Centre for Language Education Research

About Us

We are a research centre founded by applied linguists, educationalists, and social scientists committed to conducting research in language and education across local, national, and international contexts. Established in 2021 to create a supportive research environment in SSESW for language-focused researchers, the Centre is founded on the following conceptual cornerstones:
• We all live in multilingual and multimodal societies
• Relationships between language and education are fundamental to individuals, groups, societies, cultures
• Our study of language use goes beyond language as code
• Languages are not divisive, but the world is ill-divided. Therefore, research in applied linguistics and language education needs to engage matters of social justice.
As international researchers, centre members celebrate diverse research interests in language, education, and social justice across intersecting topics, including: bilingual education and multilingualism in educational contexts, language awareness and language assessment, language materials development, academic discourse, digital literacy studies, multimodality, corpus linguistics, non-formal and refugee language education, heritage and minoritized language communities.
Together, we aim to:
• advance knowledge and research of critical issues related to language use and education in multilingual and plurilingual environments
• reconceptualize research-practice and other divides through research partnerships and context-sensitive collaborations
• develop research skills and research capacity in the areas of Language Education and Applied Linguistics
Our research on applied linguistics and language education may challenge or resist everyday assumptions. We welcome all discussion and interact with international researchers around the world on key topics.
We join fellow thinkers in asking critical questions about the future of our ultra-social lives and the multiple semiotic means through which we communicate and learn. We seek answers to these questions grounded in literature, evidence, and collaborative research with colleagues across different disciplines and geopolitical locations, with other institutions, networks, organizations, associations, stakeholder groups and practitioners.
For information on how to join us in the Centre, please contact: cler@qub.ac.uk or Director, Dr Aisling O'Boyle