Skip to main content

Staff Profile

Dr Marta Wilczek-Watson

Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Communication

  • Email: marta.wilczek-watson@ncl.ac.uk
  • Address: Room 1.70, King George VI Building
    School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences
    Newcastle University
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU
    United Kingdom
Background

Introduction

I joined Newcastle University in October 2023 as a Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Communication, having previously acted as a Dissertation Supervisor at the University of Edinburgh (2020–2022), where I guided international MSc students on research projects in TESOL, Language Education, and Intercultural Communication.

Prior to that, I lectured in Applied Linguistics at Swansea University (2018–2019). I also worked as a Research Assistant (2015–2016) and Postgraduate Tutor (2011–2013) at Cardiff University, where I completed my training in Teaching in Higher Education and became an Associate Fellow of Advance Higher Education (AFAHE, 2013).

Cardiff is also where I completed my PhD in Sociolinguistics (2010-2015), having previously obtained an MA in Language and Communication Research from the same university (2009–2010). I also have a combined BA and MA degree in English Philology and TESOL from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland (1999–2006).

Qualifications

2016 – PhD in Sociolinguistics, Cardiff University, UK. Thesis: Stancetaking and identification in transnational families through culinary talk and practices

2013 – Teaching in Higher Education Certificate (Distinction); Associate Fellow of Advance Higher Education (AFHEA)

2010 – MA in Language and Communication Research, Cardiff University, UK. Thesis: Discourses of belonging and mobility – Space and place in dinner talk of young professionals

2007 – Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), General Teaching Council (GTC)

2006 – Combined BA and MA in English Philology and TESOL, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland. Thesis: Proverbs and productivity in English and Polish – Relational network approach

Awards and Grants

  • Cardiff University Postdoctoral Research Grant, 2016
  • Cardiff University International Conference Grant, 2014
  • The Sidney Perry Foundation Grant, 2014
  • The Sidney Perry Foundation Grant, 2013
  • King’s College London Summer School Bursary, 2013
  • Hanna and Zdzislaw Broncel Charitable Trust Grant, 2012
  • Cardiff University ‘125 President’s Scholarship’, 2011
  • Cardiff University ‘Starter Bursary’, 2010

Memberships and Professional Networks

  • Scottish Refugee Council (RSC)
  • Scottish Alliance for Food (SCAF)
  • Food Researchers in Edinburgh (FRIED)
  • British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
  • Advance Higher Education (AHE)
  • General Teaching Council (GTC)

Peer Review

The International Journal of Speech, Language, and the Law

Languages

  • English (fluent)
  • Polish (1st language)
  • French (intermediate)
  • German, Russian, and Latin (basic)

Pastimes

Creative Writing: Poetry and Flash Fiction | Pilates | Skiing | Live Music | Scrabble

Social Media

LinkedIn: marta-wilczek-watson-84821b185

X/Twitter: @MWilczekWatson


Research

Areas of Research Expertise

  • Social interaction
  • Intercultural communication
  • Intercultural, transnational, and migrant families
  • Food communication
  • Media communication
  • Social media communication
  • Multimodality
  • Discourse analysis

I specialise in qualitative research which employs Discourse Analysis, Multimodal Discourse Analysis, Thematic Analysis, and Content Analysis.

Research Interests

My research interests centre on the intersection of language, culture, and identity in contexts of mobility and migration. Within my PhD project, I conducted a discourse analysis of interactions in UK-based Polish-British families, exploring how their talk about and around food as well as their culinary practices indexed and shaped the family member stances towards their sociocultural field, thus revealing the fluidity, complexity, and fragmentariness of their multiple identities.

Through my doctoral study, I became fascinated by food-related discourses. Between 2020 and 2021, I co-designed and co-delivered a research project on discursive and semiotic representations of veganism in social media (in collaboration with Dr K. Brickley, KCL). I also closely follow various food research clusters and organisations (e.g., Food Researchers in Edinburgh, FRIED; Scottish Alliance for Food, SCAF) and participate in related events (e.g., Culinary Linguistics Conference, 2016; Biennial Food Communication Conference, 2021; FRIED Seminar Series) while liaising with food scholars worldwide.

Most recently, I directed my interest towards research and activism related to refugee support and integration. I have undertaken training in Working Supportively with Refugees (University of Glasgow) while also taking part in a range of events organised for and by refugees and migrant communities in my local area (Edinburgh), e.g., Refugee Festival and the Festival of Migration. In September 2023, I became a member of the Scottish Refugee Council (SRC), where I am pursuing further training and involvement in refugee advocacy.

Other research projects I have contributed to:

  • ‘Sustainability on the Edge’, Cardiff University, December 2015 – May 2016. ESRC-funded project. PI: Prof. Tom Bartlett.
  • ‘Integrated and United’: A quest for Citizenship in an ever-closer Europe (IntUne), Cardiff University, February – May 2010. EU-funded project. PI: Dr Joanna Thornborrow.
Teaching

Higher Education Teaching

Over the years, I have taught various modules in Applied Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, and Communication. At Swansea University, I coordinated and delivered undergraduate modules in Discourse Analysis, Language of Everyday Life, and Language of the Media. At Cardiff University, I taught undergraduate seminars in Human Communication and Media Communication.

At ECLS, I contribute to the following postgraduate modules:

Research Supervision

Within my role as Dissertation Supervisor at the University of Edinburgh (2020–2022), I led 30 international MSc students on research projects, which covered a broad range of topics, for instance: Student and Teacher Identity, Culture in Language Teaching, Intercultural Awareness, Language Attitudes, Language Ideologies, Multiculturalism, Translanguaging, Intercultural Communication, Intercultural Pragmatics, Teacher Education, Student Motivation, Material Evaluation, Academic Writing, and Translation. In addition, I acted as a Personal Tutor, offering academic and personal support to postgraduate students.

Language Teaching and Educational Projects

Prior to my career in higher education, I taught English as an additional language (EAL) at mainstream schools in the UK and collaborated with various institutions (Ethnic Minorities Achievement Services, Bristol City Council, and Himalayan Literacy Charity – HIMLIT) to develop novel strategies for supporting migrant students in acquiring English language skills. This involved leading on educational projects, for instance, I designed the ‘New Arrivals’ package for EAL students, co-organised integration/learning events (e.g., an afterschool club for East European students, Bristol; free English classes for the Polish community, Edinburgh) and devised English lessons for Tibetan students (HIMLIT). I also taught courses in English and Polish to adults (Berlitz Languages Centre and University of Bristol) and for fifteen years offered private tuition in English and Polish language in Poland, the UK, and France. In addition, I was trained in community interpreting (Bristol City Council) and acted as a Polish translator and interpreter in education, health, and business contexts.

Publications

  • Article

    • Wilczek-Watson M. 'Oh God, that’s an ugly looking fish' – negotiating sociocultural distance in transnational families through culinary othering. Journal of Sociolinguistics 2018, 22(5), 545–569.

  • Book Chapters

    • Wilczek-Watson, M. Intercultural intimate relationships. In: Y. Y. Kim, ed. International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2017, pp.1-10.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. ‘We just eat what we like’: Downplaying culture through food talk and practices in transnational families. In: J. Singh, A. Kantara, and D. Cserző, ed. Downscaling Culture: Revisiting Intercultural Communication. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, 2016, pp.60–91.

  • Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

    • Wilczek-Watson M. 'I don’t say they just pulled it out of a can of dog food': Culinary othering as a resource for collaborative negotiation of difference in intercultural families. In: Applied Linguistics & Communication (ALC) Seminar Series. 2023, Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, Education, Communication and Language Sciences.
    • Wilczek-Watson M, Brickley K. Representations of veganism in social media: Multimodal discourse analysis of responses to “Veganville” on Facebook and YouTube. In: Sociolinguistics Symposium 23. 2021, University of Hong Kong, China.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. Authenticating and commodifying the culinary Other in transnational Families. In: 2nd Biennial Food Communication Conference. 2021, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. ‘Why do Polish people take their sausage everywhere?’: Culinary self-othering and going native in transnational families. In: SCC Research Seminar Series. 2018, Swansea University, Wales, UK.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. Culinary self-othering and going native in transnational families. In: The International Linguistic Association 61st Annual Conference: Culinary Linguistics. 2016, Hofstra University, New York, USA.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. Performing hybridity through culinary talk in transnational families. In: CLCR Postgraduate Research Conference. 2014, Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. Negotiating sociocultural differences in transnational coupledom through culinary othering. In: CLCR Seminar Series. 2014, Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
    • Wilczek-Watson, M. Constructing a third space through culinary talk in transnational families. In: Sociolinguistics Symposium 20. 2014, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. Jocular abuse of the culinary Other: Building a third space through othering. In: Ethnography, Language, and Communication Summer School. 2013, King’s College London, UK.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. ‘We are making it really Polish style this time’: Self-exoticising and self-othering in transnational food talk. In: CLCR Seminar Series. 2013, Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. ‘I thought I would make something British’: When the Other becomes Self. In: CLCR Postgraduate Research Conference. 2013, Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. Food rituals: Metacultural performances of Self and Other during a transnational Christmas meal. In: Place to Plate: New Connections in Food Research Interdisciplinary Conference. 2012, Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. ‘What’s the Polish obsession about…’ – Stance and metaculture in culinary talk. In: CLCR Postgraduate Research Conference. 2012, Cardiff University, Wales, UK.

  • Creative Writing

  • Digital or Visual Media

  • Exhibition

    • Wilczek-Watson M. Third Space Love. 2013. Cardiff University, Graduate College, Hadyn Ellis Building Atrium: Images of Research 2013 Exhibition, (Commendation).

  • Note

  • Online Publications

    • Wilczek-Watson M. Eating, othering and bonding. 2019. Available at: https://www.languageonthemove.com/eating-othering-and-bonding/.
    • Wilczek-Watson M. Thinking Allowed: Mixed-race families (Radio Interview). BBC Radio 4, 2018. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09xkdhd.