Richard Wilson
Head of EAP and ESOL
Biography
Richard is the Head of the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) team for the University, responsible for managing the team who provide English language and study skills for international students who do not have British English as their first language across the whole of the University of Chester, at both UG and PG levels. He is also the Programme Leader for the MA TESOL, an innovative Master's programme in for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language which includes the Cambridge CELTA certificate as a key part of the teacher education content.
Teaching and Supervision
A learner cannot be truly fluent in a language without understanding the cultural context and history which has shaped the development of that language. As such, being immersed in the idioms, history and contemporary culture of a language are key to fully comprehending how it is used. Richard likes to use music and film in his teaching as methods of exploring culture through exposure to the language. He also believes that it is part of the role of a teacher to challenge learners' knowledge and understanding of the world as they develop their language or teaching skills. Personal acts are political acts and so all teachers have a responsibility to be aware of their own actions and to not shy away from contentious or difficult concepts in the classroom because to do so is to neglect the development of the ability of learners to interpret the world around them.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Richard is interested the intersection of language and culture. He uses film and music extensively in his teaching and is interested in concepts like 'Britishness', especially post-Brexit. He is also interested in the roles and responsibilities of English language teachers, the impact of English as a Lingua Franca and the status of 'non-native' teachers. The impact of AI and other forms of technology on language teaching is also another area of interest.