Dr Natalie Donohue

Whilst studying my undergraduate degree of TESOL with a Modern Language, I discovered a love for both teaching and research and since graduating in 2012, I have endeavoured to continue my practice and development in both. I have consistently worked an English language teacher since then, in Japan, Turkey, the UK, and Norway. I completed a distance part-time MA in TESOL and Applied Linguistics whilst teaching in Japan and Turkey before returning home to Edinburgh to study a full-time MSc in Educational Research in 2015.

I began studying an ESRC-funded PhD at the School of Education in 2016, focusing on the motivation and self-efficacy of novice English language teachers who had completed a short-initial teaching education course. Before the pandemic hit, Hillary Place became a second home and I was very lucky to have an excellent group of office-mates! I obtained my PhD in 2021 and my thesis is entitled: What factors influence the motivation and self-efficacy levels of novice EFL teachers?

As well as being a doctoral researcher, I have had a number of additional roles across the University. Within the School of Education, I was a postgraduate teaching assistant on several undergraduate modules as well as being a pastoral mentor for students studying on the MA TESOL Studies degree. Between 2018 and 2020, I acted as an Education Outreach Fellow, visiting schools and giving presentations to encourage students to consider a future career in education. Additionally, I taught on the pre-sessional programmes at the Language Centre for several years, starting off in General English before moving in English for Academic Purposes the following year. This then subsequently led to me becoming a Lecturer in EAP on the International Foundation Programme for a year before I moved to Norway in 2020 to begin my current role as Assistant Professor in English Language and Didactics at Volda University College. Here, I primarily work on the teacher training programme, delivering lectures to students who will become future primary and secondary school teachers in Norway.

Without a doubt, the experiences I gained in the School and the University helped pave the way to my current career track and I am very grateful for the opportunities – including being part of CLER – which I have had. I look forward to continuing to be an active member of CLER!

Research interests
My primary research interests lie in language teacher motivation, self-efficacy, and well-being, although I am also interested in developing additional research within the wider field of teacher education.

Qualifications
PhD in Education (2021)
FHEA (2020)
AFHEA (2019)
MSc. Education Research (2016)
MA TESOL and Applied Linguistics (2015)
BA (Hons) TESOL with a Modern Language (Japanese) (2012)

LinkedIn Account:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-a-donohue-b11099232/

Volda University College Staff Page:
https://www.hivolda.no/tilsette/institutt-sprak-og-litteratur/natalie-ann-donohue