Helena Wall
Profile
I am a doctoral researcher in Applied Linguistics (2018-2023). My research interests include oracy education and assessment, mLearning and blended learning, human-AI interaction, embodiment and (digital) space and place.
Alongside my PhD, I have worked as a research assistant for the Department of Computer Science investigating AI techniques in eLearning (2019-2020) and for the Joint Council and Senate Advisory Group (2019). I also work as Project Officer for the Migration, Identity, and Translation Network (MITN) (2019-present). My volunteer roles include Cluster Leader of the Space, Place, and the City MITN research cluster (2020-present) and Group Leader in 'Education and Integration' for the Coventry City of Culture Resonate FestivalLink opens in a new window.
Outside Warwick, I am a peer reviewer for Computers & Education (Elsevier), and Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research (Monash-Warwick Alliance).
I achieved a First Class (Hons) in BA Language, Culture and Communication at the Centre for Applied Linguistics (2015-2018), before progressing straight to PhD (2018-2023). I designed and conducted a number of assessed research projects within my degree course.
Alongside my degree, I conducted two separate research projects on mobile technology use in face-to-face interaction in group learning and other social contexts, for which I was granted competitive funding from the Undergraduate Research Support Scheme (URSS).
In addition, I collaborated within a student-led team to design and deliver the Research Skills Hub, a research skills eLearning resource for Warwick students consisting of a series of interactive webinars, for which we were granted competitive funding from the Warwick International Higher Education Academy
Through these undergraduate projects, I gained my first experiences exploring challenges and enablers in HE pedagogy. These experiences inspired my interest in pedagogy and have informed my teaching practices in designing and delivering module seminars and professional development workshops to students of all levels alongside my PhD. These projects also enabled me to develop my research skills commensurate to Masters degree level, on which basis I was approved to progress straight from BA to PhD.
Current Research
My PhD research explores the assessment of oracy (skills in spoken language) in children aged 4-6. My thesis generates a conceptualisation of oracy as the negotiation of embodied interactional norms and makes recommendations for the design of oracy assessment resources for use by teachers in the classroom.
Publications
Wall, H. H. (fc). Negotiating boundaries in the classroom. Article for Journal of Pragmatics
Wall, H. H. (2020), Early years oracy assessment: Developing an assessment for implementation in classroom settings. Extended Abstracts from BAAL 2019. https://www.mmu.ac.uk/education/baal/highlights-from-baal-2019/
Wall, H. H. (2019), 'Perceptions of Professional Competence in the Context of an Office-Based Workplace', Reinvention: an International Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume 12, Issue 1, https://reinventionjournal.org/article/view/429/386
Conference Presentations
20 conference and seminar presentations, including;
- EUTOPIA Multilingualism and Diversity Linguistic Landscaping Workshop, Cergy Paris Université (2021)
- Applied Linguistics Seminar Series, University of Warwick (2021)
- Higher Education Academy Annual Conference, University of Manchester (2017)
Undergraduate Research Supervision
- 'Linguistic barriers to refugee integration in England', URSS
- 'Investigating language learning during Covid-19', Undergraduate Research Cluster, MITN
- 'The linguistic representation of spirituality in Glastonbury Experience Courtyard', Undergraduate Research Cluster, MITN
Teaching
- Intercultural Training, Student Opportunity (2019-present)
- Warwick/Shanghai Jiao Tong University Global Challenge (2022)
- Research Methods, PhD Applied Linguistics (2020)
- Research Methods, MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (2020)
- Research Methods, MSc Intercultural Communication for Business and the Professions (2019-2020)
- Capital Normal University Doctoral Development Programme (2019)
- Intercultural Pragmatics at Work, Hong Kong Open University Summer School in Intercultural Pragmatics (2019)
