![Michael Handford PhD](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1779?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Professor Michael Handford
PhD
Professor
School of English, Communication and Philosophy
- HandfordM@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29208 75407
- John Percival Building, Room 3.41, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Professor of Applied Linguistics and English Language in the Centre for Language and Communication Research. The Centre is in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy. I am fascinated by the relationship between language and context, and the way people use language to make changes in society. I am especially interested in the ways that people communicate at work, for instance how people make decisions and solve problems, or how relationships are developed, maintained or damaged. I am also intrigued by 'culture' as a concept and its relationship to discourse, how people deal with what they see as cultural difference, and how they construct and are influenced by stereotypes. My research involves the analysis of authentic data, often in the form of recordings of spoken interactions in workplaces. All these areas directly inform my teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Publication
2024
- Handford, M. and Al-Shahrani, Z. 2024. Investigating indexicality and representation with corpora. In: Heritage, F. and Taylor, C. eds. Analysing representation: A corpus and discourse textbook. Routledge
- Handford, M. and Koester, A. 2024. Language and creativity at work: A corpus-assisted model of creative workplace discourse. London: Routledge. (10.4324/9780429328503)
- Handford, M. 2024. 'The discursive construction of Black British women graduates' in-groups and out-groups: A corpus-informed intersectional analysis. Corpora
2023
- Handford, M. and Gee, J. P. eds. 2023. The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis. Routledge Handbooks in Applied Linguistics. Routledge. (10.4324/9781003035244)
2022
- Handford, M. 2022. Corpus linguistics and intercultural communication: Avoiding the essentialist trap. In: O'Keeffe, A. and McCarthy, M. J. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguistics (2nd edition). Routledge Handbooks in Applied Linguistics Routledge
- Handford, M. 2022. “I tell you don’t trust the French”: National stereotypes in workplace narratives. Narrative Inquiry 32(1), pp. 218-243. (10.1075/ni.20070.han)
2020
- Handford, M. 2020. Training “international engineers” in Japan: discourse, discourse and stereotypes. In: Mullany, L. ed. Professional Communication, Consultancy, Advocacy, Activism. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 29-46., (10.1007/978-3-030-41668-3_2)
2019
- Handford, M. and Koester, A. 2019. The construction of conflict talk across workplace contexts: (towards a) theory of conflictual compact. Language Awareness 28(3), pp. 186-206. (10.1080/09658416.2019.1636802)
- Handford, M., Garrett, P. and Cots, J. M. 2019. Introduction to language awareness in professional communication contexts. Language Awareness 28(3), pp. 163-165. (10.1080/09658416.2019.1654647)
- Garrett, P., Handford, M. and Cots, J. M. eds. 2019. Language awareness in professional communication contexts. Special edition of 'Language Awareness'. Taylor & Francis.
- Handford, M., Van Maele, J., Matous, P. and Maemura, Y. 2019. Which 'culture'? A critical analysis of intercultural communication in engineering education. Journal of Engineering Education 108(2), pp. 161-177. (10.1002/jee.20254)
2018
- Koester, A. and Handford, M. 2018. 'It's not good saying 'Well it it might do that or it might not'': hypothetical reported speech in business meetings. Journal of Pragmatics 130, pp. 67-80. (10.1016/j.pragma.2018.03.005)
2017
- Handford, M. 2017. Corpus linguistics. In: Vine, B. ed. The Routledge Handbook of Language in the Workplace. Abingdon: Routledge.
2016
- Young, T. J., Handford, M. and Schartner, A. 2016. The internationalising university: an intercultural endeavour?. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38(3), pp. 189-191. (10.1080/01434632.2015.1134547)
- Hua, Z., Handford, M. and Johnstone Young, T. 2016. Framing interculturality: a corpus-based analysis of online promotional discourse of higher education intercultural communication courses. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38(3), pp. 283-300. (10.1080/01434632.2015.1134555)
- Handford, M. 2016. The dynamic interplay between language and social context in the language classroom: interpersonal turn taking for ELF learners. In: King, J. ed. The Dynamic Interplay Between Context and the Language Learner. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 151-171.
- Handford, M. 2016. ESP in the classroom: applying findings from business-discourse research professional contexts. OnCUE Journal 9(2), pp. 86-96.
2015
- Handford, M. 2015. Corpus analysis. In: Hua, Z. ed. Research Methods in Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide. Wiley, pp. 311-326., (10.1002/9781119166283.ch21)
- Handford, M. and Matous, P. 2015. Problem-solving discourse on an international construction site: Patterns and practices. English for Specific Purposes 38, pp. 85-98. (10.1016/j.esp.2014.12.002)
2014
- Tsuchiya, K. and Handford, M. 2014. A corpus-driven analysis of repair in a professional ELF meeting: Not 'letting it pass'. Journal of Pragmatics 64, pp. 117-131. (10.1016/j.pragma.2014.02.004)
- Handford, M. 2014. Cultural identities in international, interorganisational meetings: a corpus-informed discourse analysis of indexical we. Language and Intercultural Communication 14(1), pp. 41-58. (10.1080/14708477.2013.866123)
- Handford, M. 2014. Communication in the construction industry. In: The Routledge handbook of language and professional communication. Routledge, pp. 363-381.
- Handford, M. 2014. Context in spoken professional discourse: language and practice in an international business meeting. In: Flowerdew, J. ed. Discourse in Context. London: Continuum, pp. 113-132.
2013
- Handford, M. 2013. Problem-solving at work: stage, functions and language. Cambridge English Teacher Journal
- Handford, M. 2013. Professional communication and corpus linguistics. In: Hyland, K., Handford, M. and Meng Huat, C. eds. Corpus Applications in Applied Linguistics. London: Continuum.
2012
- Handford, M. Hyland, K., Huat, C. M. and Handford, M. eds. 2012. Corpus applications in applied linguistics. London: Continuum.
- Handford, M. 2012. Construction communication training: issues and aims. The Japan Society for Civil Engineers 67(11), pp. 73-76.
- Lisboa, M. and Handford, M. eds. 2012. Business advantage: theory, practice, skills (advanced level). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Pitt Koester, A., Handford, M. and Lisboa, M. eds. 2012. Business advantage: theory, practice, skills (intermediate level). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2011
- Koester, A. and Handford, M. 2011. Spoken professional genres. In: Gee, J. P. and Handford, M. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 252-268.
- Handford, M. and Gee, J. P. 2011. Introduction. In: Gee, J. P. and Handford, M. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 1-6.
- Handford, M. and Matous, P. 2011. Lexicogrammar in the international construction industry: a corpus-based case study of Japanese-Hong-Kongese on-site interactions in English. English for Specific Purposes 30(2), pp. 87-100. (10.1016/j.esp.2010.12.002)
- Handford, M., Nishina, Y., Takahashi, K. and Anthony, L. 2011. Current trends in corpus linguistics: voices from Britain. English Corpus Studies 19(26), pp. 67-92.
- Handford, M., Lisboa, M., Koester, A. and Pitt, A. 2011. Business advantage: Business theory, practice skills (Upper intermediate level). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Gee, J. P. and Handford, M. eds. 2011. The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis. Taylor & Francis (Routledge).
2010
- Handford, M. and Koester, A. 2010. 'It's not rocket science': metaphors and idioms in conflictual business meetings. Text and Talk 30(1), pp. 27-51. (10.1515/text.2010.002)
- Handford, M. 2010. The language of business meetings. Cambridge University Press.
- Handford, M. 2010. What a corpus can tell us about specialist genres. In: McCarthy, M. and O'Keeffe, A. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguistics. Abingdon: Routledge
2008
- Handford, M. Tanaka, H. and Handford, M. eds. 2008. Discursive strategies in workplace meetings. Tokyo: Cosmopier.
2004
- McCarthy, M. and Handford, M. 2004. "Invisible to us": a preliminary corpus-based study of spoken business English. In: Connor, U. and Upton, T. A. eds. Discourse in the Professions: Perspectives from corpus linguistics. Studies in Corpus Linguistics Vol. 16. John Benjamins, pp. 167-201.
Articles
- Handford, M. 2024. 'The discursive construction of Black British women graduates' in-groups and out-groups: A corpus-informed intersectional analysis. Corpora
- Handford, M. 2022. “I tell you don’t trust the French”: National stereotypes in workplace narratives. Narrative Inquiry 32(1), pp. 218-243. (10.1075/ni.20070.han)
- Handford, M. and Koester, A. 2019. The construction of conflict talk across workplace contexts: (towards a) theory of conflictual compact. Language Awareness 28(3), pp. 186-206. (10.1080/09658416.2019.1636802)
- Handford, M., Garrett, P. and Cots, J. M. 2019. Introduction to language awareness in professional communication contexts. Language Awareness 28(3), pp. 163-165. (10.1080/09658416.2019.1654647)
- Handford, M., Van Maele, J., Matous, P. and Maemura, Y. 2019. Which 'culture'? A critical analysis of intercultural communication in engineering education. Journal of Engineering Education 108(2), pp. 161-177. (10.1002/jee.20254)
- Koester, A. and Handford, M. 2018. 'It's not good saying 'Well it it might do that or it might not'': hypothetical reported speech in business meetings. Journal of Pragmatics 130, pp. 67-80. (10.1016/j.pragma.2018.03.005)
- Young, T. J., Handford, M. and Schartner, A. 2016. The internationalising university: an intercultural endeavour?. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38(3), pp. 189-191. (10.1080/01434632.2015.1134547)
- Hua, Z., Handford, M. and Johnstone Young, T. 2016. Framing interculturality: a corpus-based analysis of online promotional discourse of higher education intercultural communication courses. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38(3), pp. 283-300. (10.1080/01434632.2015.1134555)
- Handford, M. 2016. ESP in the classroom: applying findings from business-discourse research professional contexts. OnCUE Journal 9(2), pp. 86-96.
- Handford, M. and Matous, P. 2015. Problem-solving discourse on an international construction site: Patterns and practices. English for Specific Purposes 38, pp. 85-98. (10.1016/j.esp.2014.12.002)
- Tsuchiya, K. and Handford, M. 2014. A corpus-driven analysis of repair in a professional ELF meeting: Not 'letting it pass'. Journal of Pragmatics 64, pp. 117-131. (10.1016/j.pragma.2014.02.004)
- Handford, M. 2014. Cultural identities in international, interorganisational meetings: a corpus-informed discourse analysis of indexical we. Language and Intercultural Communication 14(1), pp. 41-58. (10.1080/14708477.2013.866123)
- Handford, M. 2013. Problem-solving at work: stage, functions and language. Cambridge English Teacher Journal
- Handford, M. 2012. Construction communication training: issues and aims. The Japan Society for Civil Engineers 67(11), pp. 73-76.
- Handford, M. and Matous, P. 2011. Lexicogrammar in the international construction industry: a corpus-based case study of Japanese-Hong-Kongese on-site interactions in English. English for Specific Purposes 30(2), pp. 87-100. (10.1016/j.esp.2010.12.002)
- Handford, M., Nishina, Y., Takahashi, K. and Anthony, L. 2011. Current trends in corpus linguistics: voices from Britain. English Corpus Studies 19(26), pp. 67-92.
- Handford, M. and Koester, A. 2010. 'It's not rocket science': metaphors and idioms in conflictual business meetings. Text and Talk 30(1), pp. 27-51. (10.1515/text.2010.002)
Book sections
- Handford, M. and Al-Shahrani, Z. 2024. Investigating indexicality and representation with corpora. In: Heritage, F. and Taylor, C. eds. Analysing representation: A corpus and discourse textbook. Routledge
- Handford, M. 2022. Corpus linguistics and intercultural communication: Avoiding the essentialist trap. In: O'Keeffe, A. and McCarthy, M. J. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguistics (2nd edition). Routledge Handbooks in Applied Linguistics Routledge
- Handford, M. 2020. Training “international engineers” in Japan: discourse, discourse and stereotypes. In: Mullany, L. ed. Professional Communication, Consultancy, Advocacy, Activism. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 29-46., (10.1007/978-3-030-41668-3_2)
- Handford, M. 2017. Corpus linguistics. In: Vine, B. ed. The Routledge Handbook of Language in the Workplace. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Handford, M. 2016. The dynamic interplay between language and social context in the language classroom: interpersonal turn taking for ELF learners. In: King, J. ed. The Dynamic Interplay Between Context and the Language Learner. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 151-171.
- Handford, M. 2015. Corpus analysis. In: Hua, Z. ed. Research Methods in Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide. Wiley, pp. 311-326., (10.1002/9781119166283.ch21)
- Handford, M. 2014. Communication in the construction industry. In: The Routledge handbook of language and professional communication. Routledge, pp. 363-381.
- Handford, M. 2014. Context in spoken professional discourse: language and practice in an international business meeting. In: Flowerdew, J. ed. Discourse in Context. London: Continuum, pp. 113-132.
- Handford, M. 2013. Professional communication and corpus linguistics. In: Hyland, K., Handford, M. and Meng Huat, C. eds. Corpus Applications in Applied Linguistics. London: Continuum.
- Koester, A. and Handford, M. 2011. Spoken professional genres. In: Gee, J. P. and Handford, M. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 252-268.
- Handford, M. and Gee, J. P. 2011. Introduction. In: Gee, J. P. and Handford, M. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 1-6.
- Handford, M. 2010. What a corpus can tell us about specialist genres. In: McCarthy, M. and O'Keeffe, A. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguistics. Abingdon: Routledge
- McCarthy, M. and Handford, M. 2004. "Invisible to us": a preliminary corpus-based study of spoken business English. In: Connor, U. and Upton, T. A. eds. Discourse in the Professions: Perspectives from corpus linguistics. Studies in Corpus Linguistics Vol. 16. John Benjamins, pp. 167-201.
Books
- Handford, M. and Koester, A. 2024. Language and creativity at work: A corpus-assisted model of creative workplace discourse. London: Routledge. (10.4324/9780429328503)
- Handford, M. and Gee, J. P. eds. 2023. The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis. Routledge Handbooks in Applied Linguistics. Routledge. (10.4324/9781003035244)
- Garrett, P., Handford, M. and Cots, J. M. eds. 2019. Language awareness in professional communication contexts. Special edition of 'Language Awareness'. Taylor & Francis.
- Handford, M. Hyland, K., Huat, C. M. and Handford, M. eds. 2012. Corpus applications in applied linguistics. London: Continuum.
- Lisboa, M. and Handford, M. eds. 2012. Business advantage: theory, practice, skills (advanced level). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Pitt Koester, A., Handford, M. and Lisboa, M. eds. 2012. Business advantage: theory, practice, skills (intermediate level). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Handford, M., Lisboa, M., Koester, A. and Pitt, A. 2011. Business advantage: Business theory, practice skills (Upper intermediate level). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Gee, J. P. and Handford, M. eds. 2011. The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis. Taylor & Francis (Routledge).
- Handford, M. 2010. The language of business meetings. Cambridge University Press.
- Handford, M. Tanaka, H. and Handford, M. eds. 2008. Discursive strategies in workplace meetings. Tokyo: Cosmopier.
Research
My main area of interest is communication in professional and institutional contexts. In terms of methods, I am interested in the combination of quantitative and qualitative tools, especially corpus linguistics and discourse analysis. I have published on discourse in professional settings, cultural identities at work, stereotypes in professional contexts, the application of corpus tools in discourse analysis, using corpora for the analysis of intercultural communication, English as a Lingua Franca in the construction industry, and language learning. I am the author of The Language of Business Meetings, published by Cambridge University Press (2010), and co-editor with J.P. Gee of the Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis (2012).
Teaching
I teach, or have taught, the following modules:
Undergraduate
- Professional and Intercultural Communication
- Discourse
- Social Interaction
- Research Methods
Postgraduate
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Discourse and Social Interaction
- Public and Professional Discourse
Biography
After completing my BSc in Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at the LSE, I taught English in Japan for several years, before returning to the UK to do an MA in English Language Teaching at Nottingham University. I then moved over to English Studies at Nottingham University, where I studied for my PhD, titled 'The Business Meeting Genre: A Corpus-Informed Study', supervised by Prof Michael McCarthy and Prof Svenja Adolphs. After lecturing in English Studies and the School of Education at Nottingham, I moved to Tokyo University in 2005 where I became Associate Professor In English for Specific Purposes, and then Professor in International Education in 2011, with responsibilities for internationalisation. I came to Cardiff in 2016, as Professor in Applied Linguistics. Apart from research and teaching, I see internationalisation as a central function of universities, and support relevant actions wherever possible. I am currently Director of Internationalisation for the School, and Director of Research for the Centre of Language and Communication Research.
