Biography

Dr Emma Riordan Senior University Language Teacher at the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at University College Cork, Ireland where she teaches German language and applied linguistics, and tutors pre-service language teachers. She is is President of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics, co-director of the MA Applied Linguistics (from AY2024/25), co-convenor the research cluster Language: Cognition, Practice, Policy and Ideology, and member of the European Cost Action European Network on International Student Mobility: Connecting Research and Practice (ENIS).

Emma has a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin, and an MPhil in Teaching German as a Foreign Language and a BA Language and Cultural Studies from UCC. She has taught English language and cultural studies at the University of Magdeburg, Germany, German language and linguistics at UCC and lectured in German at Waterford Institute of Technology. Her research interests include classroom discourse, translanguaging, language education policy and language teacher education.

Research Interests

Language teaching and learning
Classroom discourse analysis
Curriculum design
Language for Specific Purposes
Language education policy
Translanguaging
Language teacher education

Research Grants

  Project Funding
Body 		Start Date End Date Award
Preparing and supporting students to become outward-looking, plurilingual global citizens through international mobility National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 30-JUN-24 30-DEC-24 €13,500.00
Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund Irish Funded Research 01-APR-19 31-MAY-21 €24,716.00
Reframing the debate on language separation in the modern language Irish-medium immersion classroom: Teachers’ beliefs, perceptions and practices COGG 25-SEP-23 25-SEP-24 €24,000.00
Managing the complexity of digital language teaching materials to enhance accessibility and student engagement College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences 19-SEP-22 25-SEP-23 €5,500.00
Higher Education Language Educator Competences National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 06-MAY-19 06-SEP-21 €142,000.00
Language for teaching purposes Irish Research Council 06-SEP-10 04-SEP-13 €66,000.00

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2024) 'Exploring the challenges of making digital language learning materials accessible'
Emma Riordan, Dragan Miladinovic, Megan Dempsey, Sabine Manhartsberger, Siobhan Mortell (2024) 'Exploring the challenges of making digital language learning materials accessible'. The All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning In Higher Education, 16 (2) [Details]
(2024) '“My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in Ireland'
Toth, Patricia & Riordan, Emma (2024) '“My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in Ireland'. Teanga: The Irish Yearbook of Applied Linguistics, 31 :54-77 [ Publisher's Version] [DOI] [Details]
(2022) 'The Complex and Changing Face of Higher-Education Language Teaching in the Republic of Ireland'
Earls, Clive, Riordan, Emma, Furlong, Aine, Flynn, Colin & Benini, Sylvia (2022) 'The Complex and Changing Face of Higher-Education Language Teaching in the Republic of Ireland'. The All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning In Higher Education, 14 (3):1-19 [ Publisher's Version] [Details]
(2020) 'Higher Education Language Educator Competences (HELECs)'
Emma Riordan, Clive Earls, Áine Furlong, Colin Flynn, Silvia Benini (2020) 'Higher Education Language Educator Competences (HELECs)'. Teanga: The Irish Yearbook of Applied Linguistics, 27 :193-203 [ Publisher's Version] [Details]
(2016) 'Language education for non-native speaker language teachers'
Emma Riordan (2016) 'Language education for non-native speaker language teachers'. Teanga: The Irish Yearbook of Applied Linguistics, (24) [Details]
(2015) 'The policy and practice of teacher target language use in post-primary foreign language classrooms in Ireland'
Emma Riordan (2015) 'The policy and practice of teacher target language use in post-primary foreign language classrooms in Ireland'. European Journal of Language Policy, :165-181 [Details]
(2015) 'Factors affecting target language use in the post-primary classroom in Ireland'
Emma Riordan (2015) 'Factors affecting target language use in the post-primary classroom in Ireland'. Germanistik In Ireland, 10 :109-125 [Details]

Books

  Year Publication
(2018) Language for Teaching Purposes: Bilingual classroom discourse and the non-native speaker language teacher.
Emma Riordan (2018) Language for Teaching Purposes: Bilingual classroom discourse and the non-native speaker language teacher. London: Palgrave Macmillan. [ Publisher's Version] [DOI] [Details]

Published Reports

  Year Publication
(2023) New research cluster launched at UCC.
Emma Riordan (2023) New research cluster launched at UCC. Irish Association for Applied Linguistics, iraal.ie. [Details]
(2020) School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures Self Evaluation Report.
Crowley, Patrick, Guiliani, Chiara, Riordan, Emma, Serra Porteiro, Elisa & Weingärtner, Till (2020) School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures Self Evaluation Report. University College Cork, Cork. [Details]
(2017) Conference Report: Irish Association of Applied Linguistics’ (IRAAL) Annual Conference: Paradigm shifting in Applied Linguistics.
Emma Riordan (2017) Conference Report: Irish Association of Applied Linguistics’ (IRAAL) Annual Conference: Paradigm shifting in Applied Linguistics. Yearbook of the German Studies Association of Ireland 12, Dublin. [Details]

Guest Speaker

  Year Publication
(2022) What’s so special about language teaching?: Exploring language educator unique competences.
Emma Riordan (2022) What’s so special about language teaching?: Exploring language educator unique competences. Dublin: Guest Speaker [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2011) 'Various lesson plans'
Emma Riordan (2011) 'Various lesson plans' In: Grundy, Peter, Bociek, Hania & Parker, Kevin (eds). English through Art. London: Helbling. [Details]

Journal Volume Edited

  Year Publication
(2011) Journal of Postgraduate Research, Trinity College Dublin.
Emma Riordan (2011) Journal of Postgraduate Research, Trinity College Dublin. Dublin: Journal Volume Edited [ Publisher's Version] [Details]

Unpublished Reports

  Year Publication
(2022) School of Languages Literatures and Cultures: Curriculum Overview.
Riordan, Emma, Cawley, Kevin, da Silva Mendes, Sofia, Hodgson, Kate & Ventura, Sara (2022) School of Languages Literatures and Cultures: Curriculum Overview. Unpublished Reports [Details]
(2021) Higher Education Language Educator Competences: A framework of competences for higher education language educators in Ireland.
Riordan, Emma, Earls, Clive, Furlong, Aine, Flynn, Colin & Benini, Sylvia (2021) Higher Education Language Educator Competences: A framework of competences for higher education language educators in Ireland. Unpublished Reports [ Publisher's Version] [Details]
(2014) Language support for post-primary language teachers: The example of German.
Emma Riordan (2014) Language support for post-primary language teachers: The example of German. Unpublished Reports [Details]

Thesis/Dissertation

  Year Publication
(2014) Language for Teaching Purposes: An analysis of the spoken language needs of non-native speaker language teachers.
Emma Riordan (2014) Language for Teaching Purposes: An analysis of the spoken language needs of non-native speaker language teachers. Thesis/Dissertation [Details]

Other

  Year Publication
(2010) Drinking with the Irish: Examining cultural stereotypes.
Emma Riordan, Reinhold Wandel (2010) Drinking with the Irish: Examining cultural stereotypes. https://www.buhv.de/unterrichtsmaterial/sekundarstufe-ii/englisch-betrifft-uns.html: Other [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2024 Future Humanities Institute Event Support Fund Future Humanities Institute
2024 CASILAC funding Centre for Advanced Studies in Languages and Cultures
2023 Research fund (cluster launch) CASiLaC
2023 Seminar Series Funding National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
2019 Seminar Series Funding National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
2017 Research fund CASiLaC
2017 Seminar Series Funding €1,000 National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
2012 Postgraduate Travel Grant, TCD Trinity Trust
2005 Boyle Scholarship in German Studies German Department, UCC
2010 IRCHSS Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Irish Research Council
2011 Postgraduate Travel Grant, TCD Trinity Trust
2006 Studentship UCC German Department, UCC

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Irish Association for Applied Linguistics Executive Committee Member 20-NOV-15 / 25-AUG-17
Irish Association for Applied Linguistics President 16-NOV-24 /
Cost Action ENIS Member 01-FEB-23 /
Irish Association for Applied Linguistics Secretary 19-NOV-22 / 16-NOV-24
German Studies Association of Ireland Secretary 19-NOV-16 / 30-AUG-17

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2024) 21st AILA World Congress – Linguistic Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability,
Riordan, E., Neville, C. & Ó Ceallaigh, T.J. (2024) Sculpting spaces for translanguaging as pedagogy in the minority language context: Challenging assumptions and diagnosing misconceptions. [Oral Presentation], 21st AILA World Congress – Linguistic Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , 11-AUG-24 - 16-AUG-24. [Details]
(2023) Association of University Language Communities’ annual conference,,
Emma Riordan, Dragan Miladinovic, Sabine Manhartsberger (2023) Managing the complexity: enhancing accessibility of and engagement with digital language learning materials. [Oral Presentation], Association of University Language Communities’ annual conference,, University of Edinburgh , 27-APR-23 - 28-APR-23. [Details]
(2023) IRAAL Annual Conference, Plurilingual mindsets in an increasingly bi-/multilingual world,
Ó Ceallaigh, T.J., Riordan, E. & Neville, C. (2023) A plurilingual approach to teaching for learning in Irish-medium immersion: Implications for teacher education and curriculum design. [Oral Presentation], IRAAL Annual Conference, Plurilingual mindsets in an increasingly bi-/multilingual world, Maynooth University, Ireland , 18-NOV-23 - 19-NOV-23. [Details]
(2021) AILA World Congress,
Emma Riordan, Clive Earls, Áine Furlong, Colin Flynn, Silvia Benini (2021) Higher Education Language Educator Competences (HELECs): A national project for the continuing professional development of language educators in HE. [Oral Presentation], AILA World Congress, Groningen , 15-AUG-21 - 20-MAR-22. [Details]
(2021) Association of University Language Communities of Britain and Ireland Annual Conference,
Dr Emma Riordan, Dr Clive W. Earls, Dr Colin J. Flynn and Dr Áine Furlong (2021) Practitioners, experts and leaders: A draft framework of competences for language educators in higher education. [Oral Presentation], Association of University Language Communities of Britain and Ireland Annual Conference, Leeds , 29-MAR-21 - 31-MAR-21. [Details]
(2021) 2021 IRAAL Annual Conference: Applying Linguistics in the 21st Century,
Emma Riordan, Clive Earls, Áine Furlong, Colin Flynn, Silvia Benini (2021) Higher Education Language Educator Competences: Towards a professionalisation of language teaching in Higher Education. [Oral Presentation], 2021 IRAAL Annual Conference: Applying Linguistics in the 21st Century, University College Dublin , 25-NOV-21. [Details]
(2019) Annual Conference of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics,
Emma Riordan, Clive Earls, Silvia Benini, Colin Flynn, Aine Furlong (2019) Higher Education Language Educator Competences (HELECs): Supporting language teacher professional development in the context of Languages Connect. [Oral Presentation], Annual Conference of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics, National University of Ireland, Galway , 30-NOV-19 - 30-NOV-19. [Details]
(2019) German Department Research Day,
Emma Riordan (2019) Language teacher professional development in Higher Education in Ireland: Why? What? How?. [Oral Presentation], German Department Research Day, University College Cork , 20-SEP-19 - 20-SEP-19. [Details]
(2019) Crossing Boundaries in Language Teaching: Northern Ireland and Beyond,
Emma Riordan (2019) Language for Teaching Purposes: non-native speaker language teachers and the boundaries of classroom discourse. [Keynote Speaker], Crossing Boundaries in Language Teaching: Northern Ireland and Beyond, Queens University, Belfast , 03-MAY-19 - 04-APR-19. [Details]
(2017) 30 of Years Erasmus in Ireland: Study abroad in research and practice conference,
Emma Riordan; Anne Marie Devlin; Siobhan Mortell (2017) Conference Chair. [Conference Organising Committee Chairperson], 30 of Years Erasmus in Ireland: Study abroad in research and practice conference, University College Cork , 16-JUN-17 - 16-JUN-17. [Details]
(2013) 5th AILA-Europe Junior Research Meeting in Applied Linguistics,
Emma Riordan (2013) Multilingualism in Education. [Conference Organising Committee Chairperson], 5th AILA-Europe Junior Research Meeting in Applied Linguistics, Trinity College Dublin , 18-JUN-13 - 30-JUN-13. [Details]
(2016) Annual Conference of the German Studies Association of Ireland (GSAI),
Emma Riordan (2016) Digilanguages; Language learning in a digital age. [Oral Presentation], Annual Conference of the German Studies Association of Ireland (GSAI), Dublin City University , 18-NOV-16 - 19-NOV-16. [Details]
(2016) Annual Conference of the Irish Association of Applied Linguistics,
Emma Riordan (2016) Native and non-native speaker language teachers: Who's worth more?. [Oral Presentation], Annual Conference of the Irish Association of Applied Linguistics, Trinity College Dublin , 19-NOV-16 - 19-NOV-16. [Details]
(2016) Annual Conference of the Irish Association of Applied Linguistics,
Emma Riordan (2016) Executive committee member and panel chair. [Conference Organising Committee Member], Annual Conference of the Irish Association of Applied Linguistics, Trinity College Dublin , 19-NOV-16 - 19-NOV-16. [Details]
(2016) Annual Conference of the Association of German Studies (AGS),
Emma Riordan (2016) The policy and practice of teacher target language use in post-primary German language classrooms in Ireland. [Oral Presentation], Annual Conference of the Association of German Studies (AGS), Newcastle University , 31-AUG-16 - 02-NOV-16. [Details]
(2016) AILA Europe Junior Researcher Meeting in Applied Linguistics,
Emma Riordan (2016) Communicative language teaching in the Irish context. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], AILA Europe Junior Researcher Meeting in Applied Linguistics, University of Tallinn, Estonia , 19-MAY-16 - 21-MAY-16. [Details]
(2015) 40th Anniversary Conference Irish Association of Applied Linguistics,
Emma Riordan (2015) Is communicative language teaching the right approach for post-primary modern language teaching in Ireland?. [Oral Presentation], 40th Anniversary Conference Irish Association of Applied Linguistics, Trinity College Dublin , 21-NOV-15 - 21-NOV-15. [Details]
(2015) Annual Conference of the German Studies Association of Ireland (GSAI),
Emma Riordan (2015) Eliciting in the language classroom: Teachers’ use of open, closed, display and referential questions. [Oral Presentation], Annual Conference of the German Studies Association of Ireland (GSAI), NUI Galway , 13-NOV-15 - 14-NOV-15. [Details]

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
Board of Studies BEd Gaeilge Member 2022 /
Board of Studies MA Applied Linguistics Member (Chair from 2024) 2018 /
SLLC Self-evaluation report coordinating committee Teaching & Learning Officer 2019 / 2021
School Executive Management Committee German Rep and Teaching & Learning Officer 2017 / 2022
Board of Studies BA World Languages Member 2017 / 2023
Board of Studies BA International Member 2017 / 2023
School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures Teaching and Learning Committee Chair 2020 / 2022
CACSS Teaching and Learning Sub-Committee for Student Experience SLLC Representative and Reporting for the DEAG 2021 /
Digital Education Advisory Group CACSS representative 2021 /
CACSS Teaching and Learning Sub-Committee for Recruitment and Employability SLLC and German Department Representative 2018 / 2021

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2004 University College Cork BA (Hons) Language and Cultural Studies with German
2007 University College Cork Master of Philosophy Teaching German as a Foreign Language
2014 Trinity College Dublin PHD Applied Linguistics

Journal Activities

  Journal Role To / From
Teanga: The Irish Yearbook Of Applied Linguistics Guest Editor 20-NOV-15 - 19-NOV-16
Trinity College Dublin Journal Of Postgraduate Research Editor 01-JAN-11 - 01-AUG-11

Languages

  Language Reading Writing Speaking
German Fluent Fluent Fluent

Outreach Activities

  Description

Presenting on the impact of research in language teaching and learning in Ireland, with the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics

Third level liaison for the post-primary German Teachers' Association of Ireland (GDI) 2014-2016

Teaching Interests

Coordinator for second year German language programme (GE2101, GE2801, GE2007, GE2201, GE2202)
Module coordinator for GE3108 Teaching German as a Foreign Language
MA Applied Linguistics - Language teaching methods
Academic coordinator for Erasmus for students of BEDGA with German
Teacher on the first year language programme (GE1101)