Tess Fitzpatrick
Learning, Sharing and Losing Words: Applying Vocabulary Research Findings to Real World Challenges
Speaker
-
Tess Fitzpatrick
Tess Fitzpatrick
Tess Fitzpatrick is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Swansea University, and is Head of the Department of Applied Linguistics. She returned to Swansea in 2017 after five years at Cardiff University’s Centre for Language and Communication Research.
Tess’ research focuses on vocabulary processing, and she leads the Lexical Studies research group. Her work on second language vocabulary acquisition and testing is informed by her early career as an EFL teacher and teacher trainer. Through the development of a new methodology for lexical investigation, using associative responses, she has extended her lexical research to contexts of ageing, dementia, and word choices in medical care. Tess has lived in Wales for over thirty years, and her familiarity with this bilingual part of the UK feeds into her work. Her current research role on a major Welsh corpus project is enhanced by this, and by her experience as a language teacher and learner.
Abstract →
Tess Fitzpatrick
Learning, Sharing and Losing Words: Applying Vocabulary Research Findings to Real World Challenges
This talk explores ways in which theoretical and empirical research related to word knowledge and use can inform solutions to real world problems. We will examine patterns of lexical association and retrieval, and will propose that awareness of those patterns might offer new perspectives on language acquisition, effective communication, and language attrition in conditions such as dementia.