In episode 13, Leo sits down with Dr. Susan Hunston. Dr. Hunston is a professor at the university of Birmingham, where she has taught applied linguistics and English language since 1986. She also did her PhD at Birmingham, and her thesis is titled "Evaluation in experimental research articles." Dr. Hunston won the Fellowship of of the Academy of Social Science Award in 2010, and the Officer of the most Excellent Order in 2017.

Her main research areas are in Corpus Linguistics and Discourse Analysis. Some of her more popular books include:

• 2002 Corpora in Applied Linguistics. Cambridge University Press.

Her projects on pattern grammar can be found here, and her main research page can be found on the University of Birmingham website. She also works in conjunction with Collins Dictionary to bring pattern grammar to the fore. 

In this episode, Leo talks with Dr. Hunston about pattern grammar and how it is associated with language acquisition. She argues that patterns enable the expedition of acquisition - especially in the area of lexis - and emphasizes that it is the teacher's responsibility to activate and seek those patterns in texts and curricula, even if they are not explicitly stated. 

We thank Dr. Hunston for being generous with her time and expertise. We invite her back any time.

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Contact Dr. Hunston:

Email: [email protected]

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