History and memory
Culture and identity
Languages and translation Studies
Global area studies
History and ideologies
Conflict and development
Literary and textual studies
Cultural studies
Visual cultures.

Distinctive features

We encourage our PhD students to gain teaching experience, however applicants are asked to note that the allocation of teaching is dependent on which modules are running at an Undergraduate or Postgraduate level and may not be available to everyone.

Our Research in Progress seminar series provides students with the opportunity to present papers in a non-intimidating environment. The series is designed to be preparatory to presenting papers at conferences, and also plays a vital role in the dissemination of subject-specific skills.

We play a leading role in language-based area studies within the Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

All research students are entitled to call upon a personal allocation of funds which may be spent on legitimate research related activities.

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Language and Communication (PhD/MPhil)

Cardiff university, different course options.

Key information

Course Summary

Tuition fees, entry requirements, similar courses at different universities, key information data source : idp connect, qualification type.

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Subject areas

Communication Studies

Course type

The PhD in Language and Communication invites candidates to undertake substantial, detailed and focused research.

Our students’ interests are wide-ranging and we welcome applications from capable candidates who want to investigate topics across language and communication. The PhD programme empowers candidates both to produce innovative research and to develop themselves as independent and intellectually creative scholars.

The PhD in Language and Communication is a three-year (FT), 5-year (PT) degree which offers candidates the opportunity to research a topic that interests and excites them and falls within the expertise of staff in the Centre for Language and Communication Research.

Programme aims

The research programme offers knowledge and expertise to take you on to a role in higher education, or employment requiring high-level skills in research or advanced subject knowledge.
The programme recruits a diverse range of Home/EU and international students who want to engage in a research environment characterised by world-leading research expertise in social, applied and interactional areas of human communication, language and linguistics.

Distinctive features

We offer the opportunity to become involved in a wide range of staff research projects.
We offer teaching opportunities on the undergraduate programme, and PhD students can undertake the School’s unique "Learning to Teach" programme, accredited by the Higher Education Academy.
We run regular research seminars featuring staff and visiting speakers, together with a weekly postgraduate research seminar series and the academic session is rounded off with an annual postgraduate research conference.
Full-time PhD students are allocated study spaces with computing facilities, networked information and access to email and the internet.
Funding across the period of a PhD candidature is available for students to attend conferences and workshops, or undertake library/archive visits related to their PhD studies.

UK fees Course fees for UK students

For tuition fees for this course, please visit our website.

International fees Course fees for EU and international students

For Entry requirements for this course, please visit our website.

MA Global Media and Communications

Soas university of london, ma media & communication, bournemouth university, ma international political communication, mphil - faculty of media & communication, mres - faculty of media & communication.

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Biographies

Manal alharbi.

Manal Alharbi is a fourth-year PhD student in the School of English Language, Communication & Philosophy (ENCAP) at Cardiff University. She holds a BA in English language and Literature (Distinction) awarded from King Abdulaziz University/ Saudi Arabia (2001). She received an MSc in Developmental Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh (2011). Her main research interest is in how bilingual adults maintain two languages in their brain. She is currently under the supervision of Dr Michelle Aldridge-Waddon looking at the process of lexical access by adult bilinguals whose languages have different scripts namely Arabic and English.

Hamed Aljemaily

I am a second-year PhD student at Cardiff University. Currently, I am working on a project entitled “the phonological effect of Iraqi Arabic as a heritage language on Cardiff English as a native and majority language for adult heritages speakers of Arabic in Cardiff, the UK” under the supervision of Dr. Gerard O’Grady.

Reem’s area of research is language in media and particularly on social media. She is supervised by Dr. Mercedes Durham.

Reem Al Madani

Reem Al Madani is a PhD researcher in the Centre of Language and Communication Research at Cardiff University. She received her B.A. in English Language and Literature from King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia and her M.A in Linguistics from the University of Jordan. Before starting her PhD, Reem worked at Effat University in Jeddah – Saudi Arabia as a Lecturer in the Visual and Digital Production Department and she was also the Director of the Management of Communication and Public Relations at the university.

Nasser Alqahtani

Nasser Alqahtani is currently a PhD student at Cardiff University and is also an assistant teacher in the department of English Language at Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia. His research interests are widely within the field of discourse analysis and academic writing. However, his current topic is particularly focusing on metadiscourse markers in academic writing of MA students from Saudi Arabia and how they are compared to their counterparts in the UK.

Zeen Al-Rasheed

Zeen Al-Rasheed is a PhD student in her writing up stage in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy in Cardiff University. In 2013-2014, she was awarded an MA degree in Language Communication Research from the same school. Before pursuing her PhD, she has obtained a BA in Management from Administration & Management College in Mosul University/Iraq in 1987-1988. And later, another BA in English Language from Salahaddin University in Erbil/Kurdistan Region in 2003-2004. In 2009-2010, she has been awarded an MA degree in English Language at the same University.

Mashael Assaadi

Mashael Assaadi is currently in her 4rd year of her PhD in linguistics at Cardiff University. In 2015, she obtained her MA (Hons) in Linguistics-Applied Linguistics from California State University-Fullerton. In 2011, she obtained her BA (Hons) in English Language and linguistics from King Abdul-Aziz University- Saudi Arabia. Mashael’s research interests include semiotics, dialectology, phonetics, phonology, sound symbolism, iconicity of language and cross-linguistic comparison, everyday conversation analysis.

Banan Assiri

Banan is a PhD student at Cardiff University in the Centre of language and Communication Research (CLCR). She had her BA degree in English and Translation Studies (King Khalid University/2012) and her master’s degree in applied Linguistics (Cardiff University/ 2016). Banan PhD research is under the supervision of Prof. Michael Handford. Her research interests include news/media cross-lingual critical discourse analysis, corpus linguistics and multimodality.

Kate Barber

Kate completed her LLB degree in Law at the University of Southampton before going into teaching. She spent seventeen years teaching EFL, EAP, ESP and Tort Law in Further and Higher Education as well as teaching Legal English to international solicitors in private firms in London. She developed her interest in language and the law by doing a part-time MA in Forensic Linguistics from 2015-2017 and focused on issues relating to online hate speech, sexual violence and harassment, and consent in rape cases. Kate is continuing in these areas of research and is now in the third year of her PhD, looking at discourses on sexual violence within far-right and Manosphere online blogs.

Ellen Bristow

I am a PhD student in Cardiff University’s Centre for Language and Communication Research. My research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council Wales Doctoral Partnership. I completed a BA in English (First Class Hons.) at the University of Southampton before working as a secondary school English teacher and teaching assistant. I then moved to Cardiff University with a Master’s Excellence Scholarship to study for an MA in Language and Linguistics in which I achieved a Distinction. For my Master’s research, I was awarded the Nicholas Coupland Prize for Best Performance in Sociolinguistics. My research combines my teaching experience, fascination for etymology and morphology and hope to aid both children’s vocabulary development and pedagogical practices in the English language classroom.

Débora Cabral

Débora Cabral Lima is a first-year PhD student at Cardiff University. She finished her MA in Language and Communication Research with focus on Forensic Linguistics with distinction in 2019. She also has a BA in History, a Portuguese Language and Literature Teaching degree and an MA in Discourse Analysis from the University of Brasilia (UnB). Even though she is now a full-time student, she has worked as a tutor at UnB and Centro Universitário UniCeub, in Brazil. Her areas of interest include Forensic Linguistics, Identity construction, Representation and Genre analysis. Science communication is her passion, so she writes fun texts and participates on podcasts ( in Portuguese ).

Alex Carr is a postgraduate researcher at Cardiff University in the Centre of Language and Communication Research (CLCR). His research interests include categorization, lexical semantics and functional grammar, with a particular focus on the classification of nominality and the expression of event semantics in nominal form. His PhD thesis, supervised by Lise Fontaine, proposes to expand our conception of the nature and degree of nominality, through exploring how nominals express temporal semantics, with specific attention provided to underived event nominals, i.e. nouns which express event semantics which have not derived from a verb, e.g. storm, fire, death .

Lucy Chrispin

Lucy Chrispin is an ESRC-funded postgraduate researcher at Cardiff University in the Centre of Language and Communication Research (CLCR). Her research interests include functional grammar, construction grammar and corpus linguistics, with a particular focus on the nature of verb classes and verb constructions. Her PhD thesis, supervised by Lise Fontaine, intends to develop our understanding of intransitive constructions, with a particular focus on what are called behavioural verb constructions in Halliday (1994), which include bodily processes such as coughing, laughing, dreaming, and listening.

Matthew Coombes

Following completion of degrees in Music, Design and Digital Animation, I discovered my passion for linguistics through the works of JRR Tolkien – specifically his invented languages. This encouraged a further degree (Linguistics) at De Montfort, which gave me the opportunity to discover just how influential aesthetics have become in modern day communication. This concluded with the publishing of my first book, The Elvish Writing Systems of JRR Tolkien – the content for which required a significant amount of research through collaborative contact of like-minded scholars. From this point, a PhD was a logical progression in further establishing my work.

Aurora Goodwin

After completing her undergraduate degree in English Language at Cardiff University, Aurora studied a MA in Language and Communication Research, formulating a special interest in Twitter communication as a means of demonstrating stance. Her PhD thesis, supervised by Dr. Tereza Spilioti, focusses upon how Twitter disinformation accounts, active around the 2016 US Presidential Election, used linguistic resources to authenticate identity performances. She intends to investigate impersonations of American citizens by focussing upon the identity aspects presented in their metadata, the use of hashtags as a means of affiliation, and how vernacular features were used in relation to social group identities.

Katharine Kavanagh

Katharine Kavanagh is a first year ESRC-funded PhD student with a background in performing arts, arts criticism, and circus journalism. She has worked as a Lecturer at the National Centre for Circus Arts, London, and as Visiting Lecturer at Circomedia, Bristol and Stockholm University of the Arts. Katharine holds an MA with Distinction in Language and Communication Research from Cardiff University, and recently published her first peer reviewed article:

Kavanagh, K. 2019. Criticism Within the Circus Sector: Redressing a Power Imbalance. In Platform 13(1), p.64-85 .

Katharine’s linguistic interests are in Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis and public representation of minority interests. Her supervisor is Dr Amanda Potts.

Kateryna Krykoniuk

Kateryna Krykoniuk is a third-year PhD Student in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy at Cardiff University. She holds BPhil and MPhil with distinction from Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine). Her main theoretical interest concerns morphology, and, in particular, word formation. She investigates morphological regularities and patterns that govern the organization of morphemes in word formation processes of various languages and how the meaning of morpheme correlates with their form. Kateryna also works on creating a large morphological meta-corpus of contemporary English. She is an author of a few articles on formal morphology: Word Formation Patterns and Lexical Capacity of Parts of Speech (on Typology of the Persian and Slavic Languages) (Kyiv, 2014), Statistical and Morphological Regularities in Persian Word Formation (Tambov, 2014), A Study of the Persian Morphological Structure by Applying Formal Morphological Analysis (Tehran, 2014), Predictive modelling of Type Valency in Word Formation Grammar (under review).

Ruth Mullineux-Morgan

Ruth Mullineux-Morgan is a PhD student and Research Assistant at Swansea University. She has also held the position of Senior Policy and Public Affairs Adviser at the NSPCC Cymru/Wales for 6 years. Previous experience includes: policy and political liaison at Save the Children Wales, Special Advisor to the First Minister of Wales (Local Government and Communities), Research Assistant on the European Governance in Public Policy (EGIPP) programme, Cardiff University and Political Researcher to Rhodri Morgan AM (former First Minister of Wales), Glenys Kinnock MEP and Eluned Morgan MEP. Ruth has a passion for children’s rights and child protection, particularly working with children and young people to co-produce research and policy development. She holds an MPhil in Public Policy from Cardiff University.

Vigneshwaran Muralidaran

I am a final year PhD student in ENCAP working on finishing up my thesis on developing a Welsh parser as a part of the CorCenCC project. I am from India. I love learning different languages, travel, reading and I enjoy programming. My Masters research was on formulating a Construction Grammar based computational framework to parse Dravidian languages and based on that I implemented a full parser for Tamil. I am interested in exploring the implications of treating language as a functional, usage-based system and how it can be exploited in Language Technology. Since 2017, I am enjoying my my project in ENCAP where I am working on developing an unsupervised full parser for Welsh drawing linguistic insights from my previous work. Currently I am working on CorCenCC project and a Welsh Government project on Welsh word embeddings.

Elisa Ramírez Pérez

Elisa Ramírez Pérez is a second year PhD candidate at Cardiff University specialising in English historical linguistics. More specifically, her PhD project is studying processes of verbal morphology simplification in the late Northumbrian dialect of Old English, focusing mainly on the historical evolution of weak verbs class II. This project stems from a preliminary study Elisa carried out as part of her MPhil thesis at the University of Cambridge in 2017 (Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, Newnham College). Prior to this, Elisa completed a BA in English Language and Literature at the University of Westminster (London) where she discovered her passion for historical linguistics. She is also a huge fan of the Bard and all things Shakespeare.

Keighley Perkins

Keighley Perkins is a PhD student in the Department of Applied Linguistics at Swansea University. She previously graduated from the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales) with a degree in English Studies with Education, Cardiff University with a Masters in Forensic Linguistics, and Swansea University with an MPhil in Applied Linguistics. Her research interests include media discourse, health communication, political discourse and visual communication. Her current research is under the supervision of Professor Nuria Lorenzo-Dus and Dr Lella Nouri, focusing on the images shared on social media platforms by right-wing extremist groups.

Lisa Pomfrett

I am a part time student who began their PhD in October 2017. I have an interest in institutional language and the application of corpus linguistics methodologies. I have worked in the higher education sector in non-academic roles for over 10 years and this experience has influenced my research.

Emily Powell

Emily graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BA English Language and Literature and since then has been busy teaching on and directing courses in EAP, ESP and teacher training. She has been studying at Cardiff University for several years, completing a PGCE in Post Compulsory Education in 2007, an MA Forensic Linguistics in 2015, and is now in her fifth year of a part time PhD.

Kate graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a BA Honours in English in 2007 and an MA with distinction in Linguistics in 2008. After a hiatus from academia, during which she worked abroad in a variety of countries and industries, Kate graduated from Aston University in 2017 with an MSc with distinction in Forensic Linguistics. She is now an ESRC PhD student in the Centre for Language and Communication Research, working on legal-lay communication in domestic abuse policing. Kate’s thesis draws from body-worn video footage to examine police-victim interactions during first response call-outs to domestic incidents in England and Wales.

Stephanie Tilliridou

Stephanie Tilliridou is a part-time PhD student in Language and Communication at Cardiff University. She is a part-time distance learner based in Limassol, Cyprus. At the same time, she is an English Language Teacher and Director of Studies at a Language Institute in Cyprus.

Before pursuing her PhD at Cardiff University, Stephanie Tilliridou has obtained a BA in English Language and English Language Teaching from the University of Sussex and an MA in Education and Professional Studies from King’s College London. Her current doctoral research focuses on how older Facebook users do identity work on their Facebook walls.

Sabrina Toumi

I received a Bachelor of Arts (Hons, Distinction) in Linguistics and English for Specific Purposes in 2014 at Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi-Ouzou in Algeria, where I also successfully completed a Master of Arts in Language and Communication in 2016. In 2017, I undertook a PhD Pre-Sessional programme at Canterbury Christ Church University. I am currently a PhD candidate in Language and Communication at the CLCR, Cardiff University. I am also a PGR tutor in the same school. My research interests revolve mainly around multimodal forms of communication, and the use of rhetorical figures in the genre of political cartoons.

Katharine Young

Katharine Young is a postgraduate researcher at Cardiff University in the Centre of Language and Communication Research (CLCR) and the School of Welsh. Among her research interests are sociolinguistics, native and non-native acquisition of variation, and Welsh-English bilingualism. Her project ‘The Acquisition of Sociolinguistic Competence in a Welsh Immersion Context’ looks at the stylistic repertoires of pupils at Welsh-medium schools and is jointly funded by Welsh Government and the ESRC.

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Professor Mercedes Durham

School of English, Communication and Philosophy

Publications
Supervision

I am member of the Centre for Language and Communication .

I am a sociolinguist focusing primarily on language variation and change. My research is broadly concerned with how linguistic variation (and with it, language change) is acquired, transmitted and viewed by individual speakers and across successive generations.

I have been at Cardiff University since September 2012. Before that I worked as a lecturer in English Linguistics at the University of Aberdeen from 2008 to 2012. I have also worked and taught at the Universities of York, Glasgow and Leeds.

I grew up and studied in Switzerland, getting my first degree at the University of Lausanne and my doctorate at the University of Fribourg.

Research interests

Language Variation and Change
Sociolinguistics
Native and non-native Acquisition of Variation
Dialect shift
Native and non-native varieties of English

Postgraduate students

I am interested in supervising doctoral projects broadly related to the fields of Sociolinguistics, and Language Variation and Change, particularly those from students with interests in the acquisition of variation, morphosyntax, and discourse, and in English, French or Italian dialects.

I've talked about my research and linguistic topics more generally on the radio on several occasions (BBC Wiltshire, BBC Wales and Capital/HeartFM).

My research has also been discussed in newspapers and websites:

The Welsh accent is officially lush (and that's according to genuine academic research) (Wales Online)
12 times people got a bit hysterical over the Welsh accent (South Wales Evening Post)
#LoveIt or #HateIt? 'Welsh accent' tweets studied (ITV)
The New Meaning of 'Cheeky' That's Got Americans Confused (Mental Floss)
English as a common language in Switzerland (SwissInfo)

Publication

Young, K., Durham, M. and Morris, J. 2024. Possessive pronouns in Welsh: Stylistic variation and the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence . Language Variation and Change 36(1), pp. 25-48. ( 10.1017/S0954394523000273 )
Smith, J. and Durham, M. 2024. The Orkney and Shetland Islands . In: Fox, S. ed. Language in Britain and Ireland . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Durham, M. 2023. Book Reviews: Accent in North American film and television: a sociophonetic analysis . Journal of English Linguistics 51(3), pp. 294-297. ( 10.1177/00754242231175863 )
Durham, M. 2022. How many s in Wales? Performing a Welsh accent on Twitter . In: Cutler, C., Ahmar, M. and Bahri, S. eds. Digital Orality: Vernacular Writing in Online Spaces . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 189-217., ( 10.1007/978-3-031-10433-6_7 )
Durham, M. 2022. Content analysis of social media . In: Kircher, R. and Zipp, L. eds. Research Methods in Language Attitudes . Cambridge University Press, pp. 35-50., ( 10.1017/9781108867788.005 )
Bailey, L. R. and Durham, M. 2021. A cheeky investigation: Tracking the semantic change of cheeky from monkeys to wines: Can social media spread linguistic change? . English Today 37(4), pp. 214-223. ( 10.1017/S0266078420000073 )
Smith, J. and Durham, M. 2019. Sociolinguistic variation in children's language: Acquiring community norms . Studies in Language Variation and Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Durham, M. 2017. Teen Talk: the language of adolescents. by Tagliamonte Sali A.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. xiv + 298. ISBN: 9781107676176. [Book Review] . Journal of English Linguistics 45(3), pp. 291-294., article number: 7542421771759. ( 10.1177/0075424217717590 )
Durham, M. 2017. Changing domains of dialect use: a real-time study of Shetland schoolchildren . In: Hancil, S. and Beal, J. C. eds. Perspectives on Northern British Englishes ., Vol. 96. Topics in English Linguistics [TiEL] Berlin/Munich/Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 245-272., ( 10.1515/9783110450903-011 )
Reichelt, S. and Durham, M. 2017. Adjective intensification as a means of characterization: Portraying in-group membership and Britishness in Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Journal of English Linguistics 45(1), pp. 60-87. ( 10.1177/0075424216669747 )
Durham, M. and Morris, J. eds. 2016. Sociolinguistics in Wales . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ( 10.1057/978-1-137-52897-1 )
Durham, M. 2016. Changing attitudes towards the Welsh English accent: A view from Twitter . In: Durham, M. and Morris, J. eds. Sociolinguistics in Wales . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 181-205., ( 10.1057/978-1-137-52897-1_7 )
Durham, M. and Morris, J. 2016. An overview of sociolinguistics in Wales . In: Durham, M. and Morris, J. eds. Sociolinguistics in Wales . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 3-28., ( 10.1057/978-1-137-52897-1_1 )
Durham, M. 2016. English as a lingua Franca: forms and features in a Swiss context . Cahiers de l'Institut de Linguistique et des Sciences du Langage 48, pp. 107-118.
Lawson, E. E. et al. 2015. Seeing Speech: an articulatory web resource for the study of phonetics . [Online]. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Available at: http://www.seeingspeech.ac.uk/
Lawson, E. et al. 2015. Dynamic Dialects: an articulatory web resource for the study of accents . [Online]. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Available at: http://www.dynamicdialects.ac.uk/
Tagliamonte, S. A., Durham, M. and Smith, J. 2014. Grammaticalization at an early stage: future 'be going to' in conservative British dialects . English Language and Linguistics 18(1), pp. 75-108. ( 10.1017/S1360674313000282 )
Durham, M. 2014. The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in a Lingua Franca context . Second Language Acquisition. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Durham, M. 2014. 30 years later: real-time change and stability in attitudes towards the dialect in Shetland . In: Lawson, R. ed. Sociolinguistics In Scotland . Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, pp. 296-318.
Smith, J., Durham, M. and Richards, H. 2013. The social and linguistic in the acquisition of sociolinguistic norms: Caregivers, children and variation . Linguistics 51(2), pp. 285-324. ( 10.1515/ling-2013-0012 )
Durham, M. 2013. Was/were alternation in Shetland English . World Englishes 32(1), pp. 108-128. ( 10.1111/weng.12009 )
Durham, M. et al. 2012. Constant linguistic effects in the diffusion of 'be like' . Journal of English Linguistics 40(4), pp. 316-337. ( 10.1177/0075424211431266 )
Durham, M. 2012. Paul Baker, Sociolinguistics and corpus linguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010. Pp. ix, 189. Pb. $24.50. [Book Review] . Language in Society 41(1), pp. 127-130. ( 10.1017/S0047404511000947 )
Smith, J. and Durham, M. 2012. Bidialectalism or dialect death? Explaining generational change in the Shetland Islands, Scotland . American Speech 87(1), pp. 57-88. ( 10.1215/00031283-1599959 )
Smith, J. and Durham, M. 2011. A tipping point in dialect obsolescence? Change across the generations in Lerwick, Shetland . Journal of Sociolinguistics 15(2), pp. 197-225. ( 10.1111/j.1467-9841.2011.00479.x )
Durham, M. 2011. Right dislocation in northern England: Frequency and use - perception meets reality . English World-Wide 32(3), pp. 257-279. ( 10.1075/eww.32.3.01dur )
Durham, M. 2011. I think (that) something's missing: Complementizer deletion in nonnative e-mails . Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 1(3), pp. 421-445.
McColl Millar, R. and Durham, M. eds. 2011. Applied Linguistics, Global and Local: Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the British Association for Applied Linguistics, 9-11 September 2010, University of Aberdeen . London: Scitsiugnil Press.
Smith, J., Durham, M. and Fortune, L. 2009. Universal and dialect-specific pathways of acquisition: Caregivers, children, and t/d deletion . Language Variation and Change 21(1), pp. 69-95. ( 10.1017/S0954394509000039 )
Durham, M. 2007. 'It's altered a lot has York': Right dislocation in Northern England . York Papers in Linguistics 8, pp. 60-71.
Durham, M. 2007. Language choice on a Swiss mailing list . In: Danet, B. and Herring, S. eds. The Multilingual Internet: Language, Culture and Communication Online . Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 319-339.
Durham, M. 2007. Language choice on a Swiss mailing list . In: Goodman, S., Graddol, D. and Lillis, T. eds. Redesigning English . Exploring the English Language Routledge, pp. 231-240.
Smith, J., Durham, M. and Fortune, L. 2007. "Mam, my trousers is fa'in doon!": Community, caregiver, and child in the acquisition of variation in a Scottish dialect . Language Variation and Change 19(1), pp. 63-99. ( 10.1017/S0954394507070044 )
Durham, M., Smith, J. and Fortune, L. 2006. Caregiver and child in the acquisition of (socio)linguistic norms in a Scottish dialect . Presented at: BUCLD 30 : Boston University conference on language development, Boston, MA, USA, 4-6 November 2005 BUCLD 30: Proceedings of the 30th Annual Boston University Conference on Language . Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press pp. 572-583.
Droeschel, Y., Durham, M. and Rosenberger, L. 2005. Swiss English or simply non-native English? A discussion of two possible features . In: Allerton, D., Tschichold, C. and Wieser, J. eds. Linguistics, language learning and language teaching . ICSELL Vol. 10. Schwabe, pp. 161-176.
Durham, M. 2005. Also, too, as well: non-native variation of additive adverbials . Durham Working Papers in Linguistics 10, pp. 31-44.
Durham, M. 2004. The future of Swiss English: Variation in an English lingua franca . Presented at: 2nd International Conference on Language Variation in Europe (ICLaVE 2), Uppsala, Sweden, 12-14 June 2003 Presented at Gunnarsson, B. ed. Language Variation in Europe: Papers from the Second International Conference on Language Variation in Europe, ICLaVE 2, Uppsala University, Sweden, June 12-14, 2003 . Uppsala: Dept. of Scandinavian Languages, Uppsala University pp. 156-167.
Durham, M. 2003. Language choice on a Swiss mailing list . Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 9(1) ( 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2003.tb00359.x )

Book sections

Conferences.

I work in sociolinguistics, the subfield of linguistics which examines language in a societal context: namely why and how different social groups (as defined by social class, gender, age, ethnicity, etc) make use of the linguistic resources present in the language(s) they speak to signal affiliation with or dissimilarity from other groups across various contexts.

My research focuses primarily on aspects of Language Variation and Change (LVC), and involves the use of quantitative methods to analyse linguistic features (predominantly morphosyntactic and/or pragmatic, but also phonological in some instances) to establish what affects their use.

As well as standard statistical methods, I often employ multivariate analysis and mixed effect models in the interpretation of my data, using the methodologies of comparative sociolinguistics to find similarities in the speech patterns of different varieties.

I have worked a range of different projects, different dialects of English and different features (main projects listed below). Although there is considerable breadth and depth in these projects, they are all broadly concerned with how variation (and with it, language change) is acquired, viewed and transmitted either in individual speakers (native or non-native) or across successive generations.

My focus on the acquisition of variation and the fact that I have examined both native and non-native data makes my LVC research somewhat different from the bulk of studies conducted in the field, but, in many ways, understanding acquisition is crucial to understanding transmission (i.e. change) as well and is a fruitful venue for further research that can lead to more fine-tuned theories into precisely how language changes.

The various facets of my research each attempt to bring further insight into the question of how and why features that vary are transmitted and will, I hope, ultimately allow me to posit a cohesive theory which will allow us to better understand these processes.

Current research project

I am currently working on a Leverhulme Trust funded project titled "Sociolinguistic Variation in South East Wales: Change and Contact" (September 2022 - September 2025). By combining existing material from Cardiff with new sociolinguistic interviews from Barry, Pontypridd and Caerphilly, I hope to gain insight into similarities and differences in the varieties spoken in South East Wales. Which linguistic features are found across the communities? Which are found only in one (or two)? How are the dialects changing over time in each community?

Older research strands

Non-native variation.

One strand of my research focuses on the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence by non-native speakers and I have worked on non-native speakers of English in Switzerland. This is an important direction of research in a world where English is increasingly used as a lingua franca and the number of non-native speakers is steadily growing, as it is vital to establish which features of native competence are likely to be lost or modified. Moreover, examining how non-native speakers gain sociolinguistic competence can also help us to better understand why some features may turn out to be particularly prone to change in native speech as well.

Variation in Child Language

Another strand of my research focuses on children's acquisition of sociolinguistic competence. I have worked with Professor Jennifer Smith (of Glasgow University) on this topic, and our research (funded by the ESRC) has focused on a range of phonological, morphosyntactic and lexical items found in a dialect of North-East Scots in the speech of 29 children and their primary caregivers (i.e. their mother), and has shown that age, the complexity of the feature, and the social awareness of it, all impact on how soon children are able to produce native-like patterns, but that it is often earlier than previously reported.

Processes of dialect shift

I have worked on two separate projects examining dialect shift on the Shetland Islands. One (funded by the ESRC) with Professor Jennifer Smith focused on language change across three generations in the main town of Lerwick, while the other (funded by the British Academy) focused on changes in the dialect attitudes of Shetland school children over the past 30 years.

Non-canonical word order

I am also interested how non-canonical word order forms differ with respect to rates and use across dialects of English. While the use of the forms is linked to information structure, there are social factors at play in their selection as well and this is what I want to focus on. Having examined right dislocation forms in York, I intend to extend my research to other features and other areas.

Additional Collaborative Projects

Quotative be like (with Dr William Haddican, CUNY Queens College)
Grammaticalisation of the going to future form (with Professor Sali Tagliamonte, University of Toronto, and Dr Jennifer Smith, Glasgow University)

My teaching in Cardiff mainly focuses on aspects of sociolinguistics and language variation and change, although I’ve also taught Quantitative Research Methods here and modules on phonetics, morphology, and first and second language acquisition elsewhere in the past.

I am on research leave in 2023-24, so will not be teaching this year.

Supervisions

Current supervision.

Katharine Young

Research student

Tom Fitz-hugh

Research themes.

Languages and linguistics

Specialisms

Language variation and change
Linguistic Attitudes
Welsh English

Related news

What’s occurin’: Dialects in Barry, Caerphilly and Pontypridd subject of academic study

15 November 2022

New PhD Studentship in collaboration with Welsh Government

21 December 2017

Academics celebrate book launch

27 March 2017

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Cardiff university: applied linguistics.

Develop specialist skills in the analysis and practice of language in professional contexts, taught by leading experts in a world-class research centre.

Set in the internationally respected Centre for Language and Communication Research, the MA in Applied Linguistics offers both solid training in research foundations and practice, and the freedom to tailor your programme around your interests and ambitions.

Designed for careers requiring specialised language awareness and teaching English as a foreign language, our wide-ranging optional modules enable you to enhance your skills in the areas of linguistic enquiry most important for you and your career.

Incorporating research methodology and language description, this Master’s programme will give you an in-depth understanding of a range of language-related issues, from language acquisition and teaching to social interaction and corpus analysis.

You will acquire well-rounded understanding of the theoretical and methodological approaches employed in the exploration of linguistic structures and language description. While becoming an independent and active learner, you will develop in-depth understanding of key issues in language, communication and linguistics.

Our experts are leading on innovative projects in many different fields, including language acquisition, language teaching, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, discourse analysis, professional communication, corpus linguistics, systemic functional linguistics and forensic linguistics.

Fostering an international academic arena for cutting-edge research, we host talks from visiting academics from around the world, as well as advanced research residencies and occasional summer schools. During your studies you will benefit directly from this thriving research environment and the support of a wide range of professionals who will guide your personal and professional development.

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Contribute to a successful research community by undertaking a research project, key course details, course overview.

A PhD or MPhil in Applied Linguistics enables you to undertake a substantial project led by your own passions and interests. The PhD takes three years full-time or six years part-time, and the MPhil takes two years full-time or four years part-time. You will submit a thesis up to 90,000 words for PhD assessment and 60,000 words for MPhil assessment, demonstrating original research with a significant contribution to the subject area. This is followed by an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination, or viva)

Our staff are members of the Language Research Centre (LRC) and we are especially interested in projects concerning:

Computer Assisted Language Learning
Cognitive Psychology of Language
Discourse analysis
Lexical Studies
Psycholinguistics
Second language acquisition
Sociolinguistics
Vocabulary learning

Your project will be agreed in consultation with supervisors and we recommend these discussions are started before applying, to help draw up an initial proposal. You are closely supervised by two experienced academics with relevant expertise throughout the course of the project. This involves fortnightly meetings in your first term and meetings at regular agreed intervals thereafter. There are no taught PhD classes but if requested, you may attend MA modules relevant to your thesis. You typically undertake a number of distinct but related research studies that ultimately form the basis of your dissertation. You will develop and hone research skills needed for high-level work in any field of Applied Linguistics, while skills and training programmes available on campus provide further support. You will have the opportunity to deliver presentations to research students and staff at departmental seminars, and at the School of Culture and Communication Postgraduate conference.

You may also have the chance to teach undergraduate tutorials and seminars from the second year, for which you receive training and payment. Financial support is also provided (subject to approval) for attending conferences or conducting research away from Swansea.

Entry Requirements

MPhil: Applicants for MPhil must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University). See - Country-specific Information for European Applicants 2019 and Country-specific Information for International Applicants 2019 .

PhD: Applicants for PhD must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at ‘Merit’. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master’s degree, will be considered on an individual basis. See - Country-specific Information for European Applicants 2019 and Country-specific Information for International Applicants 2019 .

English Language IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here.

As well as academic qualifications, Admissions decisions may be based on other factors, including (but not limited to): the standard of the research synopsis/proposal, performance at interview, intensity of competition for limited places, and relevant professional experience.

Reference Requirement

As standard, two references are required before we can progress applications to the School research programme Admissions Tutor for consideration.

Applications received without two references attached are placed on hold, pending receipt of the outstanding reference(s). Please note that any protracted delay in receiving the outstanding reference(s) may result in the need to defer your application to a later potential start point/entry month, than what you initially listed as your preferred start option.

You may wish to consider contacting your referee(s) to assist in the process of obtaining the outstanding reference(s) or alternatively, hold submission of application until references are sourced. Please note that it is not the responsibility of the University Admissions Office to obtain missing reference(s) after our initial email is sent to your nominated referee(s), requesting a reference(s) on your behalf.

The reference can take the form of a letter on official headed paper, or via the University’s standard reference form. Click this link to download the university reference form .

Alternatively, referees can email a reference from their employment email account, please note that references received via private email accounts, (i.e. Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail) cannot be accepted.

References can be submitted to [email protected] .

As standard, two references are required before we can progress applications to the College/School research programme Admissions Tutor for consideration.

The reference can take the form of a letter on official headed paper, or via the University’s standard reference form. Click this link to download the university reference form .

References can be submitted to [email protected] .

How you are Supervised

We take care to ensure that each MPhil/PhD student has the expert supervision required to complete their project within the candidature period. You will have a minimum of two supervisors based in the Department. Upon receipt of your application, we will identify supervisors whose research expertise matches your chosen topic.

You will usually meet your supervisors once a month, and possibly more often at critical stages of your candidature, including preparing for final submission. When you start the degree, you will work out a research plan with your supervisors. Nine months into your candidature, you will present a first piece of substantial writing (e.g. draft thesis chapter) and a detailed thesis plan. Thereafter, the University will assess your progress every 6 months. M.Phil students are eligible to apply for an upgrade to a Ph.D if they demonstrate the ability to perform at doctoral level.

Welsh Provision

Tuition fees, ph.d. 3 year full time, ph.d. distance learning 7 year part time, ph.d. 6 year part time, m.phil. 2 year full time, m.phil. 4 year part time.

Tuition fees for years of study after your first year are subject to an increase of 3%.

You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page .

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page .

International students and part-time study: It may be possible for some students to study part-time under the Student Visa route. However, this is dependent on factors relating to the course and your individual situation. It may also be possible to study with us if you are already in the UK under a different visa category (e.g. Tier 1 or 2, PBS Dependant, ILR etc.). Please visit the University information on Visas and Immigration for further guidance and support.

Current students: You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page .

Funding and Scholarships

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study.

Government funding is now available for Welsh, English and EU students starting eligible postgraduate research programmes at Swansea University. To find out more, please visit our postgraduate loans page.

To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

Academi Hywel Teifi at Swansea University and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol offer a number of generous scholarships and bursaries for students who wish to study through the medium of Welsh or bilingually. For further information about the opportunities available to you, visit the Academi Hywel Teifi Scholarships and Bursaries page.

Additional Costs

Access to your own digital device/the appropriate IT kit will be essential during your time studying at Swansea University. Access to wifi in your accommodation will also be essential to allow you to fully engage with your programme. See our dedicated webpages for further guidance on suitable devices to purchase, and for a full guide on getting your device set up .

You may face additional costs while at university, including (but not limited to):

Travel to and from campus
Printing, photocopying, binding, stationery and equipment costs (e.g. USB sticks)
Purchase of books or texts
Gowns for graduation ceremonies

How to Apply

Apply online and track your application status at www.swansea.ac.uk/applyonline .

Suggested Application Timings

In order to allow sufficient time for consideration of your application by an academic, for potential offer conditions to be met and travel / relocation, we recommend that applications are made before the dates outlined below. Please note that applications can still be submitted outside of the suggested dates below but there is the potential that your application/potential offer may need to be moved to the next appropriate intake window.

October Enrolment

UK Applicants – 15th August

EU/International applicants – 15th July

January Enrolment

UK applicants – 15th November

EU/International applicants – 15th October

April Enrolment

UK applicants – 15th February

EU/International applicants – 15th January

July Enrolment

UK applicants – 15th May

EU/International applicants – 15th April

EU students - visa and immigration information is available and will be regularly updated on our information for EU students page.

PhD Programme Specification

This Programme Specification refers to the current academic year and provides indicative content for information. The University will seek to deliver each course in accordance with the descriptions set out in the relevant course web pages at the time of application. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after enrolment.

Programme Summary

This PhD in Applied Linguistics at Swansea will enable you to undertake a substantial project led by your own interests. It is a highly respected qualification which can present a career in academia or a wider scope for employment in fields such as education, government or the private sector. A thesis of 100,000 words will be submitted for assessment demonstrating original research with a substantive contribution to the subject area. The PhD is examined following an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination or viva voce ). You will acquire research skills for high-level work and skills and training programmes are available on campus for further support. There will be an opportunity to deliver presentations to research students and staff at departmental seminars and conferences. There may also be opportunities to develop your teaching skills through undergraduate tutorials, demonstrations and seminars.

Programme Aims

This PhD programme will provide doctoral researchers with:

The opportunity to conduct high quality postgraduate research in a world leading research environment.
Key skills needed to undertake advanced academic and non-academic research including qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
Advanced critical thinking, intellectual curiosity and independent judgement.

Programme Structure

The programme comprises three key elements:

Entry and confirmation of candidature
Main body of research
Thesis and viva voce

The programme comprises of the undertaking of an original research project of 3 years duration full time (6 years duration part time). Doctoral researchers may pursue the programme either full time or part time by pursuing research at the University at an external place of employment or with/at a University approved partner.

Doctoral researchers for the PhD in Applied Linguistics are examined in two parts.

The first part is a thesis which is an original body of work representing the methods and results of the research project. The maximum word limit is 100,000 for the main text. The word limit does not include appendices (if any), essential footnotes, introductory parts and statements or the bibliography and index.

The second part is an oral examination (viva voce).

Doctoral Researcher Supervision and Support

Doctoral researchers will be supervised by a supervisory team. Where appropriate, staff from Schools other than the ‘home’ School (other Schools) within the University will contribute to cognate research areas. There may also be supervisors from an industrial partner.

The Primary/First Supervisor will normally be the main contact throughout the doctoral research journey and will have overall responsibility for academic supervision. The academic input of the Secondary Supervisor will vary from case to case. The principal role of the Secondary Supervisor is often as a first port of call if the Primary/First Supervisor becomes unavailable. The supervisory team may also include a supervisor from industry or a specific area of professional practice to support the research. External supervisors may also be drawn from other Universities.

The primary supervisor will provide pastoral support. If necessary the primary supervisor will refer the doctoral researcher to other sources of support (e.g. Wellbeing, Disability, Money Advice, IT, Library, Students’ Union, Academic Services, Student Support Services, Careers Centre).

Programme Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this programme, doctoral researchers should be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding

Demonstrate the systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the forefront of research through the development of a written thesis.
Create, interpret, analyse and develop new knowledge through original research or other advanced scholarship.
Disseminate new knowledge gained through original research or other advanced scholarship via high quality peer reviewed publications within the discipline.
Apply research skills and subject theory to the practice of research.
Apply process and standards of a range of the methodologies through which research is conducted and knowledge acquired and revised.

Attitudes and values

Conceptualise, design and implement a project aimed at the generation of new knowledge or applications within Applied Linguistics.
Make informed judgements on complex issues in the field of Applied Linguistics, often in the absence of complete data and defend those judgements to an appropriate audience.
Apply sound ethical principles to research, with due regard for the integrity of persons and in accordance with professional codes of conduct.
Demonstrate self-awareness of individual and cultural diversity, and the reciprocal impact in social interaction between self and others when conducting research involving people.

Research Skills

Respond appropriately to unforeseen problems in project design by making suitable amendments.
Communicate complex research findings clearly, effectively and in an engaging manner to both specialist (including the academic community), and non-specialist audiences using a variety of appropriate media and events, including conference presentations, seminars and workshops.
Correctly select, interpret and apply relevant techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry.
Develop the networks and foundations for on-going research and development within the discipline.
Implement advanced research skills to a substantial degree of independence.
Locate information and apply it to research practice.

Skills and Competencies

Display the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment, including the exercise of personal responsibility and largely autonomous initiative in complex and unpredictable situations, in professional or equivalent environments.

Progression Monitoring

Progress will be monitored in accordance with Swansea University regulations. During the course of the programme, the Doctoral researcher is expected to meet regularly with their supervisors, and at most meetings it is likely that the doctoral researcher’s progress will be monitored in an informal manner in addition to attendance checks. Details of the meetings should ideally be recorded on the on-line system. A minimum of four formal supervision meetings is required each year, two of which will be reported to the Postgraduate Progression and Awards Board. During these supervisory meetings the doctoral researcher’s progress is discussed and formally recorded on the on-line system.

Learning Development

The University offers training and development for Doctoral Researchers and supervisors.

Swansea University’s Postgraduate Research Training Framework is structured into sections, to enable doctoral researchers to navigate and determine appropriate courses aligned to both their interest and their candidature stage.

There is a training framework including for example areas of Managing Information and Data, Presentation and Public Engagement, Leadership and working with others, Safety Integrity and Ethics, Impact and Commercialisation and Teaching and Demonstrating. There is also range of support in areas such as training needs, literature searching, conducting research, writing up research, teaching, applying for grants and awards, communicating research and future careers.

A range of research seminars and skills development sessions are provided within the School of Arts and Humanities and across the University. These are scheduled to keep the doctoral researcher in touch with a broader range of material than their own research topic, to stimulate ideas in discussion with others, and to give them opportunities to such as defending their own thesis orally, and to identify potential criticisms. Additionally, the School of Arts and Humanities is developing a research culture that aligns with the University vision and will link with key initiatives delivered under the auspices of the University’s Academies, for example embedding the HEA fellowship for postgraduate research students.

Research Environment

Swansea University’s research environment combines innovation and excellent facilities to provide a home for multidisciplinary research to flourish. Our research environment encompasses all aspects of the research lifecycle, with internal grants and support for external funding and enabling impact/effect that research has beyond academia.

Swansea University is very proud of our reputation for excellent research, and for the calibre, dedication, professionalism, collaboration and engagement of our research community. We understand that integrity must be an essential characteristic of all aspects of research, and that as a University entrusted with undertaking research we must clearly and consistently demonstrate that the confidence placed in our research community is rightly deserved. The University therefore ensures that everyone engaged in research is trained to the very highest standards of research integrity and conducts themselves and their research in a way that respects the dignity, rights, and welfare of participants, and minimises risks to participants, researchers, third parties, and the University itself.

The School of Culture and Communication

The School provides a vibrant research environment through conferences, seminars, workshops and training events organised by various research centres and groups. As well as major disciplinary strengths, inter-disciplinary research is at the heart of what we do.

The School is deeply committed to highly quality research which is intellectually innovative as well as having real world impacts. Research students and staff work closely together. As a result a strong culture has developed which provides a supportive and friendly environment for our thriving community of doctoral students from all over the world to develop as well-networked young researchers.

Career Opportunities

Having a PhD demonstrates that graduates can work effectively in a team, formulate, explore and communicate complex ideas and manage advanced tasks. Jobs in academia (eg postdoctoral research, lecturing), education, government, management, the public or private sector are possible. Examples include administrators, counsellors, marketing specialists, and researchers.

The Postgraduate Research Office Skills Development Team offer support and a training framework for example in creating a researcher profile based upon publications and setting up your own business. The Swansea Employability Academy assists students in future career opportunities, improving CVs, job applications and interview skills.

MPhil Programme Specification

This MPhil in Applied Linguistics at Swansea will enable you to undertake a substantial project led by your own interests. It is a highly respected qualification which can present a career in academia or a wider scope for employment in fields such as education, government or the private sector. A thesis of 60,000 words will be submitted for assessment demonstrating original research with a substantive contribution to the subject area. The Masters is examined following an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination or viva). You will acquire research skills for high-level work and skills and training programmes are available on campus for further support. There will be an opportunity to deliver presentations to research students and staff at departmental seminars and conferences.

This Masters programme will provide students with:

Key skills needed to undertake advanced academic and non-academic research including qualitative and quantitative data analysis
Thesis and viva voce

The programme comprises of the undertaking of an original research project of 2 years duration full time (4 years duration part time). Students may pursue the programme either full time or part time by pursuing research at the University at an external place of employment or with/at a University approved partner.

Students for the Masters in Applied Linguistics are examined in two parts.

The first part is a thesis which is an original body of work representing the methods and results of the research project. The maximum word limit is 60,000 for the main text. The word limit does not include appendices (if any), essential footnotes, introductory parts and statements or the bibliography and index.

The second part is an oral examination ( viva voce ).

Supervision and Support

Students will be supervised by a supervisory team. Where appropriate, staff from Schools other than the ‘home’ School (other Schools) within the University will contribute to cognate research areas. There may also be supervisors from an industrial partner.

The Primary/First Supervisor will normally be the main contact throughout the student journey and will have overall responsibility for academic supervision. The academic input of the Secondary Supervisor will vary from case to case. The principal role of the Secondary Supervisor is often as a first port of call if the Primary/First Supervisor becomes unavailable. The supervisory team may also include a supervisor from industry or a specific area of professional practice to support the research. External supervisors may also be drawn from other Universities.

The primary supervisor will provide pastoral support. If necessary the primary supervisor will refer the student to other sources of support (e.g. Wellbeing, Disability, Money Advice, IT, Library, Students’ Union, Academic Services, Student Support Services, Careers Centre).

Demonstrate the systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge through the development of a written thesis.
Create, interpret, analyse and develop new knowledge through original research or other advanced scholarship.
Apply process and standards of a range of the methodologies through which research is conducted and knowledge acquired and revised.
Make informed judgements on complex issues in the field of Applied Linguistics often in the absence of complete data and defend those judgements to an appropriate audience.
Communicate complex research findings clearly, effectively and in an engaging manner to both specialist (including the academic community), and non-specialist audiences using a variety of appropriate media.
Correctly select, interpret and apply relevant techniques for research and academic enquiry.
Develop the foundations for on-going research and development within the discipline.
Implement independent research skills.
Display the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment, including the exercise of personal responsibility and initiative in complex situations.

Progress will be monitored in accordance with Swansea University regulations. During the course of the programme, the student is expected to meet regularly with their supervisors, and at most meetings it is likely that the student’s progress will be monitored in an informal manner in addition to attendance checks. Details of the meetings should ideally be recorded on the on-line system. A minimum of four formal supervision meetings is required each year, two of which will be reported to the Postgraduate Progression and Awards Board. During these supervisory meetings the student’s progress is discussed and formally recorded on the on-line system.

Learning Development

Swansea University’s Postgraduate Research Training Framework is structured into sections, to enable students to navigate and determine appropriate courses aligned to both their interest and their candidature stage.

A range of research seminars and skills development sessions are provided within the School of Arts and Humanities and across the University. These are scheduled to keep the student in touch with a broader range of material than their own research topic, to stimulate ideas in discussion with others, and to give them opportunities to such as defending their own thesis orally, and to identify potential criticisms. Additionally, the School of Arts and Humanities is developing a research culture that will align with the University vision and will link with key initiatives delivered under the auspices of the University’s Academies, for example embedding the HEA fellowship for postgraduate research students.

Research Environment

Swansea University’s Research Environment combines innovation and excellent facilities to provide a home for multidisciplinary research to flourish. Our research environment encompasses all aspects of the research lifecycle, with internal grants and support for external funding and enabling impact/effect that research has beyond academia.

Having a Master of Philosophy degree shows that you can communicate your ideas and manage tasks. Jobs in academia, education, government, management, the public or private sector are possible.

Ph.D. Programs

The Department of Linguistics offers four concentrations leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Linguistics (see list below). No matter the concentration, our faculty work closely with students, guiding their research and supporting their passions.

Applied Linguistics
Computational Linguistics
Sociolinguistics
Theoretical Linguistics

Applicants to the Ph.D. program are encouraged to identify prospective research advisors, at least one of whom should be in the concentration to which they apply.

After entering the program, Ph.D. students may elect to add a minor in a second one of these concentrations [new policy effective Spring 2023].

An interdisciplinary (second) concentration in Cognitive Science is also available to Ph.D. students.

Master’s in Passing

If, in their course of the Ph.D. program, a doctoral student meets all of the requirements of a M.S. degree in Linguistics, he or she may apply to receive a “Master’s in Passing.” Please consult section IV.D.3 of the Graduate School Bulletin for full details about the “in passing” or “terminal” Master’s degree.

Partaking in Ongoing Academic Conversation: Dang Ngoc Chau’s Research Presentation Experience at the American Association for Applied Linguistics Conference (AAAL) 2024 in Houston

Hangyu Zhang

Chau Dang (Dang Ngoc Chau) is a third-year PhD candidate at the School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne. Last year, Chau shared some interesting points about her research project , which was enlightening. From 16 th March to 19 th March this year, Chau presented at the AAAL 2024 conference in Houston, United States, with the aid of the Miegunyah International Scholarship .

Hangyu interviewed Chau about her preparation for and experience during the conference.

Hi Chau! First of all, congratulations on your successful presentation at AAAL 2024! To get us started, how do you feel about this experience in general?

It was amazing! It was probably one of the best experiences I have had so far during my PhD journey because it was the first time ever that I attended a conference. In addition, as you know, AAAL is such a significant and vibrant conference, almost the biggest one in the academic field of applied linguistics. So, it was a splendid experience in which I had a chance to meet really lovely people and learn a lot.

That’s wonderful. You attended the conference as a presenter. Can you briefly introduce the topic of the project you presented at the conference?

I presented a part of my findings from my ongoing research project, entitled “Teacher Agency in Interpreting and Appropriating English Medium Instruction (EMI) Policy”. I looked at a specific case of an EMI computer science programme in Vietnam and investigated how three teachers of the programme exercised their agency from an ecological perspective. My presentation was part of a round table discussion, rather than an individual speech. A round table discussion includes three presentations and 10 minutes each, and we had half an hour after that for Q&A and to discuss our research projects. It was really informative because I had the chance to listen to and interact with other people working in similar areas. The session was quite well-attended with a lot of other researchers who provided some useful feedback and asked relevant questions as well.

It sounds like a very interactive session. So, were the attendees sophisticated and experienced researchers in this field or junior researchers like higher degree research students? How was your interaction with other academics?

Well, AAAL is a platform for everyone. Therefore, I met and spoke to other PhD candidates, some researchers who had just completed their PhD degrees, postdoctoral researchers, as well as prestigious professors working at universities worldwide. Yes, there were academics of different experience levels, which was really fantastic! At my round table, the other two presenters also worked on topics relevant to mine, including multilingual classrooms in the context of Africa and the context of Korean. In this way, we could relate a lot, discussing practices in countries where English is not the official language, and where teachers may encounter various problems. One interesting point is that, as you know, the policies in different countries are really different. Thus, the ways that teachers would interpret and appropriate the policy are divergent in different contexts as well. It is really interesting to see the way that teachers in another context, for example in Korea, would enact agency to support their students from their own will and with not much support from the macro level. So, I think it is meaningful to see relevant research in different context, which can provide a lot of useful insights for my own research.

Meanwhile, I also attended other talks and sessions and took lots of notes. They helped me look at my project from a broader perspective as well and from different angles. It was absolutely an eye-opening experience.

That’s wonderful! Was there anything that left you with a very deep impression during the couple of days at the conference?

Well, I met those whose work I had cited a lot. I think this was one of the best and most impressive parts. For example, I met Prof Nancy Hornberger , a big name in language policy research. I cited a lot of her work and read her books and then I met her in person! I was not a volunteer at the reception, but I was just talking with a new friend there. She came in and asked for the name card. We then asked what her name was, and she replied , “Nancy Hornberger”. I gave her the name card and told her that I had read her books and admired her research. She was so friendly and then we talked a bit. I was so nervous and excited, but it was just such a great experience to see those whose research had enlightened me.

Thanks for sharing that! It’s always good to meet people during the conference and talk to them in person. Before the conference, how did you prepare for that?

Sure! To prepare for the conference, there are three things I want to mention. First is looking out for conferences. Because most conferences, especially major ones where they accept quite a lot of papers, would release their “Call for Papers” announcement quite early, like six months or eight months before the actual conference date. So look out for the conferences that you want to attend, check the deadline, make sure that you prepare your proposal, and submit it by the deadline. When I was preparing for my presentation at AAAL, they required the abstract of the paper about one year before. I discussed this with my supervisors, and they gave me some very useful feedback.

Another thing is that once your proposal is accepted, it is time to look out for scholarships because, you know, travelling to conferences could be extremely expensive, especially if you go to Europe and the United States. I was fortunate enough to get the Miegunyah International Scholarship , which is quite a generous travel grant for PhD and graduate researchers. They provide an allowance of $10,000 for those who attend major conferences in the field of humanities and social science outside of Australia.

Interestingly, there were no advertisements about this scholarship via email or word of mouth. Instead, I was just scrolling through the scholarship website of the University of Melbourne, and I noticed that one matched my requirements and eligibility. Hence, I would like to mention as well that there could be some scholarship that many of us wouldn’t be aware of. Hopefully after this interview, by sharing my experience, next year, more students from our school will get that scholarship. Certainly, there are other grants from the university for graduate researchers as well so look out for them!

My final point is about preparing for the visa. As a Vietnamese citizen, I need a visa to visit most countries, including the United States. From my experience, I could not book an interview for a visa application in Melbourne, and I had to fly to Perth. They only asked me one question, but then I still had to be there in person for the collection of fingerprints as well. I flew to Perth and back, which was a bit time-consuming. I will definitely prepare for my visa earlier next time.

Those are very useful suggestions, particularly the tips and information about scholarships. So, the conference was in Houston, did you go sightseeing or explore the city after the conference?

Yes, but I didn’t have much chance for that due to the really packed schedule. But on the last day, I had a chance to visit NASA (Johnson Space Center) . Houston is famous for that. I spent a whole day there, and it was amazing. As for the city, it is quite different from Melbourne. For example, Melbourne CBD is often busy and bustling, but in Houston, the centre is just full of big buildings for offices. It was relatively quiet because the residential areas including restaurants and grocery stores would be far out from the city centre.

It’s your third year now and you’ve already made some accomplishments. Could you share a bit about your plan for the next couple of years?

Yes, similar to any other PhD candidates, at this point, I would prioritise my PhD research and to complete it within the next year. I am going to write up my results and next year, if possible, I would like to attend AAAL 2025 in Denver again. I plan to attend another conference to present a different part of my PhD research. I am preparing for that!

Thank you so much for sharing this experience with us today, Chau!

My pleasure! Thank you, Hangyu!

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