Abigail Parrish
School of Education
Lecturer in Languages Education
Deputy Director of MA Education Programme
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+44 114 222 8113
Full contact details
School of Education
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Profile
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Following an undergraduate degree in Modern European Studies, I trained as a Modern Foreign Languages teacher at the University of Sheffield. I went on to undertake an MA at Sheffield alongside teaching full-time in Lincolnshire, followed by a PhD in Education at the University of York.
My PhD focused on choice and motivation in Modern Foreign Languages education in schools in England, and I continue to research in this area. Before coming to Sheffield, I worked at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln where my teaching focused on education policy, language policy and research methods.
- Research interests
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I am interested in motivation to learn a language, particularly in schools, and how this links to factors such as choice, multilingualism and socio-economic status. I use self-determination theory in my work, which is a broad theory of motivation and wellness grounded in psychology.
I would be interested to hear from prospective research students interested in language learning motivation, self-determination theory, school-level language learning or language policy, multilingualism in schools and related topics.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Measuring Motivation in English Schools: The Appeal of Self-Determination Theory. Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 4(1), 1-17.
- Intercultural competence and languages: inextricably linked or linked inexplicably?. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 52(3), 492-510.
- Book Review: Contemporary Language Motivation Theory: 60 Years Since Gardner and Lambert (1959). Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 39(5-6), 777-780.
- Modern foreign languages: decision-making, motivation and 14–19 schools. Cambridge Journal of Education, 50(4), 469-481.
- Curriculum change in modern foreign languages education in England: barriers and possibilities. The Language Learning Journal, 48(5), 534-554.
- Student motivation, school policy choices and modern language study in England. The Language Learning Journal, 47(3), 281-298.
- Self-determination across the secondary-school years: how teachers and curriculum policy affect language learners’ motivation. The Language Learning Journal, 1-19.
- Policy tug of war: EBacc, Progress 8 and Modern Foreign Languages in England. Journal of Education Policy.
- Multilingualism & motivation in language classrooms in England. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education.
- Taking Root: Self-Determination in Language Education. Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 4(1), 1-7.
- Feminisation, masculinisation and the other: re-evaluating the language learning decline in England. The Language Learning Journal, 1-18.
Chapters
- Measuring Motivation in English Schools: The Appeal of Self-Determination Theory. Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 4(1), 1-17.
- Teaching interests
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My teaching focuses on language education and general education topics. I am interested in all aspects of education and language policy and the teaching of research methods.
- Professional activities and memberships
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I lead the self-determination theory special interest group of the International Association for Language Learning.