The Centre for Language, Discourse and Communication is a globally influential centre for language research with exceptional strengths in discourse studies and sociolinguistics.
The over-arching research theme in the Centre is ‘Identities and Mobilities’, which links to the school-wide theme ‘Globalisation and Identity’. The theme reflects our core strength in research on (multilingual) identities in a variety of everyday, institutional and mediated contexts. Our work also closely engages with the cross-school theme ‘Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment’ through our work on language assessment and second language learning and teaching; with the theme ‘Professionalism and Workplace Practice’ through our comparative and historical work on language teacher education and development; and with the theme ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice’ through our work on health and risk communication.
The Centre offers extensive research training and supervision on a range of (socio)linguistic methods and frameworks, including: cognitive linguistics, conversation analysis, corpus-assisted discourse studies, discourse & sociolinguistic approaches to social media communication, identities-in-interaction, narrative analysis and small stories research.
You can find more information about our people, publications, events and themes below.
People
PhD candidate
PhD Candidate and Graduate Teaching Fellow
Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Education
Visiting Lecturer
Senior Lecturer in Languages Education
Post-doctoral researcher
Projects
CORONAWARENESS - Preventing COVID-related illness when social distancing measures are relaxed and tightened in ethnic minority communities with a strong oral tradition
This project aims to prevent COVID-related illness in ethnic minority communities by increasing awareness of appropriate social distancing measures.
Generating a metaphorical mindset in four year olds
This project focuses on relational metaphors in which a concrete notion facilitates the understanding of an abstract notion.
Hub for Education and Language Diversity
The Hub for Education and Language Diversity (HELD) is a collaboration between academic, professional and third sector organisations.
Implementing Covid-19 measures: A pragmatic study of non-official public signs
This project examines how Covid-19 signage displayed in London businesses throughout the pandemic reproduces and adapts government instructions.
Language, (In)security and Everyday Practice (LIEP)
LIEP is an interdisciplinary collaboration between sociolinguists and researchers in peace, conflict and security studies.
Social learning about COVID-19 vulnerability and social distancing in high density populations: the case of UK urban dwelling Bangladeshis
This study investigates how UK Bangladeshis access, understand and share information about social distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sustaining teacher quality and retention post-pandemic
This project examines the impact of the substantial changes and sustained disruption caused by Covid-19 to the development of secondary school teachers.
Additional Projects
Publications
Activities
Language, Discourse & Communication Research Seminar Series
The Language, Discourse & Communication Research Seminar Series provides a forum for language teachers of all levels to engage with theory and research of relevance to language teaching practices. Speakers present original empirical research or theoretical perspectives on a range of issues and applications.
Cognition Learning and Communities Lab
The Cognition, Learning, and Communities Lab at King’s College London is interested in exploring diverse areas of linguistic and conceptual development across various populations and contexts.
Health Communication Lab
The Health Communication Lab is an interdisciplinary group for researchers who have a broad interest in the intersection between health and healthcare and communication and language.
Corpus research in linguistics and beyond
Corpus linguistics is concerned with the study of large collections of electronically available written and/or spoken texts. The seminars will explore challenges, issues and opportunities faced by research that extends the scope of corpus linguistics.
LDC Doctoral Lab (LDCDL)
The LDC Doctoral Lab is a forum led by and focused on doctoral researchers, capitalising on their interests and organisational initiative. Especially for PhD students, these sessions are an opportunity to discuss research projects in a friendly and supportive environment.
LDC PGR Blog
The LDC PGRs Blog provides a space for postgraduate research (PGR) students in Language, Discourse and Communication (LDC), as well as guest bloggers from across the School of Education, Communication & Society, to share reflective accounts of experiences as PGR students and early career researchers and to disseminate and discuss research in progress.
Working Papers in Urban Language and Literacies
This series focuses on linguistic practice, literacies and mediated communication in diverse and stratified urban settings. It publishes research committed to developing sociolinguistic, applied and educational frameworks for the analysis of urban language, literacies, interaction and learning. It also develops modes of intervention in language policy and practice that are productively tuned to the realities of contemporary urban life.
Writing Group for Academic Publishing
This group, chaired by Professor Pat Mahony, meets monthly (on the first Wednesday of each month, 12.30-1.30pm) to support ECS staff and PhD students in getting their work published. Each month, one member circulates their draft of an article or book chapter and the rest of the group provide feedback in a constructive and supportive way. We aim to help the author to improve their paper in preparation for submission as well as support broader learning on the process of academic publishing. If you would like to join, please contact Dr Clare Coultas: clare.coultas@kcl.ac.uk.
Micro-discourse analysis data sessions
Hands-on data sessions that are designed to help students sharpen their sensitivity to the fine details of interaction, and to improve their practical skills in micro-analysis.
News
PhD student secures US scholarship to explore Black storytelling in podcasts
Sylvie Carlos, who is the executive producer of ECS Podcast 'It's Just Research', will be undertaking research at the University of Maryland.
Circle U. Summer School reinvigorated passion for PhD research, King's student says
King’s PhD candidate recently attended the Circle U. Summer School in Belgium and shares her experience on the four-day long course centering 'Language in...
Remembering Professor Gabriella Rundblad
We are deeply saddened to share news of the death of our esteemed colleague, Dr Gabriella Rundblad.
What does it mean to do critical research and engage with 21st century challenges? King's researchers give answers in new podcast
‘It’s Just Research - Critically questioning the world we live in’ is a new podcast made by researchers, with researchers, for researchers, and anyone keen to...
Research-informed primer book for teachers now up-to-date with latest educational issues
The School of Education, Communication & Society (ECS) at King’s College London has come together to celebrate the publication of the 6th edition of Becoming...
Events
Is nostalgia what it used to be? A corpus approach to diachronic change in emotion talk
Against an interdisciplinary backdrop of rising interest in nostalgia, this paper examines the framing of the labels ‘nostalgia’ and ‘nostalgic’.
Please note: this event has passed.
Professor Phillip Durrant: "Tracing development in academic language with a corpus"
Professor Phillip Durrant will argue that large-scale, systematic analysis of language use across different educational levels, academic disciplines, and task...
Please note: this event has passed.
Emerging corpus based research in Türkiye – projects from the Discourse and Corpus Research Group (DISCORE)
In this seminar, we will showcase our diverse, methodologically innovative uses of corpus methodology used within the research group based at Middle East...
Please note: this event has passed.
Symposium in Memory of Professor Gabriella Rundblad
Join us for this one day event to celebrate the work and lasting legacy of the late Gabriella Rundblad, Professor of Language & Cognition.
Please note: this event has passed.
Individual differences are revealing, relevant and not random in (multilingual) language acquisition/processing and related effects on neurocognition
In this seminar organised by the Centre for Language, Discourse & Communication, Professor Jason Rothman will discuss the individual differences in language...
Please note: this event has passed.
Themes
Academic Literacies
The Academic Literacies Group is concerned with enhancing the pedagogic response which higher education institutions make to the needs of all their students.
Digital text and discourse
Advances in computing power and storage have opened up opportunities for research into language and communication at scale, and increasingly, qualitative investigation is enhanced by quantitative exploration of large collections of digital text or ‘corpora’.
Discourse, communication and health
Our research on language and health spans spoken, written and multimodal forms of communication in health contexts.
Discourse, interaction and identity
Our research examines the way in which identities and relations are produced in language practice, and explores the theoretical, methodological and practical implications.
English in the school curriculum
We research the models and assumptions that English teachers operate with, on their changing perceptions of language use and on the role of language across the curriculum.
Language, ethnicity and class
Our work on globalisation, diaspora, ethnicity and migration connects the empirical analysis of language and discourse to contemporary cultural theory
Psychology and cognitive processes
Our research on language and mind is naturally interdisciplinary, with a focus on language and cognition in a range of social, educational and communication contexts.
Second/foreign language teaching
Our work in the field of Second/Additional Language looks at English language teaching and modern foreign languages.
People
PhD candidate
PhD Candidate and Graduate Teaching Fellow
Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Education
Visiting Lecturer
Senior Lecturer in Languages Education
Post-doctoral researcher
Projects
CORONAWARENESS - Preventing COVID-related illness when social distancing measures are relaxed and tightened in ethnic minority communities with a strong oral tradition
This project aims to prevent COVID-related illness in ethnic minority communities by increasing awareness of appropriate social distancing measures.
Generating a metaphorical mindset in four year olds
This project focuses on relational metaphors in which a concrete notion facilitates the understanding of an abstract notion.
Hub for Education and Language Diversity
The Hub for Education and Language Diversity (HELD) is a collaboration between academic, professional and third sector organisations.
Implementing Covid-19 measures: A pragmatic study of non-official public signs
This project examines how Covid-19 signage displayed in London businesses throughout the pandemic reproduces and adapts government instructions.
Language, (In)security and Everyday Practice (LIEP)
LIEP is an interdisciplinary collaboration between sociolinguists and researchers in peace, conflict and security studies.
Social learning about COVID-19 vulnerability and social distancing in high density populations: the case of UK urban dwelling Bangladeshis
This study investigates how UK Bangladeshis access, understand and share information about social distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sustaining teacher quality and retention post-pandemic
This project examines the impact of the substantial changes and sustained disruption caused by Covid-19 to the development of secondary school teachers.
Additional Projects
Publications
Activities
Language, Discourse & Communication Research Seminar Series
The Language, Discourse & Communication Research Seminar Series provides a forum for language teachers of all levels to engage with theory and research of relevance to language teaching practices. Speakers present original empirical research or theoretical perspectives on a range of issues and applications.
Cognition Learning and Communities Lab
The Cognition, Learning, and Communities Lab at King’s College London is interested in exploring diverse areas of linguistic and conceptual development across various populations and contexts.
Health Communication Lab
The Health Communication Lab is an interdisciplinary group for researchers who have a broad interest in the intersection between health and healthcare and communication and language.
Corpus research in linguistics and beyond
Corpus linguistics is concerned with the study of large collections of electronically available written and/or spoken texts. The seminars will explore challenges, issues and opportunities faced by research that extends the scope of corpus linguistics.
LDC Doctoral Lab (LDCDL)
The LDC Doctoral Lab is a forum led by and focused on doctoral researchers, capitalising on their interests and organisational initiative. Especially for PhD students, these sessions are an opportunity to discuss research projects in a friendly and supportive environment.
LDC PGR Blog
The LDC PGRs Blog provides a space for postgraduate research (PGR) students in Language, Discourse and Communication (LDC), as well as guest bloggers from across the School of Education, Communication & Society, to share reflective accounts of experiences as PGR students and early career researchers and to disseminate and discuss research in progress.
Working Papers in Urban Language and Literacies
This series focuses on linguistic practice, literacies and mediated communication in diverse and stratified urban settings. It publishes research committed to developing sociolinguistic, applied and educational frameworks for the analysis of urban language, literacies, interaction and learning. It also develops modes of intervention in language policy and practice that are productively tuned to the realities of contemporary urban life.
Writing Group for Academic Publishing
This group, chaired by Professor Pat Mahony, meets monthly (on the first Wednesday of each month, 12.30-1.30pm) to support ECS staff and PhD students in getting their work published. Each month, one member circulates their draft of an article or book chapter and the rest of the group provide feedback in a constructive and supportive way. We aim to help the author to improve their paper in preparation for submission as well as support broader learning on the process of academic publishing. If you would like to join, please contact Dr Clare Coultas: clare.coultas@kcl.ac.uk.
Micro-discourse analysis data sessions
Hands-on data sessions that are designed to help students sharpen their sensitivity to the fine details of interaction, and to improve their practical skills in micro-analysis.
News
PhD student secures US scholarship to explore Black storytelling in podcasts
Sylvie Carlos, who is the executive producer of ECS Podcast 'It's Just Research', will be undertaking research at the University of Maryland.
Circle U. Summer School reinvigorated passion for PhD research, King's student says
King’s PhD candidate recently attended the Circle U. Summer School in Belgium and shares her experience on the four-day long course centering 'Language in...
Remembering Professor Gabriella Rundblad
We are deeply saddened to share news of the death of our esteemed colleague, Dr Gabriella Rundblad.
What does it mean to do critical research and engage with 21st century challenges? King's researchers give answers in new podcast
‘It’s Just Research - Critically questioning the world we live in’ is a new podcast made by researchers, with researchers, for researchers, and anyone keen to...
Research-informed primer book for teachers now up-to-date with latest educational issues
The School of Education, Communication & Society (ECS) at King’s College London has come together to celebrate the publication of the 6th edition of Becoming...
Events
Is nostalgia what it used to be? A corpus approach to diachronic change in emotion talk
Against an interdisciplinary backdrop of rising interest in nostalgia, this paper examines the framing of the labels ‘nostalgia’ and ‘nostalgic’.
Please note: this event has passed.
Professor Phillip Durrant: "Tracing development in academic language with a corpus"
Professor Phillip Durrant will argue that large-scale, systematic analysis of language use across different educational levels, academic disciplines, and task...
Please note: this event has passed.
Emerging corpus based research in Türkiye – projects from the Discourse and Corpus Research Group (DISCORE)
In this seminar, we will showcase our diverse, methodologically innovative uses of corpus methodology used within the research group based at Middle East...
Please note: this event has passed.
Symposium in Memory of Professor Gabriella Rundblad
Join us for this one day event to celebrate the work and lasting legacy of the late Gabriella Rundblad, Professor of Language & Cognition.
Please note: this event has passed.
Individual differences are revealing, relevant and not random in (multilingual) language acquisition/processing and related effects on neurocognition
In this seminar organised by the Centre for Language, Discourse & Communication, Professor Jason Rothman will discuss the individual differences in language...
Please note: this event has passed.
Themes
Academic Literacies
The Academic Literacies Group is concerned with enhancing the pedagogic response which higher education institutions make to the needs of all their students.
Digital text and discourse
Advances in computing power and storage have opened up opportunities for research into language and communication at scale, and increasingly, qualitative investigation is enhanced by quantitative exploration of large collections of digital text or ‘corpora’.
Discourse, communication and health
Our research on language and health spans spoken, written and multimodal forms of communication in health contexts.
Discourse, interaction and identity
Our research examines the way in which identities and relations are produced in language practice, and explores the theoretical, methodological and practical implications.
English in the school curriculum
We research the models and assumptions that English teachers operate with, on their changing perceptions of language use and on the role of language across the curriculum.
Language, ethnicity and class
Our work on globalisation, diaspora, ethnicity and migration connects the empirical analysis of language and discourse to contemporary cultural theory
Psychology and cognitive processes
Our research on language and mind is naturally interdisciplinary, with a focus on language and cognition in a range of social, educational and communication contexts.
Second/foreign language teaching
Our work in the field of Second/Additional Language looks at English language teaching and modern foreign languages.
Contact us
Please get in touch with us if you would like to know more about the Centre: