Chris McGuirk
Lecturer in TESOL, International English Language Coordinator
School of Psychology and Humanities
Chris teaches on the MA TESOL, MA TESOL with Applied Linguistics and English Language electives for International students. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of York in Applied Linguistics, focusing on video games for language learning, and his interests include language learning technology and learner motivation.
Chris coordinates English Language support around the University, as well as English Language Testing both in Preston and at overseas partner institutions. He teaches on MA modules in language learning technology and corpus linguistics, provides specific English language support for Engineering and Fire Safety and also supervises postgraduate projects on language learning technology and language learner motivation. In his research role, his thesis is focusing on massive multiplayer online games as language learning environments.
Chris qualified to teach English as a Foreign Language at nineteen years old and has been teaching ever since, to students of all ages and levels, with a variety of needs, whether General, Academic English or English for more specialist subjects, such as Engineering, Fire Safety, Business and the Shipping Industry. His career has taken him to the UK, Japan, South Korea and Sudan. Chris has worked with researchers from the Open University and the University of Edinburgh to organise a symposium at the International Association of Applied Linguistics conference in 2021. He is Co-Chair of the EuroCALL Extended Reality and Gamified Language Learning Special Interest Group, and has presented at the BAAL 2018 and EuroCALL 2019 Conferences.
- Trinity Dip TESOL, TLI Edinburgh, 2014
- MA TESOL, University of Manchester, 2012
- CELTA, Manchester Academy of English, 2012
- Dip TESOL, INTESOL International, 2007
- BA Japanese/Second East Asian Language, University of Durham, 2005
- Cert. TESOL, INTESOL International, 2002
- Language Learning Technology
- Learner Motivation
- Gaming
- Science Fiction
- History
- Reading
- Music (specifically progressive rock, heavy metal and electronica)
- Member of BAAL
- Member of EuroCALL
Chris' main research is on online platforms as a 'third space': a bridge between online communities and real-world communities. There is research to suggest that such spaces (for example, video games) may have a number of social benefits for language learners, so he is primarily interested in both how learners behave in those spaces, and which language skills could potentially benefit from time spent in third spaces.
Use the links below to view their profiles:
- View their unique and persistent identifier on the ORCiD registry
- Full list of publications and articles on CLoK
- Extended Reality and Gamified Language Learning SIG
- EuroCALL
- EuroCALL 2019
- BAAL 2018
Telephone:+44 1772 894131
Email: Email:Chris McGuirk
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