Dr Vander Viana (SFHEA)

Senior Lecturer

Biography

Background

I joined the University of Edinburgh as a Senior Lecturer in Language Education in January 2023.  Before then I held appointments at three UK universities: Teaching Assistant at Queen’s University Belfast (Northern Ireland), Lecturer at the University of Stirling (Scotland), and Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia (England).  These appointments have provided me with wide first-hand knowledge of the UK higher education sector.

I have extensive experience of language teaching in several educational contexts and of teacher education at university level.  I started my career as a language teacher, delivering classes on English as a foreign language to students of different ages (from young learners to seniors), at diverse proficiency levels (from complete beginners to advanced ones), in a range of contexts (e.g. primary/secondary/tertiary levels, language institutes), and for different purposes (e.g. general, specific and academic).  I then moved on to higher education and have extensive experience of both face-to-face and online teaching/learning.  I have worked in Schools of English and Education, and I have a range of teaching/research interests in English language, Applied Linguistics and Education (e.g. corpus linguistics, data-driven learning, Teaching English to speakers of other languages, English for academic purposes, language teacher education and academic/pedagogical discourse analysis).  I have delivered guest lectures on my areas of expertise in several countries (e.g. Germany, Hungary and Japan), and I have been invited to teach postgraduate courses in countries such as Brazil and Ukraine.

I have always pro-actively engaged in continuous professional development and have successfully supported the continuous professional development of colleagues.  I am a Senior Fellow of Advance HE (formerly known as Higher Education Academy), and I was a mentor/evaluator of the Stirling Framework Evidencing Learning and Teaching Enhancement (SFELTE) from its inception.

Qualifications

Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (University of Stirling, 2017)

PhD in English Language and Linguistics (Queen’s University Belfast, 2012)

MA in Language Studies (Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, 2008)

BA in English Language/Literature and Education (State University of Rio de Janeiro, 2005)

Responsibilities & affiliations

I have held numerous leadership posts during my career.  I was responsible for the development, implementation and directorship of the PhD in TESOL Research during my time at the University of Stirling and of the Language in Education Research Group during my appointment at the University of East Anglia.  I have represented both universities in their doctoral training partnerships: I was the Education Pathway Representative in the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science and the South East Network for the Social Sciences.

I have also been involved in several activities at other universities - both in the United Kingdom (UK) and beyond.  These have included the external examination of several Master’s dissertations (e.g. Federal University of Minas Gerais and São Paulo State University - both in Brazil) and doctoral theses (e.g. De Monfort University - UK, Queen’s University Belfast - UK, and University of Limerick - Ireland).  I have also been involved in the validation of program proposals (e.g. the Professional Doctorate in Applied Linguistics at York St John University) and the external examination of programs (e.g. Master's programs in TESOL at the University of Glasgow  - UK, and the MPhil in ELT at Trinity College Dublin - Ireland).  I am currently an external examiner for the MA TESOL at the University of Central Lancashire.

I have had a pro-active engagement in numerous learned/professional associations over the years (e.g. I was the first student representative of the International Society for the Empirical Study of Literature - IGEL - and the co-founder of the Corpus Linguistics in Scotland - CLiS).  Since 2019, I am an elected member of the Executive Committee of the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL), being responsible for the Association's researcher development workshops and its seminars, which are jointly organized with Cambridge University Press.  I am also a member of the main associations in my teaching/research areas such as the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP), International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL), and TESOL International Association.

Postgraduate teaching

I work with students in a range of Master's programs  at Moray House School of Education and Sport.  My teaching is primarily aimed at students in the MSc Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), MSc Language Education and MSc Language and Intercultural Communication.  In the 2022-23 academic year, I am the module organizer and one of the tutors for "Online language learning" (EDUA11212).  I also teach "Conceptualizing research: Foundations, assumptions and praxis" (REDU11045) and "Teaching languages to young learners" (EDUA11347).

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

I welcome inquiries from prospective doctoral students who wish to research a topic related to one of my areas of expertise - e.g. Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), English for academic purposes (EAP), corpus linguistics, data-driven learning, language teacher education, and academic/pedagogical discourse analysis.

Current PhD students supervised

  • Qianhui Sun: "Data-driven learning and tasked-based language teaching for low-level learners: Exploring students' and teachers' attitudes" (provisional thesis title) / second supervisor: Dr Kenneth Fordyce
  • Yilan Xu: "A mixed-method investigation into the academic writing difficulties of Chinese overseas postgraduate students" (provisional thesis title) / second supervisor: Dr Sal Consoli

Past PhD students supervised

  • Emi Kobayashi: "Learning to teach English as a foreign language in Japan: A linguistic ethnographic study of post-observation feedback conferences" / co-supervisor: Prof Fiona Copland / University of Stirling, 2021.
  • Ming Ni: "Chinese Master's students' translanguaging practices in the UK classroom: A linguistic ethnographic study" / co-supervisor: Prof Fiona Copland / University of Stirling, 2021

  • Jean Michel Pimentel Rocha: "Tradução de fraseologismos metafóricos do português para o inglês: Um estudo de corpus de aprendizes brasileiros" / first supervisor: Dr Adriane Orenha-Ottaiano / State University of São Paulo & University of East Anglia, 2020

  • James Hall: "A linguistic ethnography of learning to teach English in Japanese junior high schools" / co-supervisor: Prof Fiona Copland / University of Stirling, 2017

Research summary

My main research interests are in the fields of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), English for academic purposes (EAP), corpus linguistics, data-driven learning, language teacher education and academic/pedagogical discourse analysis.

I have secured nearly £400k from prestigious funders (e.g. British Academy, British Council) for projects in which I was the PI, and even more for projects in which I was a co-investigator.  I am experienced in working with colleagues in large interdisciplinary teams, contributing with my expertise in language and discourse analysis to projects in areas such as Architecture, Biology, and Environmental Sciences.  I have also successfully supported early-career researchers in securing funding for research under my supervision.

My research contribution to the field includes (i) publications in international journals and edited books as well as (ii) academic reviews of journal paper submissions and book manuscripts.  With regard to the former, one of my books – Perspectives on Corpus Linguistics – has had a Chinese edition commissioned by one of the main publishers in Applied Linguistics in that country.  In relation to the latter, I am an editorial board member of, for instance, Corpus Pragmatics and the Brazilian Journal of Applied Linguistics, and I have peer reviewed submissions to several international journals (e.g. System, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, The Curriculum Journal).  I have also been invited to evaluate book proposals and full manuscripts by international publishers such as Cambridge University Press, Routledge and Wiley Blackwell.

I have supervised both PhD students and early-career researchers to successful completion, and I have supported numerous colleagues with their academic writing over the years.

Project activity

I have secured nearly £400k from prestigious funders (e.g. British Academy, British Council) for projects in which I was the PI, and even more for projects in which I was a co-investigator.  I am experienced in working with colleagues in large interdisciplinary teams, contributing with my expertise in language and discourse analysis to projects in areas such as Architecture, Biology and Environmental Sciences.  I have also conducted numerous consultancy projects for a range of stakeholders in a range of countries (e.g. Brazil and Cuba).

Current project grants

2021-23: “Gender-ing ELT: International perspectives, practices and policies” (British Council's Widening Participation Grant / £212,959)
PI for this international research project which aims to examine the contribution of English language education to United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Funded by a British Council Widening Participation Grant, the project takes place in 10 countries eligible to receive official development assistance (Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Morocco, Philippines, Ukraine and Vietnam) and involves several academic and non-academic stakeholders.

2022-23: “Plugging future teachers into technology as a way of addressing education inequalities” (British Academy's Seed Funding / £5,000)
PI for this research project, which has been awarded seed funding by the British Academy. This collaborative project involving colleagues in the UK and Italy aims at researching the use of technology (more specifically, corpus linguistics) in primary-school teacher education as a way of reducing educational inequalities in the UK and Italy.

Past project grants

2021-26: PI – “LIT [Language, Interculturality and Technology] Educational Hub: Enhancing the student experience of the digital university in the UK, China and BRI countries” (British Council's Going Global Partnership / £65,000)
2020-21: UK-based PI – “Corpus linguistics & education research for development: Building researcher capacity in an international landscape” (Newton Fund Researcher Links Workshop Grant / £38,380)
2018-19: UK-based PI – “Sharpening academic writing skills: Journal papers and funding bids” (British Academy's Writing Workshop Program / £19,983)
2016-18: Co-I – “Digital data-driven learning and teaching: Making best use of corpora for English language teaching” (British Council's ELT Research Award / £5,000)
2015-17: PI – “Quantitative language research: Exploring the potential of corpus linguistics in education” (British Academy's Skills Innovator Award / £14,994)
2015-17: Co-I – “Master’s programmes in ELT: A survey of UK provision and student experiences” (British Council's ELT Research Award / £16,804)
2015-16: UK-based PI – “Corpus linguistics and teacher education: New perspectives for Brazilian pre-service teachers of English to speakers of other languages” (British Academy's Newton Advanced Fellowship / £32,665)

View all 91 publications on Research Explorer

Conference details

I have participated in more than 240 events, delivered over 150 presentations and organized approximately 40 events.  The events with which I have engaged vary in nature: from local to international ones, from events aimed at teachers to those aimed at researchers, from small events to large conferences, from events aimed at initial professional development to those contributing to continuous professional development.

Invited speaker

I have been invited to present at several events, some of the most recent ones are listed below.

  • 2022 | Plenary speaker at the 5th Kyiv and Białystok Conference on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics: "Variation in English for academic purposes: Lessons from corpus linguistics"
  • 2022 | Invited speaker at Beijing Wuzi University: "Academic writing in English: From theory to practice"
  • 2021 | Plenary speaker at the 15th Meeting of Corpus Linguistics in Brazil: "Linguística de corpus e a investigação dos usos multifacetados do inglês para fins acadêmicos"
  • 2021 | Panel member at the Chinese Educational Research Association (CERA) Conference: "Sustainable development in English language education: Researching gender matters across countries" (with Dr Aisling O'Boyle)
  • 2021 | Invited speaker at the seminar series entitled International Perspectives on Corpus Technology for Language Learning: "The interface between corpus linguistics and English for academic purposes: What, how and why?"
  • 2019 | Invited speaker at the Bilingual Education Forum:  "Educação bilíngue e a aprendizagem ao longo da vida"
  • 2019 | Invited speaker at the event entitled Public Policies for Bilingual Education: "A formação de professores no contexto da educação bilíngue: Desafios e oportunidades"
  • 2019 | Invited speaker at the Scottish Association for the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language: "Learning (about) English: How can you benefit from online corpora"
  • 2019 | Invited speaker at the University of Glasgow: "Master's in ELT: What do students in the UK wish for?"

Organiser

I have organized numerous events aimed at teachers, teacher educators, researchers and/or professionals.  For example, I was the co-chair of the 2nd Latin-American Congress of Language Teacher Education at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, which was attended by more than 600 researchers; and the 1st Interdisciplinary Linguistics Conference (ILinC) at Queen's University Belfast, which had Prof. Deborah Cameron, Prof. Michael Halliday and Prof. Ruqaiya Hasan as its plenary speakers.

I have been succeeded in securing support from some of the main funders to organize relevant events for the development of early-career researchers (ECRs) in my field.  In 2021, I organized a bilateral week-long workshop with UK-based and Brazil-based ECRs in corpus linguistics entitled "Corpus linguistics & education research for development: Building research capacity in an international landscape", supported by a Newton Fund Researcher Links Workshop Grant.  In 2018, I was awarded funding from the British Academy to hold two academic writing workshops ("Sharpening academic writing skills: Journal papers and funding bids") for ECRs in Applied Linguistics and Education in Brazil.

Papers delivered

I have delivered over 150 papers throughout my career in numerous events aimed at researchers (e.g. Annual Meeting of the British Association for Applied Linguistics - BAAL, American Association for Applied Linguistics - AAAL - Conference, World Congress of Applied Linguistics) as well as practitioners (e.g. IATEFL International Conference, Annual International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials Exhibition - JALT).

More video

In the press

My work has been featured in the media, and I have been interviewed for local/national broadsheets and radios as exemplified below.

  • My research consultancy for the British Council on English language teaching and English language teacher education in Brazil has been extensively covered in the media in that country - i.e. it was covered in more than 30 different news outlets, including Folha de São Paulo, one of the main broadsheets in the country.
  • The Gender-ing ELT research project, which I led, was featured in broadsheets in Banten Raya (Indonesia) and the Manilla Times (the Philippines).
  • I was interviewed for Central FM (Scotland) for my innovative teaching placement at the University of Stirling.
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