Members of staff would particularly welcome applications to study for a PhD in one of their areas of research interest, as listed below, although we are also happy to consider applications to undertake research for a PhD in other areas.
| Member of staff | Research interests relevant to PhD supervision |
|---|
| Dr Jeremy Airey |
Teaching and learning in science (particularly biology and psychology); continuing professional development for school science educators; informal science learning. |
| Dr Kathryn Asbury |
Home and school influences on academic achievement or wellbeing; educational research using genetically sensitive designs; choosing extra-curricular activities; choosing careers and planning the future. |
| Dr Clementine Beauvais |
Childhood studies; children's literature; philosophy of education; theoretical approaches to childhood and education; childhood and education in culture and literature. |
| Professor Judith Bennett |
Science education; attitudes, engagement and participation in science; widening participation in science, including gender issues in science education, evaluation of educational interventions; systematic research reviews. |
| Dr Cylcia Bolibaugh |
Processing and acquisition of formulaic language; usage-based approaches to second language acquisition; corpus-based research and experimental investigations of frequency effects; individual differences in implicit and explicit language learning. |
| Dr Eleanor Brown |
Development education, global citizenship, transformative learning, critical pedagogies, critical reflection and dialogue. |
| Dr Andrzej Cirocki |
Teaching and learning English as a foreign language; developing learner autonomy, TESOL materials development and reflective teaching. |
| Professor Ian Davies |
Citizenship education; history education; global education; social studies education. |
| Dr Lynda Dunlop |
Science education (primary and secondary), particularly teaching and learning relating to the nature of science and socio-scientific issues; science teacher education; and philosophy for children. |
| Dr Khaled El Ebyary |
The pedagogical applications and impact of emerging technologies; language assessment including automated writing evaluation and computer-based feedback; Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom; test washback; language learners and teachers; computer-mediated communication. |
| Dr Sally Hancock |
Higher education research; education policy; political economy of education; sociology of education; widening participation and social mobility. |
| Dr Zoe Handley |
Second language speech learning, including oral fluency development and pronunciation; new technologies in language learning and teaching, and in particular studies grounded in second language acquisition theory research; and, (computer-mediated) task-based language learning. |
| Dr Jan Hardman |
Classroom interaction; dialogic teaching; language curriculum-based research. |
| Dr John Issitt |
Historical and cultural formation and learning – especially learning that crosses cultural barriers. Epistemological, religious and political assumptions used in learning. Relations of power, critical pedagogy, themes of emancipation, the development of learning programmes and the micro-politics of learning communities; the public intellectual and the evolution of higher education. |
| Dr Lisa Kim |
Teacher social and emotional characteristics; teacher effectiveness; teacher wellbeing; teacher retention; teacher status; psychology in education. |
| Professor Robert Klassen |
Teacher-student interactions; measuring teacher effectiveness; student and teacher motivation and emotions; cross-cultural perspectives on education and psychology; motivation and emotions of students with special education needs. |
| Dr Kerry Knox |
Teaching and learning of science at the undergraduate level; development of expertise in experimental chemistry; interdisciplinary training. |
| Dr Irena Kuzborska |
Teacher cognition in language teaching; teaching second language reading; English for specific purposes; materials evaluation and design for language learning. |
| Dr Ursula Lanvers |
Psychological aspects of second language learning, in particular motivation and learner perceptions; language education policy; global Englishes and language learning. |
| Professor Emma Marsden |
Foreign and second language teaching and learning; Evaluation of foreign and second language practice and policy (particularly with comparative/experimental designs); Second language acquisition; Learning theories; Attention and memory in language learning. |
| Dr Nadia Mifka-Profozic |
Corrective feedback (oral and written); classroom interaction in language teaching; task-based language teaching; individual differences in language learning (focus on cognitive factors: aptitude, analytic ability, working memory); discourse analysis; writing instruction. |
| Dr Poppy Nash |
Psychological aspects of education eg school-based interventions, effective behaviour management in schools, coping with disadvantage, emotional barriers to learning. |
| Dr Amanda Naylor |
Teaching poetry, particularly pre-twentieth century poetry; teaching and learning English in UK schools; initial teacher education in English; post-16 English pedagogy. |
| Dr Sarah Olive |
Teaching early modern drama (especially Shakespeare); English (subject) education policy; theatre and heritage education departments; representations of literature and reading in popular culture. |
| Dr Elpis Pavilidou |
Development and individual differences of implicit/statistical learning; neurobiology of reading across languages; neurocognitive bases of developmental dyslexia; diagnostic procedures in developmental dyslexia; behavioural and neuroimaging (namely fMRI and EEG) methods. |
| Professor Leah Roberts |
Psychological aspects of language learning; grammatical acquisition; lexical acquisition; second language sentence processing. |
| Dr Paul Roberts |
English as an international language; internationalisation of the curriculum; English Language Teaching in China. |
| Dr Bill Soden |
English Language Teaching: methodology, testing/assessment and English for Academic Purposes; assessment and feedback in higher education. |
| Professor Vanita Sundaram |
'Lad culture' and 'laddism' in compulsory and higher education; inclusion; gender-based violence and adolescents; gender and sexuality; sociology of education; sex education. |
| Dr Louise Tracey |
Early childhood education and settings; early literacy and phonics; programme evaluations and implementation fidelity; relationships between research and practice; teacher education, continuing professional development, and teacher retention; relationship between early health and educational outcomes. |
| Dr Danijela Trenkic |
Second language processing; second language grammar learning; learning of new vocabulary and methods for vocabulary instruction; learning needs of university students with English as a foreign language; developing listening in a second language (speech segmentation); bilingual cognition; definiteness and reference resolution. |
| Professor Paul Wakeling |
Educational inequalities, especially access to higher education; sociology of education; higher education policy; postgraduate students; educational expansion; social stratification and social mobility. |
English students are bright and highly creative. This means they tend to come up with brilliant ideas! So, coming up with a dissertation topic should be easy, right? Well, not necessarily. Coming up with a topic can be stressful so you might try to avoid it. Alternatively, you might have hundreds of great ideas, but not know which one to settle on. If that’s the case, then don’t worry. This article is here to help you move forward with choosing a topic for your dissertation – so let’s get started! ContentsSociolinguistics Dissertation TopicsSociolinguistics is one of the most interesting aspects of English studies, especially in our modern, globalised world. Put simply, sociolinguistics is concerned with how social/cultural norms shape language. Since we are becoming increasingly globalised, there is a debate as to whether our culture and language systems are converging or diverging. Of course, there is no straightforward answer to this debate, and there is still much to learn about the link between society, culture, and language. Here are a few dissertation topics in sociolinguistics to get you started. - Mapping the diachronic development of Disney Princesses: How is language used to portray femininity?
- ‘Well jel’!’ A sociolinguistic analysis of The Only Way is Essex.
- Are accents still being used to create alterity? A review of blockbuster films from 2019-2020. ‘
- Mapping second-generation immigrants’ usage of English within the family: When and Why?
- Politeness and official address (e.g., Sir, Madam, Teacher): A comparison between the UK and China.
- How do employees use and lose power in workplace meetings? A sociolinguistic analysis.
- Do males speak more frequently than females? A review of university seminars.
- Hedges in everyday speech: Why are we so uncertain?
- A sociolinguistic analysis of advertising for vegan products.
- A diachronic sociolinguistic analysis of cosmetics reviews 1950 – 2020.
- Polite participles in everyday speech: Is it a class thing?
- Building rapport via video conferencing: How does it differ from real-life?
- Analysing humour between native and non-native English speakers: How is it manifested?
- The language of love: universal or locally specific?
- A sociolinguistic analysis of comic book villains.
- The diachronic evolution of questioning.
Coming up with a TopicComing up with your own topic is no easy feat. Above all, it’s important to find a topic that interests you! If you are an overseas student, you might find it interesting to compare language between the UK and your own country, for example. So, let’s say you’re from China… Research from Kaplan (1966) shows that native English speakers prefer to use deductive forms of discourse, whereas Chinese EFL speakers prefer inductive forms of discourse. However, this research is quite out of date, and since many Chinese people have become English language learners since 1966 (and many now live in the UK), you might question whether this difference still persists… And there you have it! A curious ‘gap’ in the literature that you can fill with your dissertation. Need help coming up with a great dissertation topic? Our expert writers are on hand to assist. Applied Linguistics Dissertation TopicsThe field of language and linguistics is sometimes accused of being a bit ‘abstract’. But, in truth, linguistics can be applied to the real world, and these applications hold a great degree of significance, not only for language learning but for wider society. That said, if you’re a practical and solutions-focused person, you might enjoy working on an applied linguistics dissertation. Here are a few titles to inspire you: - Children’s adoption of intensifying adverbs: How early should it be encouraged?
- Becoming a non-native teacher of English: Key challenges and opportunities.
- Delivering safety training to non-native English speakers – How to test comprehension?
- Pre-school language formation: Should we actively seek to neutralise gender differences?
- Online language learning during COVID-19: Opportunities and challenges.
- Telling my story: Refugees’ journeys through language learning and resettlement.
- Supporting translators in mental health settings – does more need to be done?
- How to teach syntax? A critical review of the approaches.
- Collaborative writing in the ESL classroom.
- The role of ‘active reflection’ in ESL teaching and learning.
Critical Perspectives for Language Students As part of your degree, you have probably come across critical theories such as Feminism, Postcolonialism, and Race Theory. If that’s the case, you could choose to draw upon one or more of these critical theories in your dissertation. Here are just a few titles to consider: - How is language used to portray Disney heroes and heroines? A feminist perspective.
- Are job adverts fair and equal? A critical race theory perspective.
- English as the lingua Franca: Exploring the effects on indigenous populations.
- ‘Welcome back to my channel’ How are women creating identities and communities on YouTube? A feminist perspective.
Hopefully, this post has given you a bit of inspiration, but if you’re still feeling stuck then don’t worry! Try some of our top tips for coming up a great English dissertation topic: - Look back over your degree – which assignment scored the highest? Which assignment was most interesting to you? This would be a good place to start!
- Have a brainstorming session with the friends on your course.
- Contact our PhD Writers today and we’ll provide you with some unique and interesting topics to choose from.
| 
