Dr Denise de Pauw

Profile

I am interested in exploring everyday language and litereracy practices “in the wild” to develop situated language learning, relevant to students’ specific needs. I have taught EAP since 2015 I’ve worked permanently  in the LC since January 2020, prior to which I ran bespoke blended workplace language courses, wrote online learning materials for educational publishers and taught ESOL. I completed a PhD in Linguistics in April 2022, on the topic of online job seeking. My academic interests are literacy as social practice and mediated discourse theory. I am co-founder of the PhD/ECR Literacy as Social Practice Network, and co-manager of The Language Scholar Journal. I am also convenor of the British Association of Applied Linguisitcs Literacies Special Interest Group (BAAL Literacies SIG).

Responsibilities

• Module lead
• Insessional English development
• For students in the Schools of Computer Science and Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Research interests

English for Academic Purposes 

• English for specific academic purposes
• digital academic literacy practices and genres
• hybridised genres
• digital pedagogies
• teacher identity
• currciulum design

Linguistics interests

• sociolinguistics
• ethnography
• digital literacy practices
• activity theory
• mediated discourse analysis
• language, migration, education, employability 

I am active in the following roles which enhance all dimensions of my work:  

• Convenor, British Association of Applied Linguisitcs Literacies Special Interest Group (BAAL Literacies SIG) (2024- now)
• Organising committee 2022 BALEAP PIM on EAP and Intercultural Communication.
• Co-organiser of the Language Centre Summer Conference (2022 -24): the conference is intended as a forum for exchanging research and practice in language education. 
• LC discussions around decolonising the curriculum 
• CARA mentor for a professor of Computer Science, which is providing me with scholarship opportunities, researching writing for academic publication for EAL users on the periphery of the academy 
• Co-convener of PhD/ECR network for literacy as social practice – a global online network  

Publications and conference presentations

de Pauw, D. (2025). ‘What is the impact of learning and interacting digitally on students?’. 1 April 2025. ‘Language Research to Address Regional and Global Challenges’. Nexus, University of Leeds

de Pauw, D. (2025). “I Can’t Apply Without Thinking!” Helping Migrants Develop Their Perceived Employability Through Self-Appraisal in an Online Job Search. Adult Literacy Education: The International Journal of Literacy, Language, and Numeracy. 7(1), pp.18–36.

Murawska, A., de Pauw, D., Monbec, L. (2024). "Perhaps a figure would have been nice in the literature review".Investigating multimodal practices in selected STEM disciplines. August 2024. Language Centre Summer Conference, University of Leeds..[online].

de Pauw, D. (2025).  Talk, text, action- a sociomaterial approach to understanding evolving student literacy practices [online] Centre for Excellence in Language Teaching. [Accessed 13 March 2025]. Available from: https://celt.leeds.ac.uk/events/talk-text-action-a-sociomaterial-approach-to-understanding-evolving-student-literacy-practices/.

de Pauw, D. and Murawska, A. (2024). A Multiliteracies “Design” approach to materials development in ESAP for STEM.  13 March 2025. Norwegian Forum for EAP, Oslo Metropolitan University

de Pauw, D. (2023). Privileging practice. 28/07/2023. Language Centre Summer Conference, University of Leeds.

de Pauw, D. (2022), 'The Experiences of Migrant Job Seekers, Looking for Work Online', PhD, Lancaster University. https://doi.org/10.17635/lancaster/thesis/1602

de Pauw, D. (2022). Talk, Text , Action! A mediated discourse analysis workshop.06/09/2022. Language Centre Summer Conference, University of Leeds.

de Pauw, D. (2022). Inching from the periphery, in a non-institutional setting. PAWBL 4th Annual Symposium: Literacy practices in workplace contexts. Friday 24 June 2022 [online].

de Pauw, D. & Heath, J. (2022). “If we were on campus....”: Reflections on managing the multiple spaces of online teaching. The Language Scholar (10)  

de Pauw, D. 2022. The experiences of migrant jobseekers, looking for work online. [online] Lancaster University.  

de Pauw, D. (2021) Taking part in the RaPAL colloquia. RaPAL Building Back Better (103) 

de Pauw, D. (2020). Becoming a shelf stacker. PAWBL December Symposium (2020). Creativity and collaboration in professional, academic and workplace literacies.

de Pauw, D. (2020, 08.25) The glass collecting job. Literacies Log: Blog for the Literacy Research Centre at Lancaster University.

de Pauw, D. (2019,10.04) EPALE 2019 Stakeholder Conference, Warsaw. EPALE.

Research and Practice in Adult Literacies (RaPAL): PhD colloquia presenter, 3rd December 2020 

 

Qualifications

• PhD Applied Linguistics (2022)
• MA TESOL with ICT (distinction)
• PGCE (PCET)
• Trinity Cert TESOL
• BA Hons (joint) European Studies (German)(Political Science)

Professional memberships

• BALEAP
• BAAL
• FHEA

Student education

I currently lead insessional provision in the Schools of Computing and Electricial and Electronic Engineering. I also co-lead a summer pre-sessional course, Language for Engineering and am part of a team responsible for codeveloping a new supernumerary module for the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Professional and Academic Communication.

Research groups and institutes

• Language Centre