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Research

Languages and Applied Linguistics

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An image to illustrate studying languages and applied linguistics with The Open University.

The Language and Literacies Research Cluster is located in the Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology. Researchers in this area recognise the centrality of language to formal and informal learning, and to social life more broadly. Underpinning our work is the development of innovative research methods, including: the use of fine-grained linguistic and conversation analysis; the combining of functional and corpus linguistics; the use of multimodal analysis to capture language in interaction with sounds, images, bodily movement and gesture; the development of multimodal and linguistic ethnography; the use of discourse analysis to examine the ways in which shared understanding is developed in social context over time; and new approaches to research into second language learning and teaching, including the analysis of communication in online settings. Our work covers a range of exciting research areas with particular foci as follows:

  • Academic and professional literacies, including digital literacy development of teachers.
  • English in a global context: the role, status and use of English around the world in the era of globalisation including the use of English as a language for international development, and English and the language of social media.
  • Language and creativity.
  • Metaphor in discourse.
  • Literary reading and interpretation.
  • Children's informal language and literacy practices; children's literature.
  • Language, literacy and learning in a digital world.
  • Multimodal meaning making, including in early years and inclusive education, as well as foreign and second languages.
  • Foreign and second language learning and teaching in a range of contexts, including independent learning, the application of new technologies, culture and language learning; learner autonomy, motivation and strategies.
  • The teaching, thinking and learning that occur in educational dialogue, including face-to-face and technology mediated learning, and processes of learning and teaching in the creative arts; automated feedback systems.

Key facts

  • You will have the opportunity to work with leading researchers in their fields.
  • We have around 20 PhD students and 40 EdD students studying with us, forming a strong research student community.
  • Students participate in a wide range of academic and social events.

The MRes provides an excellent foundation for PhD studies.

Facilities

Specialist software for language data analysis, including access to several large corpora, is available.

Further information

If you have an enquiry specific to this research area please contact:

Name:
Mrs Anne Foward
Email:
creet-student-enquiries@open.ac.uk
Phone:
+44 (0)1908 655364

For general enquiries please contact the Research Degrees Team via the link under 'Your questions' further down the page.

Publications

Research publications by Open University staff are available through Open Research Online (ORO), the university's repository of research publications and other research outputs. ORO can be searched or browsed by staff name or subject.

The following list, generated from ORO, provides a flavour of the most recently published work in Languages and Applied Linguistics: