Thomas Snell

  • Email: t.snell@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 6379
  • Address: Language Centre
    Old Library Building
    Newcastle University
    NE1 7RU

Background

I grew up in Appleby (Cumbria) before coming to study Modern Languages (French and German) at Newcastle University where I went on to complete a research-based Master of Letters degree in French Literature (specializing in French-Canadian texts). I have also lived in Paris (France) and Saarbrücken (Germany) where I taught English in both a French primary school and a German secondary school. I have travelled extensively throughout Europe and the Americas, including a month living amongst a Shuar community in the Amazon Rainforest (Ecuador) and two months backpacking across Canada from Quebec to Vancouver. It was through experiences such as these that I became engaged with Aboriginal issues and developed a keen interest in Canadian cultural and literary study.

Qualifications

2005: B.A.hons. Modern Languages (French and German), Newcastle University.

2007: M.Litt. French Literature, Newcastle University.

ITIL v3 Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management.  

Registered PRINCE2 Practitioner (Candidate number: P2R/878430)

Memberships

I am a member of the:

Honours and Awards

2011: Newcastle University's Spotlight Award

2008: Prix du Quebec (awarded by the Quebec Government Office in London)

Languages

English, French, German, Spanish, Latin.

Informal Interests

sports, music, gardening, photography, backpacking expeditions/travel, environmentalism and sustainable development projects, aboriginal issues, the internet, new media and social networking.

Research Interests

I work on Computer-Assisted Language Learning; the use of the internet for language education; and, Online Education and Training methods. I am particularly interested in the support of independent and autonomous language learning methods as well as approaches to blended learning.

Currently I am testing the benefits of an Auralog TELL ME MORE® E-Learning package (for French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and English), which we are piloting on: three levels of undergraduate students in the School of Modern Languages; a class of EFL students at INTO Newcastle; and, selected individuals enrolled with the University’s Staff Development Unit.

I also oversee the materials, E-Activity, and outreach for http://www.universed.co.uk/ (a web-based repository of language resources for students) and linguacast.ncl.ac.uk (a podcast language learning site with original materials made at Newcastle University) as well as organizing the linguacast project's French, German, Spanish and Chinese Lesson Pack contributions to www.teacherstoolkit.org.uk (a resource-bank of interactive exercises, lesson plans, images, videos and events for teachers). All three of these web-based projects contain a wealth of material that engages an interest in foreign language learning and assists with the teaching of languages in secondary education. 

In this area, I have advanced knowledge of: Auralog TELL ME MORE®;  SANAKO Software products; CHILDES (Child Language Data Exchange System) tools including CHAT (Codes for the Human Analysis of Transcripts); Camtasia Studio; Photoshop; Blackboard 9.1; Podcasting; Clarity Study Skills Success; VEKTOR Foundations; and, the pedagogical uses of blogs, wikis, online discussion forums and social networking websites.

Other Expertise

I am also interested in cultural studies with a specific focus on the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. I am currently working on a Ph.D. thesis that examines hegemonic identifications of Aboriginal figures within Canada’s contemporary francophone literature at the end of the twentieth century (1975 – 2005). My research explores literary representations of aboriginal peoples' identifications and subalternity with particular focus on the significances of: voices and vocalisations; journeys, time and space; conceptions of nature and culture; and, posthumanism.

Research Roles

I am the current convenor of the British Association for Canadian Studies' Aboriginal Studies Circle (a special interest group with the remit to further the study of Canada's aboriginal-related issues).

Esteem Indicators

2010: Chaired a BACS specialist panel on Canada's historic Indian residential school settlement with keynote speakers Kathleen Mahoney (AFN Lead negotiator) and Phil Fontaine (former three-term National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations) at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge.

2008: Selected to represent the European Network for Canadian Studies (ENCS) at the Seminario Interuniversitario de Estudios Canadienses (SEMINECAL) in Salvador, Brazil.

Current Projects

Linguacast/Universed Project 
Project Leader(s): Andrew Grenfell

M-Lingua Project 
Project Leader(s): Thomas Snell & Andrew Grenfell

Games Online for Basic Language Learning 
Project Leader(s): Scott Windeatt

Teachers' Toolkit 
Project Leader(s): Simon Laing 

Funding

My doctoral research was match-funded by the following awards:

  • Foundation for Canadian Studies in the United Kingdom Doctoral Studentship.
  • Alumni Fund Bursary, Newcastle University

Industrial Relevance

I am a Registered PRINCE2 Practitioner with experience of running projects and using IT. I have done a range of professional and technical translations for international companies based in the North East of England and offered advanced one-on-one language training to company executives in preparation for meetings abroad. I also worked extensively on Newcastle University Language Resource Centre’s bid to achieve a Customer Service Excellence award (previously known as the 'Charter Mark'). This is the United Kingdom’s Government Standard accreditation for organizations and an independent validation of achievement which tests in great depth those areas that are a priority for customers (with particular focus on delivery, timeliness, information, professionalism & staff attitude, developing customer insight, understanding user experiences, and a robust measurement of service satisfaction). The centre was successfully awarded C.S.E. status in 2010 and, with the Government Standard’s requirement for award holders to focus on continuous development, I have an up-to-date and in-depth knowledge of all the Customer Service Excellence award’s detailed criteria, forms of assessment and necessary application processes. This is reflected in the centre being certified 'fully compliant' following its 2011 inspection. 

Undergraduate Teaching

I have taught on the following undergraduate courses:  

I have, also, assisted with the teaching and examinations of Liaison Interpreting modules in French, German and Spanish (FRE4061/GER4061/SPA4061).  

I am co-ordinating the use of an Auralog TELL ME MORE® E-Learning package, which is currently being trialled as an integrated part of French, German and Spanish General Language modules at Levels A, B, and C across the School of Modern Languages. In pioneering this trial we are able to provide language students with continuous access to online lessons and grammar explanations as well as a vast range of activities and tests. My central aim with this project is to promote and support students' independent language learning with the use of long-distance learning software.  

Experience of Primary and Secondary School Education

I have previously taught English to 11-19 year-olds in two German Secondary Schools (the Ludwigsgymnasium and Wirtschaftsschulen Saarbrücken); to 6-10 year-olds at the Bi-Lingual Primary School in Sarreguemines, France; and, to 4-11 year-olds at the local school in the Shuar community of Tsuraku in Ecuador. 

I have taught French language to Year 12 & 13 A-level students on Newcastle University's 'Bitesize Uni' (BSU) summer school programmes.  

I am a School Governor for the Arthurs Hill Federation of Schools (Westgate Primary School and Moorside Community Primary School) in the west end of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

I am part of the Newcastle Strand of Routes into Languages and have been involved with its Linguacast Days and past Festivals of International Culture for young people in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

From 2005 to 2006 I was part of a team visiting schools in the North East of England to administer French Oral tests for the French Learner Language Oral Corpora Project on second language acquisition. I also transcribed some of the recordings using CHILDES software.