This page shows brief biographies of the various academics that will be hosting a workshop as part of the ISLE Summer School this year. Please note that this page is still under construction as final details and biographies are being worked out – the information displayed below is therefore not complete and will be expanded in due course.
Dr Chris Montgomery
University of Sheffield, UK
“Mapping Linguistic and Non-Linguistic Data Using GIS“
Chris Montgomery is a Senior Lecturer in Dialectology in the School of English at the University of Sheffield. He joined the school in 2012. His research focuses on non-linguists’ perceptions of language variation, including examining real-time reactions to regional speech and in particular, which features naïve listeners respond to. Chris has worked in the field of perceptual dialectology and developed new methodological approaches to the study of non-linguists’ perceptions. His research has focused on locations in the north of England and southern Scotland and has discussed the role of (real and imagined) borders in perception. Chris has also investigated ways of integrating techniques used in the field of Geographical Science with those used in the study of language variation and perception, with a particular focus on the possibilities offered by GIS technologies.
Prof. Paul Seedhouse
Newcastle University, UK
“Engaging the Public in Learning Languages through Cultural Activities at ilab:learn’s Digital Kitchens“
Paul Seedhouse is Professor of Educational and Applied Linguistics and Director of ilab:learn at Newcastle University, UK. With colleagues in Computing Science over 12 years, he has worked on 4 grants to use digital technology to teach users languages and cultural tasks simultaneously, resulting in the Linguacuisine and ENACT apps. He has also had 5 grants from the IELTS consortium to study spoken interaction in the IELTS Speaking Test. He has published 10 books and over 70 articles and book chapters in the areas of spoken interaction, applied linguistics and language teaching. His book The Interactional Architecture of the Language Classroom: A Conversation Analysis Perspective won the 2005 Modern Language Association of America Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize.
Dr Mark Carver
University of St Andrews, UK
“Navigating the Job Market”
Mark Carver is a Lecturer in TESOL at the University of St Andrews, and is also a Research Associate of the University of Strathclyde. His recent research has explored survey methods to identify the risk of attrition, as well as the effect of distance learning on feedback.
Caitlin Halfacre
Newcastle University, UK
“The R Language and Environment for Statistical Computing and Graphics”
Caitlin Halfacre is a NINEDTP-ESRC Doctoral Student in Linguistics with particular research interests in phonetics, phonology, morphology, sociophonetics and sociolinguistics. She is particularly interested in variation and change in modern Received Pronunication.
Sonya Mathews
Queens University Belfast, UK
“ELAN Transcription, Coding and Relational Databases”
Sonya is a postgraduate student completing a Ph.D. through the Northern Bridge Consortium. Her project is the creation of a searchable, open access database of historical recordings of Northern Irish English. Her research interests are language change, dialect mapping, archival metadata and the privileging of spelling conventions.
Dr Adam Mearns
Newcastle University, UK
“Exploiting DECTE with Concordancing and Tagging Software”
Adam Mearns is a lecturer in the History of the English Language. His research interests include Old English language and literature, language variation and change in the Northern East of England and corpus linguistic methods. His most recent research has covered Linguistic Architecture and the Dynamics of Sociolinguistic Cognition.
Dr Karen Wade
University College Dublin, IE
“Social Network Analysis and the Visualization of Emigrant Correspondence Corpora”
Karen Wade is a Lecturer and Assistant Professor in Cultural Analytics. Her research interests include 19th-century and Romantic-era fiction, social network analysis, gender, autobiography and life-writing, correspondence, linguistic landscape, and book history.
Dr William van der Wurff
Newcastle University, UK
“From Caxton to Heslop: Exploring Manuscripts in the Philip Robinson Library Special Collections Rooms”
William van der Wurff is a senior lecturer in Linguistics. His research interests focus on the history of English, diachronic syntax, grammaticalisation and tense-mood-aspect systems. His recent research work has covered areas such as anaphoric NPs in early Modern English.