Centre for Language Education Research Seminar Series

L2 writing methodological innovation: Acknowledging shortfalls and taking risks

Speaker: Associate Professor Jim McKinley

To register: https://bit.ly/3weILjd. All welcome! 

Abstract: With increasing numbers of language teachers and scholars investigating L2 writing in a diverse range of settings, we have opportunities to adapt and develop methodologies from other contexts and disciplines that can reveal new insights pushing our diverse field forward. However, many L2 writing researchers are yet to take up these opportunities, as dominant constructs in English L2 writing research continue to prevail. Much of the problem lies in our inherent hesitancy with risk-taking, and tendency to look back on established research for stable support before moving forward. In this talk, I argue this reliance on the major design methodologies, such as experimentation, ethnography, and text analysis (see Hyland, 2016), is limiting and skews our understanding of L2 writing. These methods are boosted by neoliberal agendas favouring primarily English L2 constructs, and it is holding the field back. 

Speaker Bio:  Dr Jim McKinley, SFHEA, is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL at UCL Institute of Education, University of London. Having started his academic career at the University of Sydney, Australia, he then taught for many years in Japan’s oldest EMI pram (Sophia University in Tokyo) and settled in the UK in 2016. His research explores the implication of globalisation for L2 writing, Language Education and Higher Education Studies, particularly concerning the concept of a teaching-research nexus. Jim is co-author and co-editor of several books on research methods in Applied Linguistics. His work has appeared in journals such as Higher Education and Applied Linguistics, and he currently serves as an Editor-in-Chief for the journal System. 

Questions related to this seminar should be directed to Dr Sin-Wang Chong: s.chong@qub.ac.uk