Welcome to CLER
Centre for Language Education Research
CLER is committed to understanding the role of language education in building inclusive, engaged and sustainable communities. We research with people of diverse linguistic, cultural and social backgrounds and practices to make a difference to their lives.
Professor Maggie Kubanyiova, CLER Director
Language education happens in any setting in which people of diverse linguistic, educational, cultural or social biographies communicate with one another through spoken, written or multimodal interaction. Much of this exchange happens in settings of formal education; in classrooms, schools, higher education institutions, digital platforms or adult education centres in which language instruction is a primary goal. But language education concerns are also relevant outside of formal education, when people learn to negotiate, honour or resolve their differences in their daily lives; in school yards, university residence halls, families, museums, galleries, churches, orchestra rehearsals, cafes, sports halls, village fairs or city markets. CLER is interested in investigating the role of language and its educational consequences for people and communities in all these settings.
Our work is interdisciplinary (theoretically and methodologically, we draw on disciplines across social sciences and arts & humanities), collaborative (we work with diverse stakeholders in the educational, arts and public sectors), and has a global reach (our research and impact work spans Armenia, Cameroon, China, Chile, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Slovakia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and many others).
Our current research programme focuses on two overarching themes: language and inclusive society and language and engaging pedagogies in linguistically and culturally diverse settings. Find out more about each theme below.
Language and inclusive society
CLER seeks to understand the role, practices and ethical consequences of language education in building inclusive, socially engaged and sustainable societies. We draw on extensive global networks to conduct research into accessible education, public service provision and outreach work of the cultural and civil society sectors that honour linguistic, cultural and biosocial diversity of communities. Through our focus on language, we seek to address challenges of social cohesion, civic engagement and environmental awareness. Our funded research positions this work in the global arena and at the interface of linguistics, education, sociology, psychology, philosophy, arts, medical humanities and others. Our impact activity informs the development of inclusive pedagogies, practices and policies in relation to language education, language teacher education, public communication, local governance and community outreach.
We welcome inquiries from researchers interested in collaborating with us, prospective research partners in the educational, public, NGO or arts sectors, and prospective PhD researchers.
To find out more about CLER members’ specific research interests and projects, browse our funded research projects, staff and research library pages.
For more information, contact Prof Maggie Kubanyiova, CLER Director.
Language and engaging pedagogies in linguistically and culturally diverse settings
CLER studies children’s, young people’s and adults’ interactions, language learning and literacy practices in multilingual societies and across diverse social institutions and contexts of meaning making. Our research informs the development of engaging, critical and inclusive language pedagogies, shapes the language teacher education knowledge base, and influences contemporary discourses and policies on linguistic and cultural diversity, language education, language teacher education, intercultural communication and language assessment. CLER members have been at the forefront of these fields of research in the UK and internationally, through their empirical research and through their contributions to theory building and policy. We work in different research sites nationally and internationally, in primary and secondary schools, in FE and HE institutions, in local neighbourhoods, workplaces, and arts organisations. Our work draws on diverse theoretical and methodological strands of educational linguistics, language pedagogy, language teacher education, corpus linguistics, linguistic ethnography, cognitive linguistics, multimodal discourse analysis, conversation analysis, research synthesis and quantitative experimental designs.
We welcome inquiries from researchers interested in collaborating with us, prospective research partners in the educational, public, NGO or arts sectors, and prospective PhD researchers.
To find out more about CLER members’ specific research interests and projects, browse our funded research projects, staff and research library pages.
For more information, contact Prof Maggie Kubanyiova, CLER Director.
Recent Funded Projects
- ETHER: Ethics and Aesthetics of Encountering the Other (AHRC), PI: Maggie Kubanyiova
- Early Education for Young Deaf Children and their Caregivers in Ghana (British Academy GCRF), PI: Ruth Swanwick
- The Linguistic Challenges of the Transition from Primary to Secondary School (ESRC), PI: Alice Deignan; Co-Is: Gary Chambers, Michael Inglis
- Comm4CHILD: Communication for Children with Hearing Impairment to Optimise Language Development (EU Horizon 2020), Co-I: Ruth Swanwick
- Translating Science for Young People (AHRC), Co-I: Alice Deignan
- The predictive validity of IELTS for postgraduate studies: assessment, teaching and learning in the TLU domain (British Council/IELTS), PI: Huahui Zhao; Co-I: Yen Dang
- The state of English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) in Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia (British Council), PI: Martin Lamb; Co-I: Harry Kuchah
- The introduction, implementation and impact of new assessment criteria across disciplines at Leeds 2018-19 (LITE Fellowship), PI: Huahui Zhao
- Translation and translanguaging: Investigating linguistic and cultural transformations in superdiverse wards in four UK cities (AHRC), Co-Is: Mike Baynham, James Simpson
Examples of Impact and Community Engagement
- Covid-19: Language Teachers’ Lives in Global Lockdown. CLER-curated narratives of language teachers from around the globe. Read a selection of CLER-authored blog posts here.
- Covid-19 and Teaching English in Difficult Circumstances, with TELCnet
- Decentering ELT. A webinar series, with Hornby Trust and Africa TESOL.
- Harry Kuchah shares his research on language (teacher) education and social justice in the context of Covid-19.