Dr Sarah Muller
MA, PhD
School of Languages and Cultures
Honorary Research Fellow
Teaching Assistant for Luxembourgish
Full contact details
School of Languages and Cultures
Jessop West
1 Upper Hanover Street
Sheffield
S3 7RA
- Qualifications
-
I received my PhD from the University of Sheffield in 2021 and my doctoral research focused on multilingualism and language education policy in Luxembourg. I completed my Masters in English Language & Linguistics at the University in Sheffield (MA, 2016), and my undergraduate degree in English Language & Linguistics and Sociology at the University of Glasgow (MA, 2015). My undergraduate dissertation explored the interface between language and national identity in Luxembourg, and my MA dissertation focused on primary school teachers as language policy enactors in Luxembourg.
- Research interests
-
My research interests include sociolinguistics, educational linguistics, multilingualism, language attitudes, language ideologies, and language (education) policy.
As a Research Associate, I work on the British Academy-funded project ‘European Migration, Language Policy and Small States’ with Dr James Hawkey as PI and Dr Kristine Horner as COI.
My PhD thesis is entitled ‘The Lived Experience of Language (Education Policy): Multimodal Accounts by Primary School Students in Luxembourg’. It is a critical ethnographic sociolinguistic study that adopts original theoretical synergies and a methodologically innovative research design to explore the perspectives of young people on their linguistic repertoires and languages at school. I received my PhD in 2021, and my thesis was supervised by Dr Kristine Horner, Dr Mark Payne, and Prof Jan Windebank.
In 2019, I composed a visual representation of my research for the Faculty-wide collaborative photography exhibition The Image Speaks
- Teaching activities
-
I currently teach Luxembourgish conversation on the second and final year undergraduate modules:
- GER235/323: Introduction to Luxembourgish Language and Culture
- GER324: Advanced Luxembourgish.
I have also taught on the undergraduate modules:
- MDL301 Social Approaches to Multilingualism
- GER234 Germanic Languages in Social Context
In 2020, together with students on the Luxembourgish modules, I created a website that showcases students’ creative writing projects.
I was shortlisted for the SU Academic Award for ‘Best Postgraduate Research Student Who Teaches’ in 2019 and 2020.
- Professional activities and memberships
-
Workshop/conference organisation and research community:
At the University of Sheffield, I have organised numerous PGR workshops, research seminars and colloquia. I also co-founded and co-organised the Arts and Humanities Writing Retreats. In 2020, I was awarded the Prokhorov Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Research Culture.
Conference presentations:
‘German in the Luxembourgish Education System: Exploring Primary School Students’ Critical Perspectives’ Conference paper presented at the Virtual Colloquium in Germanic Linguistics for Postgraduate Research Students and Early Career Researchers (FGLS), hosted online by the University of Sheffield (2021)
‘Lived experience of language (education policy): a case study of a primary school student in Luxembourg’ Conference paper presented at the PGR Colloquium: Approaches to Multilingualism, hosted online by the University of Sheffield (2020)
‘Luxembourgish Primary School Students’ Narratives on Lived Experience of Language and Language Policies’ Conference paper presented at LuxERA ERC at the University of Luxembourg (2019)
‘Repertoire, Identity and Policy: Perspectives of Primary School Students in Luxembourg’ Conference paper presented at Multilingualism and Identity: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (MEITS) at the University of Cambridge (2019)
‘Linguistic Repertoire and Language Education Policy: Narratives of Lived Experience by Primary School Students in Luxembourg’ Conference paper presented at ISB at the University of Alberta (2019)
‘Language Education Policy in Luxembourg: Perspectives of Primary School Students’ Conference paper presented at LuxERA at the University of Sheffield (2018)
‘Lived Experience of Language Education Policy and Educational Processes in Luxembourg: Primary School Students’ Perspectives’ Conference paper presented at ECER at the University of Bozen/Bolzano (2018)
‘Repertoire and Lived Experience of Language and Education Policies: Narratives of Primary School Students in Luxembourg’ Conference paper presented at the Sociolinguistics Symposium 22 at the University of Auckland (2018)
‘Primary School Teachers as Negotiators of Language Education Policies’ Conference paper presented at the SOAS Symposium on the Politics of Language Policy at the Local Level at SOAS (2017)
Professional Memberships:
I am an active member of the Centre for Luxembourg Studies, as well as the Luxembourg Educational Research Association (LuxERA).
- Publications
Muller, S.; Schmidt, C. and Weber, J.-J. (2019) Perceived Legitimacy and Translanguaging: Exploring the Interconnectedness of Pedagogy and Policy. In: Horner, K. and Dailey-O’Cain, J. (eds) Multilingualism, (Im)mobilities and Spaces of Belonging. Bristol: Multilingual Matters