Background

Background:

After graduating with an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Salzburg in Austria, I went on to study for a MA in Cross-Cultural Communication and Education at Newcastle University. I subsequently studied for a PhD at ECLS, investigating the intercultural adjustment and adaptation of international postgraduate students in the UK. I completed my PhD in February 2014. 

I was appointed Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University in June 2015, having previously worked as a Research Associate at the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLaT).

Memberships and professional networks:

• British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
• British Educational Research Association (BERA)
• International Association of Language and Social Psychology (IALSP) - three-year term as Secretary (2014-2017).
• Global Collective for Study Abroad Researchers and Administrators 
• Critical Internationalization Studies Network (CISN)

Esteem indicators: 

In June 2016 I was awarded the James J Bradac Early Career Prize for my work on the international student experience.

Editorial Board Member for the newly established open-access journal 'Trends in Higher Education' 

Current leadership roles: 

I am currently Degree Programme Director (DPD) for the MA Cross-Cultural Communication programmes. 

Recent blog posts:

How to help international students bounce back from Covid-19 | Wonkhe 

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the academic, psychological and sociocultural adaptation of international students in the UK | BERA 

Research

My research interests focus mainly on transnational mobility, in particular international student mobility and the internationalisation of higher education. I am especially interested in intercultural adjustment and adaptation. I also research in the field of social psychology of communication, in particular the role of 'culture' in professional contexts and the concept of intercultural competence. 

Current funded research:

Principal investigator (with Dr Sam Shields):

'A mixed-methods exploratory study of the university experiences of working-class international students in UK universities' funded by the NU HaSS Faculty Research Fund (2022-2023)

Co-investigator: 

• Global Citizenship and Multilingual Competences (GCMC), Erasmus Strategic Partnership (2020-2023): https://gcmc.global 

Recent funded research: 

Principal investigator: 

The 'international student experience' in 2021: The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the academic, psychological and sociocultural adjustment of international students in the UK' funded by the NU Institute for Social Science. 

A research briefing reporting on key findings from this project can be accessed here. 

Co-investigator: 

• Critical Skills for Life and Work (CSLW): Developing the Professional Intercultural Communicative Competence of Highly Skilled Refugees, Erasmus Strategic Partnership (2017-2019): http://cslw.eu 
• Approaches and Tools for Internationalisation at Home (ATIAH), Erasmus Strategic Partnership (2016-2018): https://research.ncl.ac.uk/atiah/ 

Doctoral supervision: 

I am happy to supervise doctoral research in the following areas: internationalisation in higher education, international student adjustment and adaptation, intercultural transitions in internationally mobile individuals. I offer expertise in mixed-methods research using both qualitative and quantitative methods of enquiry (e.g. interviews, focus groups, surveys and questionnaires). 

Current PhD projects I supervise: 

• The impact of social contact and vocabulary knowledge on intercultural competence 
• Cross-cultural adaptation of Saudi Arabian international ESL students in UK higher education
• Exploring the level of intercultural competence and language proficiency as factors in international students' adjustment in the UK 
• International students: the jewel in the crown for higher education in preparing the global leader  
• Improving the personal creativity of international higher education business students 

Successfully completed PhD projects under my supervision:

• Understanding international postgraduate students' adjustment in a British university: motivations for study abroad and subsequent academic, sociocultural and psychological experiences, Xuan Zhao (2021)
  
• Cross-cultural adaptation and identity change: A study of Asian student sojourners in the UK, Hanh Pho (2021)
• Internationalisation and students' intercultural competence development, Yuwei Liang (2019) 
• A study of international Vietnamese undergraduate students' psychological, sociocultural and academic adaptation and adjustment at a higher education institution in Thailand, Nattaya Srisakda (2018)

I am a regular academic reviewer for several journals, including:

• European Education
• MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)
• Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 
• International Journal of Intercultural Relations 

Teaching

In 2022-23 I will be module leader for:

• ALC8013 Introduction to Intercultural Communication (Semester 1)
• ALC8007 Professional Communication in Intercultural Settings (Semester 2)

I also contribute sessions to the following modules:

• ALC8003 Research Portfolio (Semesters 1 and 2)

Teaching and scholarship related activities:

• Virtual exchange project with Indian University-Purdue University Columbus on 'critical intercultural incidents' (March 2023), funded by the NU Virtual Exchange Fund 
• Development of intercultural orientation workshops for students on the MA CCC programmes (June-December 2022), funded by the NU Education Development Fund 

Publications

• Young TJ, Ganassin S, Schartner A. Culture and Intercultural Communication. In: Tammy Gregersen, Sarah Mercer, ed. The Routledge Handbook of the Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching. London: Routledge, 2022, pp.300-312.
• Schartner A, Young TJ, Snodin N. Intercultural adjustment of internationally mobile academics working in Thailand. Higher Education 2022, Epub ahead of print.
• Young TJ, Ganassin S, Schneider S, Schartner A, Walsh S. Intercultural Challenges for the Reintegration of Displaced Professionals: A Response to the Language Learning Needs of Refugees in Europe. London and New York: Routledge, 2022.
• Young TJ, Mercer S, Ganassin S, Babic S, Schartner A, Schneider S, Walsh S. Intercultural communication and language learning for professional reintegration: 'success stories' from the European refugee crisis. In: American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Meeting 2021. 2021, Denver, CO, USA.
• Liang Y, Schartner A. Culturally Mixed Group Work and the Development of Students’ Intercultural Competence. Journal of Studies in International Education 2022, 26(1), 44-60.
• Schartner A, Young TJ. Intercultural Transitions in Higher Education: International Student Adjustment and Adaptation. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2020.
• Young TJ, Schartner A, Ganassin S, Walsh S. Displacement and Professional Reintegration – ‘Success Stories’ from the European Refugee Crisis. In: European Association of Social Psychology Annual Conference. 2019, University of Bologna, Italy.
• Pho H, Schartner A. Social contact patterns of international students and their impact on academic adaptation. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 2019, 42(6), 489-502.
• Valentine RA, Wakeling LA, Ferrie LJ, Schartner A, Guilding C, Peterson J. Students on Student Induction – A Cross-Disciplinary Action Research Project. ARELCS 2019, 16(2), 1-29.
• Ganassin S, Walsh S, Young TJ, Schartner A. The Critical Skills for Life and Work Project: Intercultural Communicative Competence and the Reintegration of Refugee Professionals in Europe. In: International Association for Intercultural Research 11th Biannual Conference. 2019, Shanghai, China.
• Young TJ, Tullo AS, Schartner A, Smith D, Shanmugaraja P, Ong G, Goodson ML. Communication, person-centeredness and the care of people with dementia: Perspectives of medical students in the UK and Malaysia. In: American Association for Applied Linguistics Conference. 2018, Chicago, Illinois: American Association for Applied Linguistics.
• Robson S, Almeida J, Schartner A. Internationalization at Home: time for review and development?. European Journal of Higher Education 2018, 8(1), 19-35.
• Schartner A, Cho Y. 'Empty signifiers' and 'dreamy ideals'. Perceptions of the 'international university' among higher education students and staff at a British university. Higher Education 2017, 74(3), 455-472.
• Young TJ, Tullo ES, Schartner A. How transculturally appropriate is person-centred communication in the care people living with dementia? Perspectives of medical students in the UK and Malaysia. In: The 67th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA 2017). 2017, San Diego, California: ICA.
• Young TJ, Tullo ET, Schartner A. Person-Centred communication and the care of people with dementia: exploring the perspectives of medical students in the UK and Malaysia. In: 17th Alzheimer's Association International Conference. 2017, London, UK.
• Young TJ, Handford M, Schartner A. The Internationalising University – An Intercultural Endeavour?. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 2017, 38(3), 189-191.
• Young TJ, Handford M, Schartner A. The internationalising university: an intercultural endeavour?. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 2017, 38(3), 189-191.
• Young TJ, Schartner A, Brandt A. Cross-Cultural Communication and Engineering Education. In: Invited talk to Tokyo University staff and Japanese Engineering Employers. 2016.
• Young TJ, Schartner A, Tullo E. Intergroup and intercultural perspectives on communication and living with dementia. In: British Association for Applied Linguistics Intercultural Communication SIG Annual Seminar. 2016, Open University, London.
• Young TJ, Schartner A, Brandt A. Internationalisation of Higher Education: A UK Perspective. In: Invited talk to Tokyo University staff. 2016, Tokyo University, Japan.
• Young TJ, Tullo ES, Schartner A. Person-Centred communication and the care of people living with dementia: exploring the perspectives of medical students in the UK and Malaysia. In: 15th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology (ICLASP15). 2016, Bangkok, Thailand: International Association of Language and Social Psychology.
• Schartner A. The effect of study abroad on intercultural competence: a longitudinal case study of international postgraduate students at a British university. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 2016, 37(4), 402-418.
• Schartner A, Young TJ. The Internationalising University: An Intercultural Endeavour? Perspectives From Around the Globe. In: International Conference on Language and Social Psychology (ICLASP15). 2016, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok, Thailand.
• Schartner A, Young TJ. Towards an integrated conceptual model of international student adjustment and adaptation. European Journal of Higher Education 2016, 6(4), 372-386.
• Young TJ, Walsh S, Schartner A. Which English? Whose English? Teachers’ beliefs, attitudes and practices. London: British Council, 2016. ELT Research Papers 16.04.
• Schartner A. A longitudinal case study of the cross-cultural adjustment and adaptation of international postgraduate students in the UK. In: European Conference on Educational Research. 2015, Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary.
• Schartner A, Young TJ. Culture Shock or Love at First Sight? Exploring the 'Honeymoon' Stage of the International Student Sojourn. In: Fabricius, AH; Preisler, B, ed. Transcultural Interaction and Linguistic Diversity in Higher Education. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave MacMillan, 2015, pp.12-33.
• Young TJ, Schartner A. Does Cross-Cultural Communication Education ‘work’? An Investigation of International Higher Education Students in the U.K. In: World Conference on Education. 2015, Dublin.
• Schartner A, Cho Y. Perceptions of ‘internationalisation at home’ and ‘global citizenship’ among higher education students and staff. In: 48th Annual Meeting of the British Association for Applied Linguistics. 2015, Aston University, Birmingham.
• Athanasopoulos P, Bylund E, Montero-Melis G, Damjanovic L, Schartner A, Kibbe A, Riches N, Thierry G. Two languages, two minds: Flexible cognitive processing driven by language of operation. Psychological Science 2015, 26(4), 518-526.
• Schartner A. 'You cannot talk with all of the strangers in a pub': a longitudinal case study of international postgraduate students' social ties at a British university. Higher Education 2015, 69(2), 225-241.
• Schartner A. Are we really communicating cross-culturally? The learning and teaching experiences of international postgraduate students on a MA programme in Cross-cultural Communication. In: 7th Annual NE Universities (3 Rivers Consortium) Regional Learning and Teaching Conference. 2014, Collingwood College, Durham University.
• Young TJ, Schartner A. Sojourner Adjustment, Adaptation and Performance and the Study of Inter/Cross-Cultural Communication. In: Annual Seminar of the British Association for Applied Linguistics Special Interest Group in Intercultural Communication. 2014, Edinburgh University: British Association for Applied Linguistics.
• Young TJ, Schartner A. The effects of cross-cultural communication education on international students' adjustment and adaptation. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 2014, 35(6), 547-562.
• Young TJ, Schartner A, Windeatt S. The Internationalizing University: An Intercultural Endeavor? Retrospective accounts of the 'international student experience'. In: The 14th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology (ICLASP). 2014, Honolulu, Hawaii: Department of Communicology, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
• Wright C, Schartner A. ‘I can’t...I won’t?’ International students at the threshold of social interaction. Journal of Research in International Education 2013, 12(2), 113-128.
• Schartner A. ‘I don’t need the British to communicate in English.’ A longitudinal analysis of international postgraduate students’ social networks. In: 46th Annual Meeting of the British Association of Applied Linguistics. 2013, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
• Young TJ, Schartner A. 'After all this I try to not put people in a box': The effects of cross-cultural communication education on academic adjustment and adaptation. In: 46th Annual Meeting of the British Association of Applied Linguistics. 2013, Herriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
• Young TJ, Sercombe PG, Sachdev I, Naeb R, Schartner A. Success factors for international postgraduate students' adjustment: exploring the roles of intercultural competence, language proficiency, social contact and social support. European Journal of Higher Education 2013, 3(2), 151-171.
• Schartner A. From the decision to study abroad to the arrival in the host country: Exploring the role of pre-arrival factors in the international student experience. In: 13th International Conference of Language and Social Psychology (ICLASP). 2012, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands.
• Wright C, Schartner A. 'I can’t...I won't?' International students at the threshold of social interaction. In: 45th Annual Meeting of the British Association of Applied Linguistics. 2012, University of Southampton: British Association of Applied Linguistics.