Language and globalisation

Language and globalisation is a key topic in the Language and Literacies Research Cluster. Globalisation can be understood broadly as a set of major technological, political, economic, technological and socio-cultural changes which have intensified over recent decades and made the world more interconnected, both physically and virtually.

Questions we seek answers to include: How are issues around language and communication affected by processes of globalisation? What role do language and communication play in processes of globalisation? What is the relationship between globalisation and practices such as multilingualism and translanguaging? What discourses – ways of talking and writing about these issues – circulate in the public and private spheres? What can we learn about globalisation by looking at contemporary linguistic and communicative practices, including those involving the internet and social media? What new theories are needed – if any – to account for the complexity of communication in the globalised world?

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and an MA or research methods training at MA level (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

Potential research projects

• The role of English in non-English-dominant contexts
• Language policy and practice in a globalised world
• Language learning and multilingualism
• English for development purposes
• English in global knowledge production

Current/recent research projects

• The increasing role of English in global higher education, scholarship and science
• English-medium instruction in schools in Ghana and India
• Academic writing for publication in a global context
• English Studies in global higher education contexts

Potential supervisors

• Dr Korina Giaxoglou
• Dr Kristina Hultgren
• Dr Philip Seargeant
• Dr Prithvi Shrestha
• Dr Caroline Tagg

Fees and funding

PhD fees

Professional doctorate fees

Some of our research students are funded via the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership or The Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, and to see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, visit Fees and studentships.

Links

• School of Languages and Applied Linguistics