Dr Maria Leedham

Professional biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and English Language and am interested in student and professional writing and corpus-assisted discourse studies as a means of exploring textual data. I was Co-I on the ESRC-funded Writing in professional social work practice in a changing communicative landscape (WiSP) which ran from 2015-2018. Current research projects include the exploration of Young Adult fiction and a project  aiming to build a corpus of student writing and a related corpus of tutor feedback (see 'Research interests' below for more details).

I hold a BA in Linguistics (Lancaster University), MSc TESOL (Aston University, distance learning) and a PhD (The Open University) and am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I have also qualified as a teacher trainer on Cambridge ESOL CELTA courses and hold the RSA/UCLES Diploma in TEFLA (Edinburgh University). Prior to starting work at The Open University in 2009, I taught EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and was a teacher trainer at Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University. I have also taught EAP and English language at Gyosei College for Japanese Students (Reading, UK), language schools in Oxford, UK and at a secondary school in Iwate, Japan. From 2005-07 I was a Research Assistant at Oxford Brookes on a project resulting in the British English Written English corpus (BAWE).

Research interests

My main research expertise is in text analysis, using corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS). Corpus projects include research into student assignments, professionals’ writing, newspaper texts, TV transcripts and Young Adult literature. I combine corpus analysis with interviews, focus groups and observations to build a rounded picture of the practices around writing.  

My work on academic writing took, as its point of departure, issues arising from my PhD thesis (A corpus-driven study of features of Chinese students' undergraduate writing in UK universities) and includes a monograph, book chapters and journal articles on student writing at undergraduate and Masters level in the UK (see publications list). In researching student writing, I take a descriptive, non-deficit approach and foreground the alternative linguistic and visual means frequently used by L2 English students in producing successful university assignments. I’m now working as PI with colleagues Dr Jackie Tuck, Dr Prithvi Shrestha, Dr Thomas Ullmann and (RA) Dr Dana Therova on a project named Student Writing and Tutor Assessment Practices (SWaTAP). We aim to build a corpus of OU student writing across four disciplines and a companion corpus of tutor feedback.

I have expanded this interest in academic writing to consider writing produced by professional social workers. I was Co-Investigator on the ESRC-funded Writing in professional social work practice in a changing communicative landscape (WiSP) project with Theresa Lillis (PI) and Alison Twiner (2015-2018). This work was designed to provide a detailed description and analysis of the texts and writing practices in professional social work, develop an innovative way of researching the written record in institutions, using different methodologies (ethnography, corpus linguistic and process approaches), and involve stakeholders (social workers, social work agencies, service users, inspection bodies etc) to ensure that research findings will have an impact on education, training and policy initiatives. The project resulted in a corpus of social workers' writing, a number of publications and presentations, and a site for social work practitioners. I have also carried out related work on the portrayal of social workers in the press and one examining how social workers and other caring professionals are portrayed on television. My work on negative portrayals of social workers in the media is described in an article on the social worker platform Community Care.

Additionally, I am PI on a new project: 'The ‘windows and mirrors’ in the top 50 best-selling young adult fiction in the UK in the past 5 years', working with colleagues Dr Sarah Mukherjee and Dr Sally Hunt. The project arose out of our teaching work on L301 Language, literature and childhood. Alongside corpus compilation, we are conducting focus groups of young people and interviewing their school librarian. We hope this project will support young people's reading practices and assist schools in book selection. 

Doctoral student Supervision

I am not currently seeking additional PhD students. In the future, I may consider taking on further potential doctoral students in the areas of academic writing, writing across different professions, online learning, and in social topics explored through corpus-assisted discourse studies.

Previous doctoral students

Dana Therova:  Linguistic complexity in international foundation students' assesed writing at a UK university  (PhD, 2021)

Jenny McMullan: Gender in a Study of Academic Writing? An Exploration into the Writing Practices and Experiences of Sixteen Women Enrolled in Research Courses in a UK University (PhD, 2018)

Subhi Ashour: Understanding Teachers' Engagement in Inquiry-Based Professional Development  (PhD, 2016)

Mat Terrett: Exploring an Exam-Practice Approach to Teaching Academic Reading and Writing in China: Teacher Perspectives and Materials Analysis (EdD, 2015)

David Hann: A study of the playful use of English among learners on an intensive language course (PhD, 2013)

Teaching interests

My teaching is research-led and builds on my background as a teaching practitioner, spanning a wide range of areas at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I was production chair for the Level 3 undergraduate module L301 Language, literature and childhood (started October 2023) and am currently authoring units in two modules of our new MA Linguistics (modules entitled L806, Language, society and AI; L807 Dissertation). I'm on the presentation teams of both L301 and the MAED (Applied Linguistics). Previously I was coordinator for the Applied Linguistics pathway of our MA Education degree, and both production and presentation chair of E304 Exploring English grammar.

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Impact and engagement

From 2015-2018 I was Co-I on the ESRC-funded project Writing in professional social work practice in a changing communicative landscape (WiSP). This project aims to inform policies and guidelines on recording and assist with the development of training materials for writing and recording. Potential beneficiaries include professional social workers, social work agencies, inspection bodies, local authority trainers and service users. The project team have worked with an Advisory Panel comprising members of these groups. I contributed resources to the WiSPeR site of materials for social work practitioners. 

My work on WiSP and follow-on work on how social workers are portrayed in the media led to an (ongoing) invitation to join the judging panel for the BASW Social Work Journalism Awards and a podcast and article for the social workers' magazine, Community Care.

I have given invited talks on Chinese students' writing in English - based on my PhD and subsequent work - to both academic and practitioner teacher and administrator audiences.

My engagement with OU students and the wider public includes interviews for Student Hub Live on my research and on the nature of applied linguistics, an interview for OpenMinds magazine on globalisation and the English language, and an Open Learn article on using corpus linguistics to investigate pronoun use in writing.

External collaborations

My expertise in Applied Linguistics has resulted in invitations to examine PhDs across the UK and in Spain.  I am External Examiner for Sheffield University's MA in Applied Linguistics (2021 - ongoing) and from 2012-2016 I was External Examiner for Brighton University's Graduate Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.  I am a member of the British Association of Applied Linguists (BAAL) and from 2013-2015 was a member of the Executive Committee and responsible for the Applying Linguistics Fund.

From 2013 - 2019 I was Senior Academic Reviewer for the Arab OU's English Language modules (licensed from the OU UK); my role was to ensure quality of teaching and to advise on the recruitment of new academics.

I have a strong reviewing record across a number of journals, such as Applied Linguistics, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, System and East Asian Learner Journal (Reviews Editor and Editorial Board member, 1997-2012).