Department of Education
Dr Amber Dudley
Profile
Biography
I joined the Department in October 2020 as a Resource Developer and then moved to a Research Fellow post in July 2021, after completing my PhD in Second Language Acquisition at the University of Southampton.
My research interests include most aspects of second language research and, in particular, the development of morphosyntax among learners of French. My PhD thesis looked at how advanced second language learners of French acquire and process morphosyntax, using a combination of grammaticality judgement and eye-tracking during reading data.
Since 2020, my research interests have turned to learning and teaching foreign languages in the UK. I have worked on several research projects investigating the lexical content of GCSE exams in French, German, and Spanish; the development of subject-specific knowledge during professional development courses; and, most recently, the components of language proficiency among 16-year-old learners of French in England.
Career
- 2021-present: Research Fellow in Foreign Language Education
- 2020-21: Resource Developer, National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy
- 2017-20: ESRC-funded PhD in Applied Linguistics, University of Southampton
- 2016-17: ESRC-funded MA in Applied Linguistics (Research Methodology), University of Southampton
- 2015-16: Lectrice (English Language Tutor), Université de Rennes II
- 2011-15: BA (Hons) in French (Linguistics Studies), University of Southampton
Departmental roles
- Research Fellow in Foreign Language Education
Research
Projects
Project: Exploring the lexical content of the listening and reading tests in the GCSE exams in French, German, and Spanish in England. (Collaborator: Emma Marsden).
This research project had two main aims. The first aim was to examine the number and frequency of words used in the listening and reading tests in four years of GCSE exams in French, German, and Spanish. The second aim was to explore the extent to which a frequency-informed word list (in line with the new GCSE in MFL subjects) prepares GCSE learners for their exams relative to a topic-informed word list (in line with the current GCSE in MFL subjects).
Project: Piloting a test of subject-specific knowledge among foreign language practitioners. (Collaborators: Inge Alferink, Giulia Bovolenta, Victoria Hobson, and Emma Marsden).
This research project involved designing, piloting, and revising a test of subject-specific specific knowledge among foreign language practitioners as part of a professional development course run by the National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy.
Project: Investigating the components of language proficiency among 16-year-old learners of French and Spanish in England immediately after taking their GCSE exams. (Collaborators: Giulia Bovolenta and Emma Marsden).
This research project uses data from experimental tasks assessing multiple linguistic domains (including grammar and vocabulary) and skills (listening, reading, writing, and speaking) to investigate the components of language proficiency among 16-year-old learners of French immediately after they finished their GCSE exams in 2022. There are plans to replicate this study in 2023 with GCSE learners of Spanish.
