Dr Niall Curry

Photo of Niall

Dr Niall Curry FRSA SFHEA

Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics

I am an applied linguist, specialising in corpus linguistics, contrastive linguistics, discourse analysis, and language pedagogy.

My profile

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics within the Department of Languages, Information and Communications. I research and teach on a range of topics in Applied Linguistics, spanning contrastive linguistics, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, English-medium instruction, metadiscourse, parascientific, scientific, and academic communication, second language acquisition, systemic functional linguistics, TESOL, and translation. 

I am Co-Editor of the Routledge Applied Corpus Linguistics and Routledge Corpus Linguistics Guides book series, Section Editor of the Elsevier Encyclopaedia of Language and Linguistics, Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a member of the IVACS Advisory Board, and a Géras International Correspondent. 

I was a Visiting Professor at Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” 2023. 

I have been PI and Co-I on a number of research projects, funded by UKRI, King Sejong Institute Foundation, Institute of Coding, and the Cambridge Funded Research Programme, for example. ​See my projects page for more details.

In 2020, I completed my PhD at the University of Limerick, Ireland and, following that, worked at Cambridge University Press where I held the post of Senior Research Manager. In that role, I channelled research into practice by using and conducting research to inform the development of educational materials and resources for language learning. I then held the post of Assistant Professor at Coventry University before joining the department at MMU.

To get a sense of what my current research is all about, you can check out my publications and some of my online talks. Here is a talk I gave recently on the topic of corpus and contrastive linguistics ⬇️

Interests and expertise

Generally, I lecture and conduct research on a range of topics in applied linguistics, spanning contrastive linguistics, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, English-medium instruction, systemic functional linguistics, language pedagogies, metadiscourse, register studies, second language acquisition, TESOL, translation.

Currently, I am researching language relating to global crises and global issues. I am particularly interested in investigating how knowledge of these issues and crises are socially and discursively constructed across contexts, times, languages, and cultures with a view to understanding better how global issues vary across local contexts, and for international and local audiences. My areas of focus include (but are not limited to) issues such as climate, health, economics, and education.

In addition to this area of focus, I conduct research and teach on applied linguistics and TESOL related issues, spanning foci on register, genre, metadiscourse, materials development, and digital pedagogies. Currently, I am working on projects investigating spoken language representation in TESOL materials, and corpus linguistics for materials and assessment development.

If you are interested in studying with me, I can supervise students interested in:

  • contrastive linguistics;
  • corpus-based contrastive discourse approaches; 
  • corpus pragmatics approaches;
  • corpus studies for language teaching and materials development; 
  • disciplinary perspectives on language;
  • English-medium instruction;
  • genre and register analysis;
  • knowledge construction and knowledge across cultures;
  • language of global crises;
  • studies of academic discourse, para-scientific and scientific communication, media discourse, and online communication;
  • studies of evaluation, appraisal, and metadiscourse;
  • studies in language pedagogy; and
  • studies on technology, blended learning, and digital pedagogies.

Get in touch

Grosvenor East Building

Impact

I regularly engage in impact work to translate my research into practice. For example: 

  • Delta Qualification: My research has been used to validate the DELTA qualification for online delivery with Ofqual and QAA.
  • Equality and Inclusion Framework: My research has been used to facilitate the development of more inclusive language teaching materials at Cambridge University Press.
  • Digital Pedagogy Framework and Guidelines: My research has been used to facilitate the development of effective online teaching guidelines at Cambridge University Press and the Institute of Coding.
  • Educational Materials: My research has been used to inform coursebooks e.g. Evolve, Unlock, Talent, Mindset for IELTS, Empower and lesson plans e.g. Teenage and adult learners: developing conversation skills through collaborative activities.

Reports

Love, R., Brookes, G., & Curry, N. (2021). Reporting from “Corpora in Applied Linguistics: Broadening the Agenda”. BAAL News, 119 (Summer 2021). British Association for Applied Linguistics.

Projects

I have been awarded research funding for a number of projects, including: 

  • The King Sejong Institute Foundation | A Study for Mapping International Language Achievement Standards for the 2024 Sejong Korean language Assessment (SKA) | 2024 – 2025 | Co-Investigator
  • Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | Broadening the Scope of Data-driven Learning: A Multi-Site & Multi-Data Approach | 2024 – 2028 | Co-Investigator
  • The King Sejong Institute Foundation | A Study for Mapping International Language Achievement Standards for the 2023 Sejong Korean Assessment (SKA) | 2023  – 2024 | Co-Investigator 
  • UKRI UK-South Korea Collaborative Research and Development Fund | Meeting Future Challenges in Language Testing and Teaching: Building Teams, Setting Goals | 2022 – 2023 | Co-Investigator 
  • Cambridge University Press and Assessment Funded Research Programme | Evaluating the representation of spoken language in ELT materials | 2021 – 2023 | Principal Investigator
  • Institute of Coding Trends in Digital Skills | Opportunities and Barriers for Social and Engaged Learning in Digital Pedagogies: Towards Research Informed Guidelines | 2021 | Principal Investigator
  • Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | Identificación y Análisis De Las Estrategias Metadiscursivas En Artículos Científicos En Español E Ingles | 2019 – 2020 | Co-Investigator 
  • University of Limerick | Ph.D. Scholarship | 2015 – 2019 | Principal Investigator

Event Organisation

I have been involved in organising the following events:

  • Chair of the Teaching and Language Corpora Conference, 2024.
  • Lead organiser of the the BAAL Corpus Linguistics SIG symposium on Corpus Perspectives on Climate Discourses, 2024.
  • Co-organiser of the symposium on Transcending Boundaries: Fostering an Open Research-Teaching Dialogue in English Language Teaching (ELT), 2023.
  • Lead organiser of UKRI funded symposium Meeting Future Challenges in Language Testing and Teaching: Building Teams, Setting Goals 2, 2023.
  • Lead organiser of UKRI funded symposium Meeting Future Challenges in Language Testing and Teaching: Building Teams, Setting Goals 1, 2022.
  • Co-organiser of the BAAL/CUP symposium on Corpora in Applied Linguistics: Broadening the Agenda, 2021.
  • Lead organiser of, “AcWriMo2019 Twitter Chat”, a collaborative Twitter chat event between Coventry University and Cambridge University Press 2019.
  • Member of the organising committee for Online Language Learning Research Network conferences, 2017 – 2019.
  • Member of the organising committee for Irish Association of Applied Linguistics, 2017
  • Member of the organising committee for the International Symposium on Bilingualism, 2017.
  • Lead organiser of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Postgraduate Research Community Seminars, 2016 – 2017.

Research outputs

I conduct research on a range of topics in applied linguistics, spanning contrastive linguistics, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, English-medium instruction, language pedagogies, metadiscourse, parascientific, scientific, and academic communication, register studies, TESOL, translation. See selected publications below. 

Below you can find a list of my selected plenaries and invited talks, details on my editorial work, and a list of my selected publications. 

Selected Plenaries 

Curry, N. (2024). Critical perspectives on blended TESOL. First Conference on ELT. University of Nizwa, Oman.

Curry, N. (2023). Investigating publisher, assessment developer, and teacher application of corpus research to ELT materials and assessment development. Joint International ELT Conference in Korea, Republic of Korea. 

Curry, N. (2022). Meeting future challenges in language testing and teaching: Building teams, setting goals. Korean Association of Teachers of English, Republic of Korea.

Curry, N. (2022). Teaching language and life competences: Communication and collaboration. TESOL Kuwait, Kuwait.

Curry, N. (2021). Corpus linguistics for ELT. IATEFL Poland, Poland

Curry, N. (2021). Corpus linguistics: What is it and how can it help with English language teaching and learning? Insights on Demand Conference, UK.

Curry, N. (2020). Developing learners as global citizens: Embracing distance learning in language education. Across Cultures: Intercultural Communication in a Borderless World, Romania.

Curry, N. (2020). Addressing a unique language learning challenge: Language learning anxieties and virtual classrooms. Cambridge Day Brazil, Brazil.

Curry, N. (2020). Speaking to the screen: Overcoming challenges in developing conversation skills in virtual contexts. Cambridge at Home Experience, UK.

Curry, N. (2020). Developing the critical thinking skills our students need to be effective global citizens for the future. Congress of Methodologists, Poland.

Curry, N. (2019). Strategies for overcoming obstacles to language learning success. Cambridge Day Mexico, Mexico.

Selected Invited Talks 

Curry, N. (2024). Questioning the climate crisis. BAAL Corpus SIG Symposium: Corpus perspectives on crisis discourse. Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. 

Curry, N. (2023). Unpacking climate crisis discourses across cultures: A contrastive corpus-assisted discourse analysis. Portsmouth University, UK.

Curry, N. (2022). A corpus-based contrastive discourse analysis of (para)scientific texts on climate change? Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Sciences. Lancaster University, UK.

Curry, N. (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic: A global phenomenon with a shared understanding? BAAL 2022 Executive Committee Invited Colloquium. Queen’s University, UK.

Curry, N. (2022). Corpus-based contrastive linguistics, metadiscourse, and the multilingual academy: Methodological and analytical perspectives, Masterclass/In Conversation with Tony McEnery, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China.

Curry, N. (2022). Teaching language and life competences: A focus on communication and collaboration. International Conference on Education and Teaching, Iraq.

Curry, N. (2021). Corpus linguistics: What is it and how can it help with English language teaching and learning? Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.

Curry, N. (2021). Understanding Spanish and English academic writing styles. Escribir Ciencia en Inglés. Escribir con Claridad at the University of Murcia, Spain.

Curry, N. (2021). Corpus-based contrastive analysis and reader engagement in academic writing: Methodological and analytical perspectives. UCREL, Lancaster University, UK.

Curry, N. (2020). Using AntConc to analyse academic language. IVACS PhD Summer School, Ireland.

Editorial Roles

Series Co-Editor, with Anne O’Keeffe, for Routledge Applied Corpus Linguistics Series, since 2023. 

Series Co-Editor, with Anne O’Keeffe, for Routledge Corpus Linguistics Guides Series, since 2023.

Section Editor for the “Discourse, Genre, and Conversation Analysis” sections of the Elsevier Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 2021 – 2026.

Managing Editor for the Journal of Academic Writing, 2019 – 2023.

Editor of the Cambridge Papers in ELT, 2017 – 2019.

Editor of the OLLReN Research Reviews, 2017 – 2019.

Editorial Board Memberships

Member of the Scientific Committee on the International Journal of English Studies, since 2022.

Member of the Scientific Committee on the Journal of Computer-Assisted Linguistic Research, since 2022.

Access to Research 

You can find digital access to my publications below. If you have difficulty accessing them, you can also find links to PDFs on my website, here: https://niallcurry.com/publications/

Press and media

I regularly engage with communities outside of academia when communicating about my work. For example: