Dr Geraldine Mark

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

Ongoing and completed research projects

October 2021 – present: Research associate on the IVO (Interactional Variation Online) project, a multi-modal study examining virtual workplace communication to understand barriers and successes in communicating effectively, with a focus both on verbal and non-verbal discourse (e.g. pitch, gaze, gesture, head nod) interaction. This project is AHRC/IRC funded, working in a large team across multiple institutions. Co-PIs are Prof Dawn Knight (Cardiff University) & Prof Anne O’Keeffe (Mary Immaculate College, Limerick). (www.ivohub.com)

June 2021 – present: Consultant, FORCE project, Centre for English Language Proficiency, University of Malta. The project aims to build a national framework of competence in English, through collection and analysis of a corpus of Maltese English. 

Sep 2018 – present: investigating how L2 learners of English, across different levels of proficiency, create and use part of speech tag sequences.  Benefitting from access to largescale, longitudinal data (the Cambridge Learner Corpus), this study seeks to contribute to the theoretical debate promoting a usage-based model of second language acquisition by examining how pre-constructed, often formulaic, patterns emerge in learner language data. It examines how learners become proficient in employing a repertoire of exponents across a single sequence and a series of repertoires across a range of sequences.

2010 – 2021: Corpus research consultant to Cambridge University Press and Assessment  on spoken language, grammar curriculum development, and assessment material. Responsible for the development of SPELT (spoken language in ELT), a corpus-informed project to improve the understanding of the differences between spoken and written language and promote the increase of evidence-based presentation of spoken discourse in ELT materials.

October 2016 – December 2019: ‘Adverbs in spoken language: a corpus-based empirical analysis of second and first language English discourse and its pedagogical implications’. Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. Co-researcher, with Dr Pascual Pérez-Paredes.

January 2018 – September 2018: ‘Morpho-syntactic patterns of grammatical acquisition in a corpus of learners of English’. Researching a usage-based model of second language acquisition. Co-researcher with Dr Anne O’Keeffe and Dr Pascual Pérez-Paredes.

2010 – 2015: Co-principal researcher and author (with Dr Anne O’Keeffe)  for ‘The English Grammar Profile’, the grammar strand of the project ‘English Profile’, a global research project to empirically describe learner language; founding partners include Cambridge University Press, British Council, Cambridge Assessment, University of Cambridge and University of Bedfordshire. Using the Cambridge Learner Corpus, the research describes the grammar competencies in the writing of English language learners, at each level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The research is now available as an open access resource at http://www.englishprofile.org/english-grammar-profile/egp-online.

Teaching

Visiting lecturer, University of Malta (Sep 2018 – present) Teaching and postgraduate dissertation supervision for MA in TESOL and PhD candidates. Development and revision of the Advanced Grammar module, with CL focus.  Online webinars and face-to-face workshops. Member of course review panel.

Course tutor, Universidad de Murcia, Spain Escribir ciencia en inglés. Online annual workshop for academic writing in English (2020, 2021).

Associate lecturer, Postgraduate supervisor, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick (various from Sep 2015 – present) Teaching and postgraduate dissertation supervision for PhD and MA in Applied Linguistics. Online teaching modules include Core features of language and Corpus linguistics and language teaching. 

Associate lecturer, Bath Spa University (Oct 2017 – July 2018) Teaching and postgraduate dissertation supervision of the Discourse analysis module for the MA in TESOL.

Academic manager, Gloucestershire FE College (Jan 2015 – Sep 2016) Management and development of all English language teaching provision, including ESP and EAP programmes, to a wide range of international students; committed to outstanding education, teacher training and professional development.

Biography

Selected publications since 2020

Curry, N. and Mark, G. (forthcoming, 2024) Applications of corpus linguistics in language education: Teacher, editor and assessment developer perspectives. Research Notes, Cambridge University Press and Assessment.

Curry, N. and Mark, G. (forthcoming, 2024) Teachers’ engagement with corpora for language teaching materials development, Second language teacher education.

Knight, D., O’Keeffe, A., Mark, G., Fitzgerald, C., McNamara, J., Palmer-Fahey, T., Farr, F., Peraldi, S., Adolphs, S., Cowan, B. (forthcoming 2024) Corpus linguistics for the virtual workplace. Routledge.

Knight, D., O’Keeffe, A., Mark, G., Fitzgerald, C., McNamara, J., Palmer-Fahey, T., Farr, F., Peraldi, S., Adolphs, S., Clark, L. Cowan, B. (in press, 2024) Indicating engagement in online workplace meetings: The role of backchannelling head nods, International Journal of Corpus Linguistics.  

Lim, J.,  Mark, G., Pérez-Paredes, P. & O'Keeffe, A., (in press, 2024) Exploring Part of Speech (POS)-tag sequences in a large-scale learner corpus of L2 English: A developmental perspective, Corpora 19 (1).

Pérez-Paredes, P. and Mark, G. (forthcoming, 2024) Rethinking interviews as representations of spoken language in learner corpora, in Love, R. (Ed). (forthcoming). Special issue: “Innovations in the compilation and analysis of spoken corpora”. Research in Corpus Linguistics, 12(1).

Pérez-Paredes, P., O’Keeffe, A. and Mark, G. (forthcoming 2025) Corpus Linguistics for Language Learning Research. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Fitzgerald, C., Mark, G., O’Keeffe, A., Knight, D., McNamara, J., Palmer-Fahey, T., Farr, F., Peraldi, S., Adolphs, S., Clark, L. Cowan, B. (2024) ‘Multi-modal considerations for social media discourse analysis: a specialised corpus of Twitter commentary on working from home’ in S. Coats and V. Laippala (eds.) The March of Data: Linguistics across disciplinary borders. Bloomsbury.

O’Keeffe, A., Knight, D., Mark, G., Fitzgerald, C., McNamara, J., Adolphs, S., Palmer-Fahey, T., Cowan, B., Farr, F., Peraldi, S.  “We’ve lost you Ian”: multi-modal corpus innovations in capturing, processing and analysing professional online and analysis of spoken interaction, in Love, R. (Ed). (2024). Special issue: “Innovations in the compilation spoken corpora”. Research in Corpus Linguistics, 12(1): 1-23.

O’Keeffe, A. and  Mark, G. (2022) Principled pattern curation to guide data-driven learning design. Applied Corpus Linguistics, 2,(3).

O’Keeffe, A. and  Mark, G. (2022) ‘Bloody hell, I’m grand: Adjectives in spoken Irish and British English’, in Lucek, S. and Amador Moreno, C. P. (Eds.) Expanding the Landscapes of Irish English Research: Papers in Honour of Jeffrey Kallen. London and New York: Routledge.

Pérez-Paredes, P. and  Mark, G. (2022) ‘What can corpora tell us about language learning’, in O'Keeffe, A., and McCarthy, M. (Eds.) 2nd edition (2022). The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguistics. Routledge.

Pérez-Paredes, P. and Mark, G. (Eds.) (2021) Beyond the Concordance: Multiple Applications of Language Corpora for Language Education. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Pérez-Paredes, P. and Mark, G. (under review) Adverbs in spoken language: a corpus-based analysis of learner and native-speaker language and its pedagogical implications. Working title.  

Pérez-Paredes, P., Mark, G. and O’Keeffe, A. (2020) The impact of usage-based approaches on second language learning and teaching. Cambridge Education Research Reports. Cambridge University Press.

Honours and awards

2018 - 2022  PhD in Applied Linguistics,  MIC, University of Limerick, Ireland. Title of thesis: A journey through learner language: tracing development using POS tag sequences in large-scale learner data. Supervised by Dr Anne O’Keeffe (MIC, University of Limerick) and Prof Pascual Pérez-Paredes (Universidad de Murcia).

2018  Recipient of the Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Doctoral Award for PhD Applied Linguistics, University of Limerick, Ireland.

1993 - 1994  MSc Applied Linguistics (1^st class), University of Edinburgh.

1989  RSA Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, International House, London. (Grade A)

1984 - 1988  BA (Hons) Modern Languages: French and Spanish, University of Bath.

Professional memberships

Member, IVACS (Inter-Varietal Applied Corpus Studies) 

Member, BAAL (British Association for Applied Linguistics)

Member, AAAL (American Association for Applied Linguistics)

Associate Member, CALS (Centre for Applied Languges Studies), University of Limerick

Speaking engagements

Invited plenary speaker

Mark, G. (2024) ‘Corpora, comparison and collaboration’ (working title) 11^th InterVarietal Applied Corpus Studies (IVACS) Biennial conference, 16-17 July 2024.

Mark, G. (2023) ‘Language development in large-scale learner data: Exploring ways in, University of Malta, Doctoral summer school, July 2023.

Mark, G. (2023) ‘Building on insights from the English Grammar Profile: from ‘really good’ to ‘painfully obvious’. Workshop on profiling second language vocabulary and grammar, University of Gothenburg, April 20-21 2023. 

Mark, G. (2020) ‘Exploring difference using corpus linguistics.’ the 1st International Conference on Language and Humanities, Yangon University of Foreign Languages, Myanmar, January 5 2020.

Mark, G. (2019) Corpus linguistics out of the box: applying corpus linguistics. Doctoral school, University of Extremadura, Caceres, Spain, May 2019.

Selected peer-reviewed international conference papers and posters (from 2019 to present)

Papers to be given at 11^th InterVarietal Applied Corpus Studies (IVACS) Biennial conference, 16-17^th July 2024. Knight, D., O’Keeffe, A., Fitzgerald, Mark, G., McNamara, J. (2024)

(1)   Interactional Variation Online: Building and Analysing a Corpus of Virtual Workplace Meeting

(2)   'Is that an old hand?’ Corpus Insights into Managing Virtual Meetings

Vassallo, O. and Mark, G. (2024) ‘Investigating language development through register awareness in a multilingual context’. Paper accepted for AAAL 2024, Houston, Texas, Forthcoming: March 2024.

Mark, G., Knight, D., O’Keeffe, A., Fitzgerald, C. (2023) ‘Interactional Variation Online (IVO): Corpus Approaches and Applications to Analyzing Multi-modal Collaboration in Virtual Meetings’, Paper given at AAAL 2023, Portland, Oregon, March 2023.

O’Keeffe, A. & Mark, G (2023) ‘Expanding theoretical approaches to data-driven learning. Participant on invited colloquium’, AAAL 2023, Portland, Oregon, March 2023.

Knight, D., O’Keeffe, A., Fitzgerald, C., Farr, F., Flanagan, G., Mark, G., McNamara, J., (2023) ‘Navigating Online Business Communication: Perspectives and Practice’. Panel session ABC Regional Conference Naples,  January 2023.

Vassallo, O. and Mark, G. (2022) ‘Investigating the ‘native speaker’ in a multilingual context through epistemic stance.’ BAAL, Queen’s University Belfast, September 2022.

Knight, D.  et al. (2022) ‘You're on mute: examining virtual workplace communication.’ BAAL, Queen’s University Belfast, September 2022.

Curry, N.  and Mark, G. and Burton, G. (2022) ‘Combining corpus and qualitative methods to improve the representation of spoken language in ELT materials.’ The 43rd Annual Conference of the International Computer Archive for Modern and Medieval English (Icame43), Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, July 2022.

Papers given at the 15^th Teaching and language corpora (Talc)  conference, University of Limerick, July 2o22:

Vassallo, O. and Mark, G. (2022) ‘The huge amount of responsibility which it holds’: Noun phrase usage in Maltese English.’

O’Keeffe, A. and Mark G. (2022) ‘Principled grammar curation: how can learner corpus research enhance data-driven learning design?’

Curry, N.  and Mark, G. and Burton, G. (2022) ‘Investigating publishers’, assessment developers’, and teachers’ engagement with corpora for ELT materials development.’

Pérez-Paredes, P., Curry, N. and Mark, G. (2022) Academic writing and digital resources: streamlining corpora in practitioner professional development (PPD) courses.

Papers given at CL2021, 11^th international Corpus Linguistics conference, University of Limerick, July 2021:

Mark, G.  Caines, A.,  Pérez-Paredes, P., O'Keeffe, A. and Buttery, P. (2021) ‘Task type and complexity: a case study investigating Part-of-Speech sequence variability within B1 level exam data.’

Pérez-Paredes, P., Mark, G. and O’Keeffe, A. (2021) Constructing international students in UK universities after the Brexit referendum.

Curry, N.  and Mark, G. (2021) ‘Well … I mean … I don’t know’ Using corpus methods to improve the representation of spoken language in ELT coursebooks: the next phase.

Vassallo, O., Mark, G., Pace, S. and Jonk, L. (2021) ‘National framework of learner competence in English in a multilingual context.’

O’Keeffe, A., Pérez-Paredes, P. and Mark, G. (2021) ‘Usage-Based theory and Data-Driven Learning: time for alignment?’ AAAL 2021, Virtual conference, March 2021.  

O’Keeffe, A., Pérez-Paredes, P. and Mark, G. (2020) ‘Aligning usage-based theory and Data- Driven Learning. 14^thTeaching and Language Corpora conference.’ 14^th Teaching and Language Corpora conference (TaLC 2020), University of Perpignan, July 2020.

O’Keeffe, A., Pérez-Paredes, P. and Mark, G. (2019) ‘Investigating Constructions in L2 use: a front and rear view of development in B2 learners of English ’. CL2019, the 10^th international Corpus Linguistics conference, University of Cardiff, Wales, 23-26 July 2019.

Committees and reviewing

Member of conference organisation team, Teaching and Language Corpora (TaLC) Biennial conferences: TaLC Cambridge 2018, Talc Limerick 2022, TaLC Manchester 2024