Applied Linguistics (PhD / MPhil) - 2012/2013 entry

Applied linguistics aims to investigate real-world phenomena in which language plays a central role. At PhD/MPhil level, we aim for students to make the transition into fully-fledged, independent academic researchers, with the skills necessary to present their research orally as well as in writing, in addition to pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. Such independence is achieved on the basis of a full appreciation of the hallmarks of good scholarship, such as original thought, the proper use of references and background material, appropriate use of methodology and accountable reporting procedures, and it is these priorities that we aim to impart to our students.

Once equipped with the generic and discipline-specific tools for carrying out research, you will pursue your particular research interests, supported by regular meetings with your supervisor and presentations and attendance at PhD/MPhil seminars.

Current research centres around: bilingualism and multilingualism; child language development; second language acquisition; psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics; sociolinguistics; cross-cultural pragmatics; discourse and conversation analysis; intercultural communication; language teaching; and translation theory.

Find out more about what it's like to be a PhD student by reading a PhD student blog.

We also have information about studying at Birkbeck and our PhD courses.

You will be given training in research methods, and will also have access to a wide range of generic research training courses offered by the College Research School and the Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network. You will also have the opportunity to present your work annually for discussion by fellow students and staff at seminars.

Find out more about the student support and facilities we offer.

The Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication was established in 1965, making it the first department in England to focus on the study of applied linguistics. It has contributed greatly to the field over the years and remains the only Department of Applied Linguistics in the University of London.

The department is an Institutional Member of the British Association of Applied Linguistics and an affiliated member of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA). It has ESRC (UK Economic and Social Research Council) and AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) recognition and houses the Centre for Multilingual and Multicultural Research, the International Journal of Bilingualism (published by Sage) and the online journal, Birkbeck Studies of Applied Linguistics.

The department has developed a distinctive academic identity and helped to redefine the field as a social science. It is not a department of conventional descriptive or theoretical linguistics, and does not engage in research and teaching of syntax, morphology, phonology, phonetics or linguistics of a particular language. Rather, it is concerned with real-life issues in which language and communication play a central role.

If you are considering applying for MPhil/PhD research in any of these areas, you are advised to contact the department about your research plan before making an application.

• Professor Jean-Marc Dewaele, LicPhilRom, LicDroitEurop&Internat, PhD: Second language acquisition; interlanguage; individual differences, multilingualism and emotion; sociopragmatics; psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics in foreign language production.
• Dr Malcolm Edwards, BA, PhD: Codeswitching and grammar; grammatical theory; translation; Arabic linguistics.
• Dr Penelope Gardner-Chloros, MA, MA, PhD: Bilingualism; sociolinguistics; sociolinguistics of French and modern Greek; codeswitching; language contact; tu/vous terms of address; comparisons between linguistics and history of art.
• Professor Li Wei, DipEd TESOL, BA, MA, PhD: Bilingual and multilingual first language acquisition; codeswitching; social networks and language change; applications of conversation analysis; East Asian philosophies and linguistics.
• Professor Marjorie Lorch, BA, PhD: Neurolinguistics; psycholinguistics; cross-linguistic studies of language use and language disorders; brain structure and language behaviour; nineteenth-century study of the language faculty.
• Dr Lisa J McEntee-Atalianis, BA, PhD: Aphasia; sign language/deaf studies and sociolinguistics; ethnolinguistic vitality; social psychological studies in Cyprus and the autochthonous Greek-Orthodox community of Istanbul; language policy and discourse practices in a London agency of the United Nations; sign language/deaf studies; sociolinguistics of the Greek diaspora; institutional/workplace discourse and identity; English as a global language.
• Dr Rosemary Wilson, BA, CertEd, RSA DipTESOL, MA, PhD: Language teaching methodology; language testing and assessment; learner autonomy; language teacher education; English for academic purposes.
• Professor Zhu Hua, BEng, MA, PhD: Cross-cultural pragmatics; intercultural communication; acquisition and development of pragmatics in young children; phonological awareness; cross-linguistic studies of phonological development and disorder.

All research students accepted will initially be registered as MPhil students, and transfer to PhD registration will normally take place when you have carried out a preliminary analysis of data. 

The department is committed to the promotion and publication of high-quality research. You will be expected to actively engage in the dissemination of your work via the departmental PhD seminars and at appropriate college, university, and external venues, such as the Birkbeck College Applied Linguistics Society, the British Association for Applied Linguistics meetings, and other forums. You will also be encouraged to publish work in appropriate journals and will be given guidance in doing so.

You will be required to present a seminar on your own research at least once a year. 

The progress of research students is monitored through an annual review, usually held in May or June. You will be required to present an annual report on the progress of your work and discuss your plans for completetion with your supervisors and the Chair of the Review Panel.

• You can apply at any time during the year. Entry months for the programme are October, January and April of each year.
• If you wish to apply for a scholarship, you will need to apply by certain deadlines. Consult the websites of relevant bodies for details.