International links

Qatar University & Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Doha – Qatar)

Esmaeel Abdollazadeh is an international partner on a research project, funded by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), working with Dr. Abdelhamid M. Ahmed (Qatar University) and Dr. Lameya Rezk (Hamad Bin Khalifa University). The research project is entitled Writing the Future: Metadiscourse and Voice in English and Arabic Argumentative Writings of Qatari University Students. Our project investigates the metadiscourse markers and voice features in the Arabic and English writing of Qatari University students, using both corpus linguistic methods and interviews to explore students’ metalinguistic understanding.

University of Wollongong, Australia

We have strong links with the University of Wollongong because our research on the meaning-making relationship between grammar and writing is paralleled by the research there by Professor Beverly Derewianka and Associate Professors Pauline Jones and Honglin Chen. We have hosted both Pauline and Honglin on study visits to Exeter, and Debra Myhill is a Visiting Professor in Wollongong. We recently co-published a book, Developing Writers Across the Primary and Secondary Years: Growing into Writing, and are currently collaborating on a new project Developing Transferable Thinking Skills to Improve Writing Outcomes, funded by the New South Wales Department for Education.

University of Macquarie, Sydney

Debra Myhill is an International Partner on an Australian Research Council funded project entitled  Improving classroom writing by enhancing Reflexive Decisions and Practice, working with Professor Mary Ryan, and Associate Professors Lisa Kervin and Georgina Barton. This project is investigating a reflexive approach to writing, utilizing the team's skills in writing development, pedagogy, and metalinguistic understanding. The aim is to build teachers' capacities and improve writing achievement in Australian schools through new writing pedagogies that move beyond dependence-building strategies.

Autonomous University of Barcelona

We have links with a research group, GREAL, who have a particular interest in metalinguistic understanding.  We hosted Dr Xavier Fontich here for two years on a study funded by the Spanish Research Council, and we have published Special Issues and presented at conferences together.

University of Alagoas, Brazil

Since 2018 we have established an international partnership with Professor Eduardo Calil, from the University of Alagoas. After initial collaboration and publication (Calil and Myhill, 2020), funded by a Newton Mobility grant, we continue to work together investigating the metalinguistic activities of young writers during textual composition, with a particular focus on the teaching of grammar and the metalinguistic comments made by the children as their text unfolds.

University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

We are involved in an advisory capacity with a research project in Chile which is investigating how grammar can support children’s development as writers, drawing on our research.  We have hosted the project director, Professor Carmen Sotomayor in Exeter, Debra Myhill has visited Chile in an advisory role, and we are co-publishing the outcomes

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

We have a strong collaborative partnership with the NORMS team, who have been investigating national standards for writing and ways of supporting teachers.  We have hosted Professors Synnove Matre, Randi Solheim and Hildegun Otnes here for a research visit to Exeter, and we have co-published Special Issues and presented at conferences together.  Debra Myhill is part of the International advisory Board on their new project, Functional Writing in Primary Schools.