Personal profile

Biography

I was a senior lecturer at the University of Roehampton for 21 years, and I am now Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Media, Culture and Language. My specific interest is in language testing. I have published and delivered papers at academic conferences in the field of language testing, and acted as an external consultant on validation and examination panels in the UK and overseas. My work in Applied Linguistics is underpinned by extensive experience of language teaching, language assessment and teacher training on a range of ESOL provision in the public and private sector in the UK and abroad. At the University of Roehampton I led the development of the English for Academic Purposes diploma, and undergraduate programmes in Applied English Studies and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). I currently provide PhD supervision in English Language and Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, and investigating the English language requirements for non-UK trained nurses who want to register for practice in the UK.

Qualifications

  • MA Applied Linguistics (language testing) University of Reading award with distinction (1995);
  • PhD at Lancaster University (2011);
  • RSA Cert (equivalent to the current Dip) TEFLA (1979);
  • RSA Dip TESL (1984);
  • RSA Dip Training the Trainers (1991);
  • RSA NCVQ External examiner's award (1995);
  • Member of Higher Education Academy (2012).

Research interests

I am interested in language testing and validity, more particularly issues associated with regional and global standards and assessments versus local practices.

Research projects

  • A survey of the assessment of written English on English language majors in European universities;
  • PhD project to compare literacy practices on the same academic programme in two different national locations in Europe;
  • British Council-funded project to examine the validity of the existing IELTS English language requirements for internationally qualified nurses and, potentially, for EEA-qualified nurses.

Professional affiliations

  • BAAL (British Association of Applied Linguists);
  • ILTA (International Language Testing Association).

Consultancy work

I have acted as external examiner for pre-sessional, graduate and postgraduate programmes, participated in language assessment benchmarking projects and, as external expert, on university programme validation panelsin the UK.

Validation panels for:

  • English for Academic Purposes programme King Alfred College, Winchester;
  • BATFL Review Middlesex University;
  • BA EFL Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh;
  • IAMIS programme (Integrated Access Mode of International Study) Nottingham Trent University;
  • MA Teaching English as a Foreign Language for the Department of Humanities, Arts and Language at London Metropolitan University;
  • International Foundation Diploma and the international Foundation Programme with Cultural Studies at the University of Greenwich;
  • International Foundation Programme (University of Greenwich) at the Victoria Higher Education Campus in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

External advisor on panel to benchmark language qualifications to the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) for

  • City and Guilds;
  • The British Council.

Teaching

Sociolinguistics and discourse analysis, particularly critical discourse analysis, individual differences and language learning, and language assessment.