Contact Details

natalie dot sharpling at warwick dot ac dot uk

Please contact me if you would like to arrange a video call.

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My Bio

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At Warwick, I am mainly involved in running specialist courses in English for Specific Purposes. My contract with the university is teaching-only, so I am not required to undertake research. However, I have published numerous articles in a wide range of linguistic, cultural, and sociological areas over the years, I am the Editor in Chief of ELTED (English Language Teacher Education and Development - www.elted.net), and have brought out several volumes of this journal. Other personal and professional areas of interest are in Mental Health and Well-being, Gender Identity, E-learning, and Widening Participation in Higher Education. Recent (2018) publications have involved an ethnographic account of the experiences of undertaking an on-line degree programme, and a study of writing assessors' rating behavior drawing on a psychometric approach. I am currently involved in two writing projects: one on humanistic forms of language assessment, and the other a reflective account of twenty years of EAP teaching. I am currently also jointly supervising the PhD of Kathryn Sidaway (Department of Applied Linguistics) entitled: 'Adult ESOL in the UK, Motivation, Summative Exam Impact and Washback'.

I hold a first class honours degree in Health & Social Care (Open University) as well as a wide variety of earlier Undergraduate, Postgraduate and teacher training qualifications in languages and teacher education. I have taught for over twenty-five years at the University of Warwick. In my earlier career, I worked at the University of Nantes (France) and at the University of Birmingham, as well as in a variety of schools, colleges, and training organizations both within the UK and France. I managed the Warwick English Language Test for ten years, and was the Director of Studies on the university's Pre-sessional English course for eight years, from 1999 to 2007. Along with these major roles of responsibility, I was the Internal Moderator for the English & Study Skills component of the Warwick International Foundation Programme for sixteen years, from 1999 to 2015.

Outside the classroom, I am a skilled language editor, having been involved in proofreading many academic books and peer-reviewed articles over the years, in subjects as diverse as law, economics, business, medicine, engineering and IT. I am also experienced in translation (mainly French to English) and have previously translated numerous scientific, medical, and historical texts for commercial audiences, as well as poetry and miscellaneous documents such as restaurant menus, CVs and death certificates.

Roles within Department

• Course Director for generic and specialist In-sessional English courses

Modules Taught

• Generic cross-university EAP courses
• Specific EAP and ESP courses across departments
• Academic writing for sciences (transferable skills certificate)
• Assessment in TESOL (within the Department of Applied Linguistics)