Newcastle University

Faculty Member, Education, Communication & Language Sciences

Senior Lecturer

Newcastle University, UK

About

Hello, thanks for looking me up on Academia. I'm Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at the School of Education, Communication & Language Sciences at Newcastle University, UK.

I carry out research on human interaction, more specifically interaction transacted through talk, and have a particular interest in second language learning, multilingualism, English as a 'lingua franca', second language use, the notion of 'competence', intercultural communication, and interaction in a range of institutional settings.

In order to carry out this research, I look at how spoken interaction is *micro-managed* and *socially-organised* - in an attempt to describe, in detail, how people together accomplish understanding, how they overcome (or fail to overcome) problems caused by differences - in communicative styles, in cultural backgrounds, in language proficiency, in competence, or differing interests and agendas.

Much of my research (both empirical and theoretical) has been concerned with interaction in English as a 'lingua franca' (a lingua franca being a contact or auxilliary language between people who do not share a mother tongue). The theoretical and methodological implications of English as a 'lingua franca' are, I believe, wide-ranging and profoundly important for sociolinguistics, L2 (Second Language) Education and L2 Acquisition, intercultural communication, and EFL/ESL research.

In terms of theory and methodology, I'm inspired by the fields of Ethnomethodology, Conversation Analysis, micro-ethnography, social constructivism, the phenomenology of everyday life, the learning theories of Lave & Wenger, and post-structural theory, and I attempt to bring these fields of knowledge to bear on my empirically-driven research.

Throughout, I've endeavoured to take seriously the view that language and communicative competence are socially-constituted and situationally-constructed phenomena, and that dialogue underpins our social behaviour and practices.

I occasionally do consultancy work for the BBC and other media organisations and companies, advising on human interaction, communication, miscommunication, language use and abuse, and connections between language and culture.

Selected publications:

Firth A. Conversation Analysis and Lingua Franca. In: Chapelle, C.A, ed. Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. In Press.

Firth A, Jenks C, Trinder L. Mediators’ methods for managing emotionality: Circumventing, curtailing and containing conflict in child contact conciliation. Discourse Studies 2012.

Firth A, Jenks C, Trinder L. Social workers' social work: The 'professional preamble' in child-contact mediation. Research on Language and Social Interaction 2012. In Press.

Firth A. Talk International: English as a Lingua Franca in the Workplace. Routledge, 2012.

Jenks C, Firth A. On the pragmatic and interactional character of multi-participant synchronous voice-based computer-mediated communication. In: Herring, S., Stein, D., Virtanen, T, ed. Handbook of the Pragmatics of Computer-Mediated Communication. Berlin; New York: Mouton, 2011. In Press.

Emmison E, Firth A. Requesting and Receiving Advice in Helpline Discourse. In: Limberg, H., Locher, M., ed. The Discourse of Advice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011. In Press.

Firth A, Emmison M. Diagnosis as dialogue: Diagnostic work in calls to a technical support helpline. In: Büscher, M., Goodwin, D. & J. Mesman, ed. Ethnographies of diagnostic work: Dimensions of transformative practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, pp.113-132.

Firth A. Spoken Discourse and Social Interaction: An Introduction. Oxford: Hodder Arnold, 2011.

Trinder L, Jenks CJ, Firth A. Talking children into being in absentia: Children as a strategic and contingent resource in family court dispute resolution. Child and Family Law Quarterly 2010, 22(2), 234-257.

Trinder, L., Firth, A. & Jenks, C. (2010). ‘So presumably things have moved on since then?’ The interactional management of risk allegations in child contact dispute resolution. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family.

Firth, A. (2010). Telephone Helplines. In: Schneider, Klaus P. & Barron, A.(Eds.). 'Pragmatics of discourse'. Mouton de Gruyter: The Hague.

Firth, A. (2009). Ethnomethodology. In Sigurd D’hondt (ed.), 'The Pragmatics of Interaction'. John Benjamins: Amsterdam (published July 2009)

Firth, A. & Emmison, M. (2009). Diagnosis as dialogue: Diagnostic work in calls to a technical support helpline. In Büscher, M., Goodwin, D. & J. Mesman (eds.) Ethnographies of diagnostic work: Dimensions of transformative practice. Palgrave: Oxford.

Firth, A. (2009). Doing not being a foreign language learner: English as a lingua franca in the workplace and (some) implications for SLA. International Review of Applied Linguistics, Special Issue, edited by Junko Mori and Numa Markee, 47: 127-156.

Firth, A. (2009). The Lingua Franca Factor. Intercultural Pragmatics. Special Issue on English as a Lingua Franca, edited by Juliane House and Istvan Kecskes, 6-2: 147-170.

Firth, A. (2008). Review of Rubdy, R. & Saraceni, M., eds. 'English in the World: Global rules, global roles', Applied Linguistics, 29, 2.

Firth, A. & Wagner, J. (2007). On Discourse, Communication, and (Some) Fundamental Concepts in Second Language Acquisition Research Modern Language Journal (Reprint of 1997 publication, in Special Focus Issue on: The impact of the ideas of Firth & Wagner on SLA), vol. 91: 755-770.

Firth, A. & Wagner, J. (2007). Second/Foreign Language Learning as a Social Accomplishment: Elaborations on a Reconceptualized SLA. Modern Language Journal (Special Focus Issue on: The impact of the ideas of Firth & Wagner on SLA), vol. 91: 798-817.

Firth, A. (2007). Review of Ferguson, G. 'Language Planning and Education', International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 17/3, 413-419.

Baker, C., Emmison, M. & Firth, A. (2005). Calling for Help: Language and Social Interaction in Telephone Helplines. Edited by Carolyn Baker, Michael Emmison and Alan Firth. John Benjamins: Amsterdam (13 chapters, 344 pages).

Firth, A. Emmison, M. & Baker, C. (2005). Calling for Help: An Introduction. In: Calling for Help: Language and Social Interaction in Telephone Helplines (chapter 1). pp. 1-35.

Baker, C., Emmison, M. & Firth, A. (2005). Calibrating for Competence in Calls for Technical Assistance. In: Calling for Help: Language and Social Interaction in Telephone Helplines (chapter 2). pp. 39-62.

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