Speakers

I am a Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics with an interest in how social media constrains and enables different forms of communication. I began my current post at the Open University in October 2015. Prior to that, I was a lecturer at the University of Birmingham, where I had previously gained my PhD with a thesis titled 'A corpus analysis of SMS text messaging'. I have an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from Leicester University, and before that worked as a TESOL teacher in Spain, and then in Vietnam with the British voluntary organisation, Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

I am currently Associate Head of Research and Scholarship in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics (LAL) at The Open University. 

I am Chair of the British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) (2024-2027) and former Editor in Chief of the international journal Discourse, Context & Media (2021-2024). I co-edit the Routledge Focus on Language and Social Media monograph series, with Professor Sirpa Leppänen. I am on the editorial boards of Lingua, Talk & Text, and Internet Pragmatics. 

Kate joined the University of Reading in 2024 after completing her ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cardiff University. Her postdoctoral research project, Narrativised Hate: Investigating and mitigating the potential harm of online narratives of sexual violence at the intersection of white and male supremacy, examined the use of narratives of sexual violence posted online by extremist groups and the evidential strategies used for persuasion and manipulation. Her ESRC-funded PhD (Cardiff University) integrated criminological and linguistic analyses of online representations of rape and sexual assault and included research related to legal cynicism, hate speech, radicalisation and inoculation narratives. She has taught in both further and higher education institutions since 1999 on language and law courses including Criminal Law, Tort Law, Legal Foundations, Legal English and English for Academic Purposes. 

Kaatje Dalderop has served the Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults  (LESLLA) field in various roles: as a volunteer tutor, a teacher, developer, teacher trainer, advisor, and researcher. She holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and is currently working on her Ph.D. investigating language learning strategies in the LESLLA field in the Netherlands. Her research looks into language learning strategies as part of learner experiences and reflections as well as strategies in teaching practices. Kaatje works as a freelancer with a main focus on Dutch as a second language and literacy. 

Kadidja Koné holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the Institut de Pédagogie Universitaire (IPU), Bamako. Former Fulbright scholar at Minnesota State University, Mankato, she graduated with an MA in TESOL in 2015. She is currently teaching English as a foreign language to teacher trainees at École Normale d’Enseignement Technique et Professionnel in Bamako, Mali. Her research interests include second language assessment, English teaching methods, second language learners’ motivation, directed motivational currents and its related concept shared, sustained flow.