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Research interests and activities

I have a dual background in translation/interpreting studies and language pedagogy. My main interest is in the broad area of 'communication and the new media' where I have focused on the strategic, pragmatic and discourse processing dimensions of communication, the new and emerging forms of audiovisual translation and interpreting and the use of new media in language pedagogy.

In my work in the area of remote interpreting (videoconference interpreting) I have analysed the adaptation strategies which interpreters develop in this unfamiliar and difficult form of interpreting. The use of videoconference interpreting is a continued research interest of mine, especially its emerging uses in public service interpreting. I am currently leading the EU-funded research project AVIDICUS (Assessment of Videoconference Interpreting in the Criminal Justice Services, see below).

My interest in audiovisual media has also led me to conduct research into audio description, an emergent practice helping blind and partially sighted people to follow and enjoy audiovisual content (e.g. films, TV programmes, theatre plays). I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches to audiodescription as a complex form of intermodal mediation.

In the area of language pedagogy I have worked in a number of European-funded research and development projects designing communicative language training materials based on authentic resources. Most recently I have developed a small video-based corpus of spoken English (ELISA) and a method for its pedagogic exploitation. I am particularly interested in how we can make spoken multimedia corpora and corpus analysis techniques fruitful in the context of communication, language learning and interpreting and am currently participating in the EU-funded research project BACKBONE (Content and Language Integrated Learning, see below) to investigate the use of corproa in interpreter training.

Research interests

	Intersemiotic translation, especially audiodescription
	Remote videoconference interpreting
	The pragmatic foundations of translation and interpreting
	Discourse processes in translation and interpreting
	Translation and interpreting as strategic processes
	Corpus linguistics in language, translation and interpreting research
	Corpora in language pedagogy, translator interpreter training
	Spoken language and spoken corpora
	English language and linguistics

Research projects

since 2009	AVIDICUS - Assessment of Videoconference Interpreting in the Criminal Justice System (EU Criminal Justice programme Action Grant): project leader. more info (pdf file)
since 2009	BACKBONE - Content and Language Integrated Learning (EU Lifelong Learning programme Grant): leader of the Surrey project group. more info
2005-2008	SACODEYL – Compilation and Open Distribution of European Youth Language (EU Sokrates-Minerva project): leader of the Surrey project group. more info
2003-2004	ELISA – Exploration of an English-Language Interview Corpus as a Second-Language Learning Application (research grant from the University of Tübingen): project leader. more info \| demo \| corpora and corpus tools for language learning (incl. bibliography)
1998-2001	*VideoLingua – Language learning extensions to authentic vocational and cultural video clips** (EU Leonardo da Vinci project): co-management of the project, member of the project Tübingen group, conceptual design and development of multimedia language learning modules on the basis of authentic materials.
1998-2000	TALL – Teaching Autonomy in Language Learning (EU Leonardo da Vinci project): member of the Tübingen project group, co-ordination of a pilot course on eLearning/Blended Language Learning.
1996-1998	ViKiS – Videoconference with integrated simultaneous interpreting (German government-funded project): co-management of the project, conceptual design of a VC interpreting system, system evaluation and empirical analyses.
1996-1998	Telos – Telematics enhanced language learning and tutoring systems (EU Telematics Applications project): co-management of the project (with Prof Dr Kurt Kohn), member of the Tübingen project group, contribution to the conceptual design of the Telos platform.
1994-1995	Lotos – Learner Oriented Language Tutoring Shell (EU Multilingual Action Plan project): co-ordination of the project.
1992-1994	Translator's Workbench II (EU Esprit project): member of the Heidelberg project group, contribution to the specification of a conceptual design for a translation-specific terminology database.

PhD thesis

2002	Kommunikation unter widrigen Umständen? Einsprachige und gedolmetschte Kommunikation in der Videokonferenz Communication under adverse conditions? Monolingual and interpreted communication in video conferences Thesis supervisor: Prof. Dr. Kurt Kohn

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