Dr Diana McCray

Profile

I am a second language acquisition (SLA) researcher specialising in second language writing and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). My research explores how students develop as academic writers, with a particular interest in writing processes, feedback, academic literacy, and the use of digital and artificial intelligence tools to support learning and teaching.

I joined the School of Education at the University of Leeds in January 2018. Before this, I worked at Lancaster University as a postdoctoral research fellow on a project focused on improving the teaching and learning of academic English in universities in Uzbekistan. I secured funding for this research through the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Global Challenges Research Fund.

My work is informed by a strong commitment to developing effective, inclusive, and context-sensitive approaches to language education. I am particularly interested in research that connects theory with educational practice and supports students, teachers, and institutions in responding to emerging challenges in academic communication.

Responsibilities

• MA TESOL Programme Lead
• Hillary Place Papers Journal Academic Lead

Research interests

I am primarily interested in L2 writing, academic writing, EAP, cognitive processing, SLA and Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning. My doctoral research involved the application of quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis to investigate the syntactic and lexical development of L2 writers on an intensive English for Academic Purposes programme. The objective of my thesis was to obtain a nuanced picture of learners' writing skills development over time, with the aid of the keystroke logging.

As a postdoctoral fellow, I was able to demonstrate the ability to collaborate with my colleagues in Uzbekistan by using the co-production methodology. As a result, the Uzbek teachers and researchers gained a number of transferable skills, including experience in creating and interpreting needs analysis, and team-based workshop material construction.

Qualifications

• PhD In Linguistics
• MA in TESOL
• MA in English Linguistics
• BA in English Philology

Professional memberships

• International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL)
• British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
• British Educational Research Association (BERA)
• International Materials Development Association (MATSDA)

Student education

Since January 2018, I have been teaching and leading various undergraduate and postgraduate modules at Leeds University.

I taught on the following undergraduate modules:

EDUC 1040 Second Language Acquisition

EDUC 3009 Analysing Language Learning

I also taught on several postgraduate modules including:

EDUC 5935 Materials Development for TESOL

EDUC 5909 Introducing a Task-Based Curriculum in Classrooms and Systems

EDUC 5931 Analysing Language Learning

EDUC 5932 Analysing Language Teaching and

I currently teach on the following postgraduate modules:

EDUC 5916 Tasks and Materials for TESOL

EDUC 5928M Research Methods and Dissertation for MA TESOL Studies and MA TESOL Programmes (module leader)

Besides teaching, I supervise both undergraduate and postgraduate students' reserach projects.

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Language Education Research

Current postgraduate researchers

• Siying Shen
• Dwi Yulianto Nugroho
• Nurdamia A. Shaffee
• Sharifa Chowdhury
• Durdona Karimova Farkhodovna
• Gergely (Geri) Kajos
• Md Nabinur Rahman