STEPHEN PIHLAJA
I am programme leader for the MA TESOL and teach modules in teaching theory and methods, English language, and Sociolinguistics. I serve as personal tutor for the cohort of largely international students and am responsible for all aspects of the administration of the programme, with a wide range of responsibilities including programme delivery and quality assurance, gathering and responding to student feedback, external stakeholder engagement, student recruitment, staff and student liaison, programme design, approval, modification and withdrawal, and serving on various programme, school, and university committees. I am an Internationalisation Lead for the College of Business and Social Sciences (Americas, UK, and Europe) to create and build international collaborations and projects. I also serve as PhD and EdD supervisor for one internal student and two external students and am external examiner for an MSc in Applied Linguistics at the University of Glasgow.
Previously: Lecturer in Stylistics (Jan 2014-Jul 2014) & Senior Lecturer in Stylistics (Aug 2014-Jul 2017)
Newman University; Birmingham, UK
Keiwa Gakuen College; Shibata City, Japan
Niigata Meikun High School; Niigata City, Japan
Assistant Language Teacher (Sep 2004–Aug 2005)
Interac Co. Ltd.; Niigata City, Japan
English Language Teacher (Oct 2003–Aug 2004)
Imajuku English School; Fukuoka City, Japan
Saltley Trust Small Grant (Co-Investigator)
Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Research Collaborator & Consultant)
HEFCE Social Innovation Pilot Project (Principal Investigator)
Let's Talk about sex: Equipping student leaders to address sexual violence on campuses (£18,252); Project includes providing leadership and oversight on three research sites across the UK with 15 people working on the project (2016)
Small Grant, Middlesex University (Co-Investigator and consultant)
Being a young Muslim in England today: a qualitative narrative study (£7,200); Project included providing leadership and oversight at the Birmingham site, leading focus groups, data analysis, and mentorship of young staff on research methods and discourse analysis (2016)
Small Travel Grant, Consortium for Research Excellence, Support and Training (CREST)
For conference attendance (2015 & 2016)
Research Network Seed Money, CREST
For organising inter-disciplinary seminar focused on religious talk on social media (2015)
Students as Academic Partners Grant, Newman University.
Support for student salaries to investigate Muslim student experience (2014–2015)
For research-related travel expenses (2011)
- Section Editor: Open Linguistics (pending 2024)
- Treasurer: Citizens UK Birmingham (from 2024)
- Chair: Poetics and Linguistics Association (from 2022)
- Chair of the Board of Governors: St Michael's Primary School, Bartley Green (from 2020)
- Book Reviews Editor: Journal of Language and Discrimination (2018-2023)
- Treasurer: Poetics and Linguistics Association (2020-2021)
- Secretary: University Council of General and Applied Linguistics (2015 to 2019)
- Membership Secretary: Poetics and Linguistics Association (2013 to 2019)
- Co-Organiser: Poetics and Linguistics Association Annual Conference and Summer School (July 2018)
- Reviewer for:
- Journal of Religion, Media & Digital Culture
- Discourse, Media, & Context
- Metaphor & the Social World
- Language & Literature
- Journal of Language & Discrimination
- Lingua
- Corpora
- Bloomsbury and Routledge Book Proposals
- John Templeton Foundation Grants
- Panellist: Athena Swan Equality Charter Award Panel (2017, 2019)
- Internationalisation Lead (Americas, UK, and Europe): College of Business and Social Sciences, Aston University (2024-Current)
- Programme Director: TESOL, Aston University (2023-Current)
- Chair: Humanities Research Centre, Newman University (2018-2020, 2022-2023)
- Chair (formerly vice-chair): Minor Amendments Panel, Newman University (2015-2023)
- Unit of Assessment Lead: UoA27 REF2021, Newman University (2018-2023)
- Vice-Chair (formerly member): Research Ethics Committee, Newman University (2021-2023)
- Programme Leader: English Subject Area, Newman University (2020-2023)
- Member: Learning, Teaching and Academic Quality Committee, Newman University (2021-2023)
- Convenor: Impact Working Group, Newman University (2018-2023)
- Events Co-ordinator: Humanities Research Centre, Newman University (2016-2018)
- External Examiner: University of Glasgow, MSc Applied Linguistics (from May 2019)
- London South Bank University, English Single Honours Revalidation (May 2016)
- Critical Reader for Open University, E302 Language and Creativity (Jul 2014)
- Senior Fellow: Higher Education Academy (from 2015)
- Visiting Research Fellow: Linnaeus University Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies in Sweden (2018)
- Visiting Research Fellow: Heythrop College; London, UK (Sept 2014-Aug 2016)
- Communication Techniques; Middlesex University
- Empirical Investigation of Language; Middlesex University
- How Words Work (formerly Introduction to Language); Newman University
- Introduction to Linguistics; University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
- Investigating English Language: Stylistics; University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
- Language and Media; Newman University
- Language, Society, and Power; Newman University
- Literary Linguistics; University of Westminster
- Making Sense of Language (formerly Analysing Text & Talk); Newman University
- Pedagogic Grammar; Middlesex University
- Research Methods in TESOL and Applied Linguistics; Middlesex University
- Style, Literature, and the Everyday Art of Language (formerly Stylistics); Newman University
- Theory and Practice of English Language Teaching; Aston University
- British Association of Applied Linguistics
- Poetics and Linguistics Association
- Japanese Language Proficiency, Second Level; Tokyo, Japan (Dec 2007)
- Japanese Language Proficiency, Third Level; Tokyo, Japan (Dec 2005)
MRes and PhD Studentship, The Open University (UK) (2008)
Content Award, Association of Writers and Writing Programs (USA)
Awarded to editorial team Catch, Knox College’s literary magazine (2003)
Pacemaker Award, Associated Collegiate Press (USA)
Awarded to editorial team Catch, Knox College’s literary magazine (2003)
Ford Fellowship & Richter Research Grant, Knox College (USA)
Awarded to undertake research related to college honours project (2002)