Newcastle University

Background

My first degree, MA in History at Cambridge, led to a varied career in politics and marketing until I retrained in TESOL in 1997. Moving to the North East in 2004 provided the chance to explore my classroom observations of individual variation in language learning from a more theoretical perspective through an MA, leading to a PhD with Vivian Cook and Martha Young-Scholten, on the role of working memory in language acquisition.

Qualifications

MA History, Cambridge University (1989)
MA Linguistics with Distinction, Newcastle University (2004-5)
PhD, Newcastle University (2006-2009)

Previous Positions

Lecturer, Brunel University Language Centre
Lecturer, Richmond American International University in London

Memberships

European Second Language Association (EuroSLA)
British Association of Applied Linguists (BAAL)

Languages

French, Italian, currently learning Mandarin

Research Interests

Second Language Acquisition and TESOL
Psycholinguistics, including Working Memory (WM)
Models of language learning
Effects of immersion on L2 grammatical accuracy and oral fluency
Reaction Time experiments

Current Work

CRiLLs funded projects on L2 oral fluency for international students and effects of interaction during study abroad.
Faculty funded project on Effects of Year Abroad for university learners of L2 Chinese
More details: newcastle.academia.edu/ClareWright

Research Roles

Deputy Director, CRiLLS (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/linguistics/)

Postgraduate Supervision

Supervising work on L2 development, including Cantonese/English and Arabic/English, L2 Turkish 

Funding

ESRC full studentship for PhD (2006-2009)

Projects

• L2 Oral fluency and effects of interaction
  Project Leader(s): Clare Wright

Postgraduate Teaching

Core Issues in SLA
Research Methods in Applied Linguistics
Pedagogic Grammar and Lexis

Task-based Language Learning

• Wright C. Investigating WM effects in SLA. Studia Linguistica 2014. In Preparation.
• Wright C. An investigation of working memory effects on oral grammatical accuracy and fluency in producing questions in English. TESOL Quarterly 2013, (epub ahead of print).
• Whong M, Wright C. Scope and research methodologies. In: Herschensohn, J., Young-Scholten, M, ed. Cambridge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013, pp.71-92.
• Wright C. Research in memory and processing in SLA. In: Wright, C; Young-Scholten, M; Piske, T, ed. Mind Matters in SLA. Multingual Matters, 2014. In Preparation.
• Wright C. “Why I still can’t questions?” – an investigation of formal and cognitive factors in L2 English question formation. In: Whong, M; Gil, K-H; Marsden, H, ed. Universal Grammar and the Second Language Classroom. Springer, 2013. Submitted.
• Wright C. Role of Working Memory in SLA: Factors affecting development in L2 English wh-questions. Saarbrucken: VDM Publishing, 2010.
• Wright C. Variation, asymmetry and Working Memory in the Process of Second Language Acquisition. In: Boston University Conference on Language Development. 2010, Boston, USA: Cascadilla Press.
• Wright C. The role of Working Memory in the development of L2 grammatical proficiency. In: Benati, AG, ed. Issues in Second Language Proficiency. London: Continuum, 2009, pp.45-60.
• Wright C. “I still can’t questions”: issues affecting EFL development in an immersion environment. Novitas-ROYAL journal for Research on Youth and Language 2009, 3(1), 1-13.
• Jeannet J, Wright C. The benefits of the staged approach to the Term Paper for Foundation level students. In: Blue, G, ed. Developing Academic Literacy. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2010, pp.113-124.
• Wright C. Diglossia and multilingualism - issues in language contact and language shift in the case of Hong Kong pre- and post-1997. Annual Review of Education, Communication and Language Sciences 2008, 5, 263-279.
• Wright C. Is interlanguage variation in complex CP structures predictable?. Proceedings of the Fourth University of Cambridge Postgraduate Conference in Language Research 2006, 277-284.
• Wright C, Schartner A, Young T. How does your multilingual interaction grow?. Journal of Research in International Education 2013. In Preparation.
• Wright C, Leung AHC, Lee CW. Testing the effects of a Year Abroad on L2 Chinese. Journal of Language Teaching and Research 2013. In Preparation.