Current Committee Members
Lian Malai Madsen, Convenor
Professor of the Psychology of Language, University of Copenhagen
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Lian Malai Madsen is a professor of the psychology of language at the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, University of Copenhagen. She became a member of the LEF during her PhD (2004-2008) and has since then carried out linguistic ethnographic research on youth, linguistic and social practices, educational identities, cultural diversity and inequality in a variety of settings. Recently, she has been involved in a collaborative project on language and social media in the family (SoMeFamily) and currently she is PI of the EDUCABLE project, which explores how digital publics, influencers and alternative schooling communities possibly impact youths’ educational and occupational aspirations, or potentially disrupt assumed connections between social background and education. Madsen has published her work in journals such as International Journal of Multilingualism, Linguistics and Education and Language in Society, Language & Communication and Anthropology and Education Quarterly. She is the author of Fighters, Girls and Other Identities(Multilingual Matters), the co-editor of the volume Critical Perspectives on Linguistic Fixity and Fluidity (with J. Jaspers) and in the editorial board of Journal of Language, Culture and Society.​
Charlotte Selleck, Meetings Secretary
Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, University of the West of England
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Charlotte's research interests are in sociolinguistic theory, the sociolinguistics of Wales and interactional sociolinguistics. Her PhD research investigated the interplay between linguistic practices, linguistic representations, language ideologies and social inclusion between students at three related research sites in West-Wales.
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Piotr Węgorowski, Treasurer
Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, University of Glasgow
Piotr.Wegorowski@glasgow.ac.uk
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My research has been situated in within linguistic ethnography since my doctoral work, which adopted an ethnographic approach to study community policing, and which was part of a wider team project looking at communication in superdiverse urban settings. I am interested in discourse in professional and institutional contexts, particularly in multilingual contexts and often at the intersection of language and law or law enforcement. Most recently have been involved in a large project looking at communicative practices of digital forensic practitioners, as they interact with other stakeholders in the process of collecting, gathering and representing forensic evidence more broadly.
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Emma Brooks, Membership Secretary
Lecturer in Language Learning and Intercultural Communication, University College London IoE
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​My research interests include translanguaging, intercultural professional communication, health communication, superdiversity and the dominance of English as a global language: I have a particular interest in linguistic ethnography and the role of language in facilitating (in)equalities.
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Jackie Jia Lou, Network Manager
Senior Lecturer in Sociolinguistics, Birkbeck, University of London
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I am a Senior Lecturer in Sociolinguistics at Birkbeck, University of London. My main research interest is about language and the city, particularly through the lens of linguistic and semiotic landscapes and other types of multimodal discourse. My 2016 research monograph is a sociolinguistic ethnography of the linguistic landscape of Washington, DC’s Chinatown. In more recent research in Hong Kong and current projects in London, I continue to adopt an eclectic research design which integrates sociolinguistic and discourse analysis with social- and geo-semiotic analysis, ethnographic fieldwork, and more recently, mobile video ethnography.
Chloe Cheetham, Ordinary Member with Special Responsibility for Bluesky
PhD student at Goldsmiths, University of London
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I am currently studying for a PhD in Applied Linguistics at Goldsmiths, University of London, alongside my role as a primary school teacher. I am using linguistic ethnography to explore the discursive practices of a class of children who are between 10 and 11 years old, examining gender and leadership in friendship talk, learning talk and games.
I am working on growing the LEF’s Twitter (now moved to Bluesky) presence to engage with those new to linguistic ethnography and to keep current members updated.
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Andrea Sunyol, Ordinary Member
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I am a Lecturer at UCL Institute of Education. My research explores the role of language in distinctive educational practices and is disciplinarily anchored in (critical) sociolinguistic ethnography. I am particularly interested in language-learning motivated mobilities, and the everyday making of international student subjectivities.
I hold a PhD in English Studies by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. My thesis "Multilingualism, elitism and ideologies of globalism in two international schools in the area of Barcelona" is a sociolinguistic ethnography exploring contemporary processes of internationalisation in elite education.
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Jaspal Singh, Ordinary Member
Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and English Language, The Open University
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I work as a Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and English Language at the Open University. My teaching and research interests revolve around the interconnections between language, society and culture. Taking inspiration from classic western and eastern philosophy, hip hop and other Black diasporic traditions, my research complexifies and subverts standard approaches in the social sciences. For example, I aim to problematise research ethics and common-sense writing strategies and actively work to politicise and decolonise academia.