BSc Biology; MA English Language Teaching; PGCE FE

The primary focus of my role is to support the development of students’ academic writing and communication as part of the Academic Skills Programme (ASP) run by the Centre for Development of Academic Skills (CeDAS). I take a learning development approach, working alongside students to help them make sense of academic norms and practices so that they can make the most of higher education learning.

Since 2015 I have co-ordinated the embedded part of the ASP, developing partnerships between CeDAS and academic departments to support the teaching of academic skills within disciplines. I also work closely with the science faculty in my capacity as Science Faculty Liaison, mainly supporting students’ transition to undergraduate and postgraduate study.

Before my current role I taught on and led English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programmes, including leading Royal Holloway’s Pre-sessional English Language Programme for 4 years and teaching EAP at the Arts University in Bournemouth and at the University of Southampton. In my early career I was fortunate to live and work in both Japan and Brazil, experiences which shaped the direction of both my career and personal life.  

My role is teaching-focused and does not have a research component. However, where possible, I undertake scholarship to better understand the perspectives of the students I work with and the academic norms and practices of their disciplines. I am particularly interested in how students from different backgrounds experience, perceive and adapt to academic practices in higher education. More recently, I have sought to understand how universities are adapting the way they teach and support students in response to the changing nature of Higher Education in England, and the role of Third Space professionals in shaping this change.

I am a member of the European Association for Teachers of Academic Writing (EATAW), the Association of Learning Developers in Higher Education (ALDinHE), and the British Association for Lecturers of English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP), and have greatly benefited from participating in their respective academic communities and reading the research published in their journals. 

“Saving a Sinking Ship: how a Pre-sessional was redesigned to weather any storm” BALEAP biennial conference, University of Leicester, 17-19 April 2015