Dr Tereza Spilioti

Publication

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Research

My research interests lie at the intersection of language, society, and media, an area that is at the forefront of applied linguistics. More specifically, my work covers research related primarily to the fields of language and digital communication, research ethics, and media sociolinguistics. In the field of language and digital communication, my recent research focuses on vernacular multilingualism through the lens of trans-scripting practices, on the circulation of social media stories about the refugee crisis and on emerging digital news genres, such as news explainers. My publications also cover issues of research ethics, with particular interest in revisiting current approaches for ethical decision-making in digital media contexts. More broadly in the field of media sociolinguistics, I have developed a growing interest in innovative perspectives on the study of sociolinguistic change, mediat(izat)ion and style.

I am also a member of the CLCR research group who undertakes collaborative research with the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (NHS Wales). Our project on ‘Managing roles and goals in nursing handover meetings’ has been funded by the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (£3K) and I have also led a successful CUROP project (£1K), exploring issues related to organizational discourse in healthcare settings.

I am an external collaborator in two international research projects: 'Tracing Racism in Anti-racist Discourse (TRACE): A critical approach to European public speech on the migrant and refugee crisis' (led by the University of Patras, Greece) and 'Investigation of adolescent digital literacy practices for the design of Modern Greek Language teaching to youth of new migration background' (led by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece). 

My work draws on and combines methods and concepts from discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, linguistic ethnography and new literacy studies.

Research interests

• Multilingualism, translanguaging and trans-scripting
• Language and media ideologies
• Media, style and stylization
• Research ethics
• Publicness and privacy in digital communication
• Narrative discourse
• Genre, interaction rituals, openings and closings in mediated communication
• Politeness and relationality
• Approaches to culture and intercultural communication
• Healthcare discourse and communication

Teaching

My undergraduate and postgraduate level teaching experience includes such courses as:

• Research methods and skills (BA and MA level)
• Discourse and social interaction (MA level)
• Digital literacies and language (BA and MA level)
• Media discourse; Media texts; Discourse of broadcasting (BA level)
• Reading and writing in the digital age (BA level)
• Introduction to media communication (BA level)
• Introduction to language and communication (BA level)
• Sociolinguistics (BA level)
• Language and literacy (BA level)
• Discourse and social media; Computer-mediated communication (BA level)

I have also been invited to give lectures and seminars to UG and PG students at overseas universities, including the University of Bern, University of Hamburg, University of Lausanne, and University of Patras.

Biography

I joined the Centre for Language and Communication Research as Lecturer in September 2012, having previously been employed as Lecturer (and Senior Lecturer) in English Language and Communication at Kingston University from 2008 to 2012.

After completing my undergraduate studies at the University of Athens (Greece), I moved to the UK where I completed an MSt in General Linguistics and Comparative Philology at the University of Oxford. In 2007, I was awarded a PhD in Linguistics at King’s College London where I taught modules in applied and socio-linguistics, as well as Modern Greek Language.

Honours and awards

2020 Nominated for Enriching Student Life Award, category: Most Innovative Member of Staff.

2019 Editor's Choice Article: 'From transliteration to trans-scripting: Creativity and multilingual writing on the internet' (Discourse, Context & Media).

2018  Nominated for Enriching Student Life Award, category: Outstanding Doctoral Supervisor.

2018 'Social Media and Creativity: Language and Media Ideologies', Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP) funding, Cardiff University, UK. Research placement fund, Supervisor: T. Spilioti, £2,100.

2017  Lecturer of the Year, Teaching Award.

2017  'Under the radar dynamics of on-ward management and inter-team communication in a Welsh hospital' ESRC DTP Collaborative fund. Research fund to support doctoral research (1+3) in collaboration with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. Supervisors: T. Spilioti & V. Ylanne, with M. Aldridge & T. Bartlett (collaborated on the application).

2016   ‘Managing Multiple Roles and Goals in Nursing Handovers’ ESRC Impact Acceleration Account fund, Cardiff University, UK. Research fund to develop research impact project, (PI) T. Bartlett, (Co-Is) T. Spilioti, V. Ylanne, M. Aldridge, M. Handford, F. Rock, £3,029.

2016 ‘Organisational Discourse and Healthcare Communication’ Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP) funding, Cardiff University, UK. Research placement fund, (Primary Supervisor) Spilioti, (Secondary Supervisor) Bartlett, £1,000.

2015 ‘Digital Literacies and Language’, Cardiff University ENCAP Staff Investment bid, fund for equipment/material to enhance teaching and learning, (main applicant) Spilioti, £550.

Professional memberships

I am a member of the BAAL Language and New Media SIG (Committee Secretary: 2016-2019), the British Association for Applied Linguistics, the International Pragmatics Associations and the Association of Internet Researchers.

Committees and reviewing

Grant reviewer for the Swiss National Science Foundation (2015-present); Flanders Research Foundation.

Peer reviewer for more than 20 academic journals, including Altre Modernita; Applied Linguistics; Critical Inquiry for Language Studies; Discourse, Context and Media; Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice; Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media; Journal of English Linguistics; Journal of Greek Media and Culture; Journal of Pragmatics; Journalism; Language and Communication; Language in Society; Language Policy; Language Sciences; Linguistics: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Language Sciences; Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication; Narrative Inquiry; Research Ethics; Research Methods in Applied Linguistics;Text & Talk; The Translator. 

Conference Scientific Committee, Member: Sociolinguistics Symposium 23, University of Hong Kong (2020)  

Conference Organising Committee, Member: 8th International and Interdisciplinarly ALAPP conference, Cardiff University (2018)

Conference Organising Committee, Chair: 2nd BAAL Language and New Media SIG Workshop on the ‘Ethics of Online Research Methods’, Cardiff School of English, Communication and Philosophy (2015).

PhD committees, External examiner: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece, 2019 and 2017); Queen Mary, University of London (UK 2023); Tilburg University (Netherlands 2016); University of Bern (Switzerland, 2023); University of Reading (UK, 2023); University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UK 2024).

Exam Boards, External examiner: University of Edinburgh (2023-2024); Birkbeck, University of London (UK, 2019-2022); School of Languages & Applied Linguistics, The Open University (2018-2021).

Curriculum Review Panels, External Panel Member: University of Worcester (UK, 2021); University of Brighton (UK, 2018)

English Language Board of Studies, Chair (2019-2021), Year 1 Tutor (2017-2019), Deputy Chair/Year 2 & 3 Tutor (2015), ENCAP, Cardiff University (UK, 2019-2021)

Extenuating Circumstances Committee, Chair (2016-2017) and Member (2015), ENCAP, Cardiff University, UK

Research Seminar Series Co-ordinator, Centre for Language and Communication Research (2016-2017; 2014-2015).

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising PhD students in areas related to language and media, particularly research on:

• digital genres, discourse and communication
• interaction rituals and relationality in interpersonal and professional interaction
• identity and multilingualism on the internet
• language and media ideologies

Research drawing on discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, ethnography and new literacy studies would be of particular interest.

In addition to the students listed under 'Current Supervision', I also supervised the following PhD students to completion:

1. Argyro Kantara (with Frances Rock, ENCAP), Hybridity as challenge in televised election campaign interviews (2018)
2. Zayneb Al-Bundawi (with Tom Bartlett, ENCAP), Sacred texts and identity construction in the Cardiff Muslim community: Sojourners' narratives about 'majales' (2018) 
3. Aurora Goodwin (ENCAP), Keepin' it Real: Performing authenticity on Twitter disinformation accounts (2023)
4. Stephanie Tilliridou (ENCAP), Doing identity work on Facebook: A discourse analytic study of posts shared among older Greek-Cypriot users (2024)

I have also mentored the following ESRC postdoctoral fellows:

1. Judith Reynolds (with Chris Heffer, 2018-2019), Legal advice-giving communication in intercultural and multilingual contexts: Challenges, complexities and strategies for success
2. Lauren O'Hagan (2019-2020), Reading, Writing and... Rebellion: Understanding literacies and class conflict through the Edwardian book inscription
3. Kate Barber (2023-2024), Narrativised Hate: Examining and mitigating the potential harm of online discourses of sexual violence at the intersection of white and male supremacy

Current supervision

Arwa Altuwayjiri

Research student

Yipei Kou

Research student