Research Centre for Learning and Teaching

Staff Profile

Dr Alina Schartner

Lecturer in Applied Linguistics

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