Staff Profile
Dr Peter Sercombe
Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics
- Email: peter.sercombe@ncl.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 5657
- Address: Room 3.2 KGVI
School of ECLS
King George VI Building
Newcastle University
Queen Victoria Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
Background
Introduction
My academic background is in Applied Linguistics and Language Education. I have taught mainly in Brunei, Malaysia, Turkey and the UK. Following work as head of English in a rural secondary school in Borneo (under the auspices of Voluntary Services Overseas), I was appointed as a teacher-trainer with the Malaysian Ministry of Education, during the transition from English to Malay-medium education in the early 1980s. I later joined the Applied Linguistics Department at the University in Brunei, where I built on my interest in sociolinguistics and Austronesian languages, particularly Iban (a widely spoken language throughout Malaysian Borneo) and Penan (a hunter-gatherer language of East Malaysia, that is currently under threat, for a range of reasons).
Research
Research Interests:
Sociolinguistics, with particular interest in code-switching, language maintenance & change among minority groups; cultural adaptation; and, intercultural communication.
Other Expertise:
Knowledge of Austronesian Languages, in particular: Malay, Penan and Iban.
Current Work:
Research into the changing nature of religious beliefs among Bornean hunter-gatherers.
Research into the changing nature of Iban society, with a current transition to a predominantly monetary economy and the sociocultural effects of this.
Co-PI on project studying: Language as key to perceptual diversity: an interdisciplinary approach to the senses, sponsored by: Swedish Foundation for Humanities & Social Sciences @ 1.2 million Euros): https://www.rj.se/en/anslag/2015/language-as-key-to-perceptual-diversity-an-interdisciplinary-approach-to-the-senses/
Postgraduate Supervision:
I am currently first supervisor of 15 PhD students, among whom research is being conducted into culture in language teaching, cultural influences on communication strategies, writing strategies, politeness and language and gender. I am particularly interested in students who are interested in pursuing research in sociolinguistics (especially in the field of language contact and/or language endangerment) and in intercultural communication.
Esteem Indicators:
Editor, 'The Linguistics Journal'
http://www.linguistics-journal.com
Consultant (translation [Penan to English] and content validity),
BBC Tribes, Series 3, ‘The Penan, Hunters & Gatherers of Borneo’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/programmes/index.shtml#penan
Language Consultant: Quest Unlimited Media Productions: ‘Tawai: Indigenous Peoples of the World’ [Translation: Penan to English]; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3638960/
Consultant to British Council: Development of materials for a course, 'Intercultural Fluency'
External examiner of Birkbeck College, University of London's MA in Communication, MA in Intercultural Communication and Postgraduate Certificate in International Field Leadership (2011-2014)
External examiner of Sheffield University's MA in Applied Linguistics with TESOL (from 2011-2015)
Reviewer for Journal of 'Current Issues in Language Planning' (Multilingual Matters), Special Issue on 'Language Planning and Minority Languages'
Reviewer for:
AHRC project applications
ESRC project applications
FNRS project applications
I have conducted PhD viva examinations at the following universities: Aberdeen, Bedfordshire, Birkbeck College (University of London), the British University (Dubai), Exeter, Huddersfield, King's College (University of London), Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Newcastle, Nottingham (Ningbo, China), Southampton, and Sunderland.
Funding:
ASEAS (2011): Field Trip Study Grant to study Research into the changing nature of Iban society (£2,400).
Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research (2012): Grant to collect and study oral literature among the Eastern Penan of Central Borneo (US $10,000).
Swedish RIKSBANKENS Foundation (2015): Grant to study: 'Language and Perception among Hunter-Gatherers' (1.25 million Euros)
Teaching
Postgraduate Teaching
I lead the modules 'Language and Cross-cultural Communication' and 'Sociolinguistics', have previously taught 'Language Awareness', as well as contributing to the module, 'Research Methods'.
Publications
- Sercombe PG, Young TJ, Ming D, Lin L. The adoption of non-heritage names among Chinese mainlanders. Names: A Journal of Onomastics 2014, 62(2), 65-75.
- Laopongharn W, Sercombe PG. What relevance does intercultural communication have to language education in Thailand?. ARECLS 2009, 6, 59-83.
- Sercombe PG. The Eastern Penan Language of Borneo. In: Shin, C., Harun, K., Alas, Y, ed. Reflections in Borneo Rivers: Essays in Honour of Professor James T. Collins. Pontianak: STAIN Pontianak Press, 2006, pp.1-34.
- Sercombe PG. Multilingualism among the Penan of Brunei. International Journal of Bilingualism 2003, 7(2), 153-175.
- Sercombe PG. Language maintenance and shift: A review of theoretical and regional issues with special reference to Borneo. In: David, M.K, ed. Methodological and Analytical Issues in Language Maintenance and Language Shift Studies. Berlin: Peter Lang Publishing, 2002, pp.1-19.
- Sercombe PG. Small worlds: the language ecology of the Penan in Borneo. In: Creese, A; Martin, P; Hornberger, NH, ed. Encyclopedia of Language and Education: Ecology of Language. Amsterdam: Kluwer, 2007, pp.183-193.
- Sercombe PG, Sellato B, ed. Beyond the Green Myth: Hunter-Gatherers of Borneo in the Twenty-First Century. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2007.
- Saxena M, Sercombe PG. Patterns and variations in language choices among Bruneians. In: So, D.W.C., Jones, G, ed. Education and Society in Plurilingual Contexts. Brussels: Brussels University Press, 2002, pp.248-265.
- Garner M, Raschka C, Sercombe PG. Sociolinguistic minorities, research, and social relationships. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 2006, 27(1), 61-78.
- Sercombe PG, Garner M, Raschka C (Guest Editors). Sociolinguistic Research – Who Wins? Research on, with or for Speakers of Minority Languages. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (Special Issue) 2006, 27(1), 1-3.
- Sercombe PG. Errors in English: description, classification, explanation and remedy. Modern Language Journal 2002, 14, 1-20.
- 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.
- Aye KK, Sercombe PG. The Noun Phrase in Standard Malay and Myanmar/Burmese Compared: Pedagogical Implications for L1 Burmese Speakers. In: Boutin, M; Sercombe PG; Clynes, A, ed. Advances in the study of Bornean Cultures and Languages. Williamsburg, Virginia: Borneo Research Council, 2014, pp.217-315.
- Young TJ, Sercombe PG. Essentialism isn’t essential in intercultural education: A case study among international postgraduates in the UK. In: BAAL Intercultural Communication Seminar Series. 2012, Open University, Milton Keynes.
- Holliday A, Killick D, Montgomery C, Sercombe PG, Young TJ. Exploring 'international' student transition through transcultural interaction: perspectives in and from the UK. In: Higher Education Across Borders: Transcultural Interaction and Linguistic Diversity. 2012, Roskilde University, Denmark.
- Young TJ, Sercombe PG. The role of cross cultural education in the adjustment of international postgraduate students to life and study at a UK University. In: International Association of Language and Intercultural Communication. 2012, Durham, UK.
- Sercombe PG, Boutin M, Clynes A, ed. Advances in Research on Linguistic and Cultural Practices in Borneo. Maine, USA: Borneo Research Council, 2014.
- Sercombe PG. Brunei Darussalam: Issues of Language, Identity and Education. In: Sercombe, PG; Tupas, R, ed. Language, Education and Nation-building: Assimilation and Shift in Southeast Asia. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, pp.22-44.
- Aye KK, Sercombe PG. Language, Education and Nation-building in Myanmar. In: Sercombe, PG; Tupas, R, ed. Language, Education and Nation-building: Assimilation and Shift in Southeast Asia. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
- Tupas R, Sercombe P. Language, education and nation-building in Southeast Asia: An introduction. In: Sercombe, P; Tupas, R, ed. Language, Education and Nation-building: Assimilation and Shift in Southeast Asia. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
- Sercombe PG, Tupas R, ed. Language, Education and Nation-building: Assimilation and Shift in Southeast Asia. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2014.
- Aye KK, Sercombe PG. The Noun Phrase in Standard Malay and Myanmar compared: Pedagogical implications for L1 speakers of Myanmar. In: Sercombe, PG; Boutin, M; Clynes, A, ed. Advances in Linguistic and Cultural Research in Borneo. Maine, USA: Borneo Research Council, 2014. In Press.
- Sercombe PG. ELT language policies and socioeconomic development: effects in Southeast Asia. In: J.I. Liontas, ed. The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley, 2018.
- Sercombe PG. Minority, Languages, Education and Assimilation in Southeast Asia. In: Hogan-Brun, G; O'Rourke, B, ed. The Palgrave Handbook of Minority Languages and Communities. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, pp.383-403.
- Sercombe PG. The changing face of Penan nomenclature. In: S. Adelaar & P. Le Roux, ed. Bornéo sans Bornes (‘Borderless Borneo’). Paris: Connaissances et Savoirs, 2020. In Press.
- Sercombe PG. Ethnographic method. In: Kortmann, B, ed. Wörterbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (WSK) Online. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2016.
- Sercombe PG. Ethnolinguistic identity theory. In: Kortmann B, ed. Wörterbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (WSK) Online. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2016.
- Sercombe PG. Ethnolinguistic vitality theory. In: Kortmann B, ed. Wörterbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (WSK) Online. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2016.
- Sercombe PG. Ethnopragmatics. In: Kortmann B, ed. Wörterbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (WSK) Online. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2016.
- Sercombe PG. Ethoglossia. In: Kortmann B, ed. Wörterbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (WSK) Online. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2016.
- Sercombe PG, Young TJ. Student adjustment: diversity and uniformity of experience. In: A. Fabricius & B. Preisler, ed. Transcultural Interaction and Linguistic Diversity in Higher Education: The Student Experience. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp.34-55.
- Shi J, Sercombe PG. Poverty and Inequality in Rural Education: Evidence from China. Education as Change 2020, 24, 1-26.
- Sercombe PG, Dong M. English-type Names and Opportunities for Interculturalism. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 2020, 50. Submitted.
- Sercombe PG. Identity and Eastern Penan in Borneo. Journal of Modern Languages 2020, 30(1), 77-100.
- Larson J, Burenhult N, Kruspe N, Purves RS, Rothstein M, Sercombe P. Integrating behavioral and geospatial data on the timeline: towards new dimensions of analysis. International Journal of Social Research Methodology 2020, epub ahead of print.
- Sercombe PG. Narratives about space and place in Eastern Penan. Hunter Gatherer Research 2020, 4(3), 339-354.
- O'Meara C, Burenhult N, Rothstein M, Sercombe P. Representing space and place: hunter-gatherer perspectives. Hunter Gatherer Research 2020, 4(3), 287-309.