My name is Dr Khawla Badwan and I am a Reader in TESOL and Applied Linguistics. I also teach on postgraduate modules including ‘Language in a Globalised World’ and ‘Language, Culture and Communication’.

My achievements include previously winning the Richard Pemberton Prize at the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) annual conference in 2015, for best postgraduate paper. I have also been the keynote speaker at several events, including the 2022 conference on Social Justice in Language Classrooms and Teacher Education (Dortmund University, Germany), and the 2022 Postgraduate Forum on Applied Linguistics (York St. John University, UK).

I am currently working on two projects that explore innovative ways for re-thinking language and literacy in education. They hold significance in the study of linguistics, and have contributed to opening new concepts for understanding language as a lived and embodied social practice that is dynamic, fluid, overlapping, post-human and always in the making.

My research has contributed to opening new concepts for understanding language as a lived and embodied social practice that is dynamic, fluid, overlapping, post-human and always in the making.

What are the themes of your current research project?

My first project is called ‘Voices of the Future’, which is an interdisciplinary project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. My second one is called ‘School Children Exploring Language and Literacy in Society’, which is pioneering a sociolinguistic movement called ‘Children’s Sociolinguistics’. I am also one of the co-investigators on the ‘Voices of the Future’ project, and the principal investigator on the ‘Children’s Sociolinguistics’ project.

How do your projects relate to postgraduate study?

All the projects that I have been involved with have either been inspired by classroom discussions or featured in my research-informed teaching. Content from my current projects also feature in two postgraduate modules: ‘Language in a Globalised World’ and ‘Language, Culture and Communication’.

All the projects that I have been involved with have either been inspired by classroom discussions or have been featured in my research-informed teaching.

How does your research influence the study of linguistics as a whole?

My research allows me to explore and bring together my research interests, which include; communication, literacy debates, decoloniality, language education, language and sustainability, language and social justice, language and identity, and sociolinguistics of globalisation. My work on ‘languaging’, ‘hopeful literacies’, ‘language and social justice’ and ‘reimagining voice in research assemblages’ is relevant to various subject areas including applied linguistics, education, childhood studies, sociology, human geography and eco-linguistics.

How can students get involved with research projects?

Students can get involved in many ways, including applying to become research assistants, who play an important role in developing research tools, collecting and analysing data, and organising project-related events. Students can also be mentored to develop their own follow-up projects for their dissertations or assignments. Many students have used the conceptual and methodological tools that I’ve used and developed in my research, and applied them to different contexts and settings, generating new findings.

I also work with different partners including primary schools, and am happy to support ways of connecting students to help them build connections.

Research assistants play an important role in developing research tools, collecting and analysing data, and organising project-related events. Students can also be mentored to develop their own follow-up projects for their dissertations or assignments.

Find out more about MA Applied Linguistics.