Centre for European and International Studies Research (CEISR)

Profile

The focus of my research interests clusters around contrastive, comparative and interdisciplinary approaches to language, culture and society and issues surrounding their didacticisation. It is, therefore, strongly pedagogically orientated and data-driven, with an emphasis on pragmatic and aesthetic dimensions of language in its naturally occurring socio-cultural context. I am particularly interested in identifying pragmatic principles governing the occurrence of grammatical structures, focusing in particular on their relevance in applied, primarily pedagogical, contexts, and even more specifically, in foreign language teaching and learning (focusing on ELF/EAP predominantly).

My most recent research work makes use of some more recent theoretical frameworks, such as contrastive and intercultural pragmatics and rhetoric, providing an analytical apparatus capable of explaining the interaction between grammar, pragmatics and culture specific processes of conceptualisation. The model of analysis I am working on, multidisciplinary in its nature, observes language as a phenomenon encompassing not only lexico-grammatical components, but highlights the importance of pragmatic and culture-specific insights in the production and comprehension of meaning. The proposed model, once fully developed, tested and validated in classroom settings, should find its proper place in a variety of didactic and auto-didactic contexts. It should enable the learners to reflect upon their own experiences, knowledge and understanding of both their own culture and the culture of the target language, and ultimately help them to develop metadiscoursal and metacognitive strategies that will in turn ensure more successful and more autonomous language learning and learning in general.

Together with a number of colleagues from several European countries I am currently involved in setting up a research and development network for linguistic and intercultural education activities. The network is about to tackle a range of topics in language education and its role in the creation of a European identity and pluricultural competences, on the one hand, and in the preservation of national, regional and ethnic identities, on the other. Our anchoring standpoint derives from the Preamble of the 1982 Recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, in which they acknowledge the fact “that the rich heritage of diverse languages and cultures in Europe is a valuable common resource to be protected and developed, and that a major educational effort is needed to convert that diversity from a barrier to communication into a source of mutual enrichment and understanding” (Recommendation R (82)18). In other words, our approach to understanding linguistic and cultural landscapes of Europe is predominantly usage-based and data-driven, but our ultimate goal is always within pedagogical implications and applications of our research findings. 

Qualifications

• BA(hons) in English Language and Literature
• MA in Sociology of Language/Sociolinguistics
• MPhil in English and Applied Linguistics
• PhD in Contrastive Linguistics

Research Clusters

• Language across Borders 

Discipline Areas

• Linguistic and Intercultural Education
• Intercultural Pragmatics
• Contrastive Approaches to Language, Culture and Society
• Autonomous and Collaborative (Language) Learning
• Constructivist Paradigm in (Language) Learning and Teaching

Research CV

Current research projects

• The pragmatics of daily interaction in comparison and contrast: cross-cultural perspectives [provisional title] – a collaborative initiative with Prof Tatiana Larina (Moscow State Linguistic University, Russia) and Prof Neelakshi Suryanarayan (New Delhi University, India).
• Linguistic and cultural identities within and across borders, disciplines and practices: Europe and beyond [series of collaborative initiatives under the auspices of the European Network for Intercultural Education Activities]; with Dr Teodora Popescu (University of Alba Iulia, Romania), Dr Alcina Sousa (University of Madeira, Portugal), Prof Giacomo Ferrari (University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy) and others.

Book chapters

• 2011 'Key competences in foreign language learning: historical perspectives and theoretical frameworks' in Maria Eisenmann & Theresa Summer (eds). Basic Issues in EFL Teaching and Learning. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter GmbH pp.43-54.
• 2008 'An investigation into the pragmatics of grammar: cultural scripts in contrast' in Martin Pütz and JoAnne Neff van Aertselaer (eds.). Developing Contrastive pragmatics: interlanguage and cross-cultural perspectives. (Studies on Language Acquisition). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter pp.65-83.
• 2005 'Contrastive linguistics: a 21^st century perspective', in Sophia Marmaridou et al. (eds.). Reviewing linguistic thought: converging trends for the 21^st century. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter: pp.255-278.
• 2004 'Semantics of hate speech: a model of analysis', in Martin Pütz et al. (eds.) 2004. Communicating ideologies: language, discourse and social practice. Frankfurt: Peter Lang: pp.579-596.
• 2003 'Genus verbi in Serbo-Croat: a reanalysis of se-verbs', in Peter Kosta et al. (eds). Investigations into formal Slavic linguistics: contributions of the Fourth European Conference on Formal Description of Slavic Languages. Frankfurt:  Peter Lang: pp.617-631.

Other publications

• 2009 'New horizons for contrastive analysis: grammatical prototypes as tertium comparationis' in Anastasios Tsangalidis (ed). Selected papers from the 18^th International Symposium on Theoretical and Applied Linguistic. Greece: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: pp.233-241.
• 2009 'Pragmatic competence for intercultural communication: a foreign language classroom perspective'. Igor Lakić & Nataša Kostić (eds). Languages and Cultures in Contact: Conference Proceedings. Podgorica: Institute of Foreign Languages, University of Montenegro: pp.385-391.
• 2008 'Linguistics across Cultures fifty years on: from cultural patterns to cultural scripts' in Ivana Trbojević and Katarina Rasulić (eds). Proceedings of the International Conference English Language and Literature Studies: Structures Across Cultures (ELLSSAC); Vol. 1. Belgrade: Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade: pp.33-43.
• 2007 'Theory and practice of Contrastive Analysis: ways forward' in Dušanka Točanac and Milena Jovanović (eds). Applied Linguistics Today: Proceedings of the International Conference of the Applied Linguistics Association of Serbia. Belgrade: Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade: pp.33-52.
• 2006 'Contrastive analysis at work: theoretical considerations and their practical application' in Signum: Estudos da Linguagem, Volume Temático: Lingüística Contrastiva, No. 9/1 – Junho de 2006. Brazil: Centro de Letras e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Estadual de Londrina: pp.111-140.
• 2006 'Grammaticalization of reflexivity and middleness: a contribution to Serbo-Croat-English Contrastive Grammar' in Ivana Trbojević and Katarina Rasulić (eds). Proceedings of the International Conference ’English Language and Literature Studies: Interfaces and Integrations’, Vol. 1. Belgrade: Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade: pp. 233- 247.

Recent invited presentations 

• Invited panel member, Academic Writing Workshop for the Itupale Online Journal for African Studies, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, 7 May 2011.
• Invited panel member, Ciclo de conferências: aventuras e perspetivas académicas: da Madeira para o mundo – Academic Perspectives and Ventures: from Madeira to the World, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal, 22 September 2011.
• Keynote speaker at the 10th International Conference Interdisciplinarity and Transdisciplinarity in Language, Literature, Pedagogy and Foreign Language Teaching Methodology, The Centre for Research and Innovation in Language Education (CIEL) and the Modern Languages Department, University of Alba Iulia, Romania, 28-29 May 2010: “Linguistic and intercultural education in university curricula: learning objectives and outcomes”.
• Invited speaker at the PhD Seminar Current Trends in Linguistics, Doctoral School of the Faculty of Letters, University of Bucharest, Romania, 17-19 June 2010: “Pragmatic transfer in second language learning: pedagogical implications”.
• Plenary speaker at the International Conference Philological Research Today: Language, Literature, Culture, Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, Serbia, 26-27 November 2010: “Developing key competences in language education: taking stock and looking into the future”.
• Invited Round Table co-organiser (with Prof Giacomo Ferrari, University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy, and Prof Rodica Pioariu, University of Alba Iulia, Romania): “Linguistic and Intercultural Education”, organised at the Exploratory Workshop Linguistic and Intercultural Education in the Process of Europeanisation of Higher Education, The Centre for Research and Innovation in Linguistic Education, Department of Foreign Languages, University of Alba Iulia, Romania, 21-23 May 2009.
• Presentation “The role of language education in the development of cultural fluency: theoretical ramifications and their practical application” given at the Exploratory Workshop Linguistic and Intercultural Education in the Process of Europeanisation of Higher Education, The Centre for Research and Innovation in Linguistic Education, Department of Foreign Languages, University of Alba Iulia, Romania, 21-23 May 2009.
• Invited lecture “Contrastive analysis and foreign language teaching: new perspectives and models”, given at the Institute of Foreign Languages, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, 30 September 2008.
• Invited Panel co-organiser (with Prof Ecaterina Popa, Cluj University, Romania): “Languages in a Wider Europe and Linguistic Policies”, organised at The First International Conference on Linguistic and Intercultural Education (CLIE1), University of Alba Iulia, Romania, 27-29 November 2008.

Editorial Boards & Committee membership

• 2011, Member of the Scientific Committee of the Annales Universitatis Apulensis – Series Philologica, University of Alba Iulia, Romania (ISSN 1582–5523).
• 2011, Member of the Referring Panel of the Łódź Papers in Pragmatics, 7.1/2011, University of Łódź, Poland (ISSN 1895–6106).
• 2010 - present, Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education, Centre for Research and Innovation in Linguistic Education, University of Alba Iulia, Romania (ISSN 2065–6599).

Additional memberships

• The International Society for the Linguistics of English (ISLE)
• The International Pragmatics Association (IPrA)
• The British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES)
• Cambridge University Linguistics Society