Dr David O'Reilly

Profile

Biography

In November 2017, I started my appointment as Associate Lecturer in Education (Teaching and Scholarship), successfully defending my PhD one month later. In October 2021, I was promoted to Lecturer, transferring to a Research and Teaching role in 2022. I lecture on a range of UG and PG modules and supervise taught BA, MA, and MSc students. My research focuses on first and second language metaphoric competence in relation to vocabulary knowledge and other aspects of language proficiency, language play/creativity, and test design/assessment. I am also interested in advancing research methodology and (particularly) quantitative methods in these areas.

To help promote Open Research, I have worked on Open Accessible Studies in Language Studies (OASIS), an ESRC and British Academy funded project aimed at making research findings on language learning, language education, and multilingualism more accessible to a wider audience. For OASIS, I currently lead workshops introducing the resource to language practitioners and students, and previously published summaries of journal articles, co-written with the original authors (see External activity). I previously served as Project Administrator for IRIS, a large repository for materials used to collect data for research into second language learning and teaching.

From 2019 to 2021, I was the department’s Academic e-Learning Coordinator, and worked with various colleagues and services to better embed digital tools and literacy in our curricula. In this role, I devised the Education E-Learning (EEL) Hub, a VLE resource to help colleagues access resources and help, and for sharing best practice.

Career

• 2022-present: Lecturer in Education (Research and Teaching)
• 2021-present: Review Editor, Metaphor and the Social World
• 2021-2022: Lecturer in Education (Teaching and Scholarship)
• 2021: Winner, RaAM Early Career Research Paper Prize 2021
• 2021: Winner, Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Award 2021: Covid response category
• 2021: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• 2021: Nominated: University of York Student's Union (formerly YUSU) Outstanding Zoom Creativity and Teacher of the Year
• 2021: Winner, Department of Education 'Making the Difference' scheme
• 2020-22: Secretary, the Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor (RaAM)
• 2018-20: Ordinary Member on the Executive Committee of the Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor (RaAM)
• 2017-21: Associate Lecturer in Education (Teaching and Scholarship)
• 2017: Research Assistant, a meta-analysis of reliability in metaphoric competence and preparatory work for an innovative meta-analysis tool, Principal Investigator: Emma Marsden, funding by a Department Research Priming Grant Awarded (£1094)
• 2014-18: Postgraduate Liaison and Development Officer on the Executive Committee of the Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor (RaAM)
• 2014: Research Assistant: Promoting dialogic teaching to enhance student critical engagement with learning, Principle Investigator: Jan Hardman
• 2013-17: PhD student, University of York, An investigation into metaphoric competence in the L2: A linguistic approach
• 2013-16: Project Administrator: IRIS: The Repository of Instruments for Research into Second Languages, Project Directors: Emma Marsden, Luke Plonsky (Alison Mackey, former)
• 2012-13: Masters in Applied Linguistics for English Language Teaching, University of York
• 2008-12: English Language Instructor, Berlitz Centre for Foreign Languages, Belgrade, Serbia
• 2003-06: Bachelors in English Language and Literature, University of Manchester

University roles

• Derwent SCR member

Research

Overview

My research focuses on first and second language metaphoric competence in relation to vocabulary knowledge and other aspects of language proficiency, language play/creativity, and test design/assessment. I am also interested in advancing research methodology and (particularly) quantitative methods in these areas. For information about my publications, projects, activities, and prizes, please see my University of York Research Database profile.

Research group(s)

• Centre for Advanced Studies in Language and Education (CASLE)

Supervision

I supervise undergraduate and postgraduate taught students in the department and serve on Thesis Advisory and Progression Panels for doctoral students. I am interested in applications from potential PhD students working in my research areas.

Teaching

Undergraduate

I teach / have taught on the following undergraduate modules:

• Educational Research Methods
• New directions in Educational Research
• Researching Psychology in Education

Postgraduate

I teach / have taught on the following postgraduate modules:

• Evaluating TESOL Practice
• Language Curriculum Design and Evaluation
• Language for Education
• Planning and Communicating Research
• Pragmatics: Language, Meaning and Communication
• Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis
• Research Methods for Psychology in Education I
• Research Methods for Psychology in Education II
• Research Methods in Language Learning and Teaching
• TESOL Methods
• Testing and Assessment in English Language Teaching

External activities

Memberships

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Member of the Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor (RaAM)

Editorial duties

• Review Editor, Metaphor and the Social World
• Postgraduate and Academic Researchers in Linguistics at York (PARLAY) 2014 Conference Proceedings

Invited talks and conferences

For information, please see my University of York Research Database profile.