Page 26 - ELG2109 Sep Issue 477

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UK RANKINGS 2021-22

A cluster of excellence in

the heart of England

Melanie Butler investigates the story of the UK Midlands and

how its strength in applied linguistics has lead to a myriad

of well-regarded Master’s courses

he idea that a single geographic region can, by combining its
expertise and resources, become a superpower in a particular
field or industry is not new, especially in the digital era. Think
Tof Silicon Valley in California, which inspired Scotland’s
Silicon Glen and Silicon Fen in Cambridge.
The same things happen with universities, as we see on page 25, PHOTO BY. DAVID REED FROM PIXABAY
where the close co-operation between universities, private language
schools and state colleges has helped the area’s universities to
dominate the league tables.
If we were looking for a cluster of universities which had the same
kind of advantage in terms of research and Master’s degrees, then
one of the top candidates would be the Midlands, the region which
stretches from the east above East Anglia to the Humber estuary
in the north and the counties that border Wales – Warwickshire,
Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire – in the west. The
region encompasses the ancient Anglo Saxon kingdom of Mercia.

The regions
For historic and administrative reasons, it’s split into the West
Midlands, which is clustered around the city of Birmingham, and Nottingham University’s grand main building
the East Midlands, which is centred on the three county towns of
Nottingham, Leicester and Derby. Together these two regions represent applied linguistics, they offer Master’s in computational linguistics,
not only the heart of England, but the heart of Corpus Linguistics. deaf studies and linguistics, as well as one in practical corpus linguistics
In Birmingham it began with the arrival of Professor John Sinclair for ELT, lexicography and translation. In the West Midlands’ third
and, in the late 1870s, the Cobuild project, with the publisher Collins, major city, Coventry University offers English language teaching and
which resulted in the world’s first corpus-based dictionary in 1987. applied linguistics.
But Sinclair was not the only Go into the East Midlands and the story repeats itself. In 1979,
ELT innovator in the city. Across Major cities in a young lecturer named Ron Carter arrived at the University of
town, at Aston University, Nottingham to do research in the area of poetics and linguistics. He
Professor John Swales was busy the West Midlands kept his interest in literature throughout his career, but in the 1980s
investigating language genres and have also caught he teamed up with Mike McCarthy to work on the Cambridge and
introducing first the idea of English Nottingham Corpus of Discourse in English, which they used as a base
for specific purposes and then, after the applied to write a new grammar of English. As in Birmingham, the University
he had moved to the University of now also offers ELT-related Master’s both in the School of English,
Michigan in the USA, English for linguistic bug the home turf of Mike McCarthy and the late Ron Carter, and in the
academic purposes. renowned School of Education.
If the two universities were rivals, it was a friendly rivalry, with Down the road at Nottingham Trent University, American linguist
lecturers moving between the two or moving out to the neighbouring Dianne Larsen Freeman helped to build a strong TESOL faculty with
universities. When task-based pioneers and course-book writers Jane a successful Master’s, while her husband, Norbert Schmitt, with whom
and Dave Willis arrived in the city, one took a job at Birmingham and she wrote one of the best-known introductions to applied linguistics,
the other at Aston. taught at Nottingham University.
Both universities still excel in the field of linguistics. As well as its In nearby Leicester, a Master’s in applied linguistics offered in the
TESOL Master’s, Aston is also a national leader in the field of forensic School of Education has long been popular with students from around
linguistics. Birmingham now has two research centres, both offering the world and in the same county, De Montfort offers a first degree in
Master’s: one in Sinclair’s Department of English Language and English language and TESOL, and a Master’s in ELT.
Linguistics, renowned for work on discourse analysis, and it also offers The Midlands has developed an ecosystem for research and teaching
one in its high-ranking Department of Education. not only in English language and corpus linguistics but, over the years,
Meanwhile, a third university, Birmingham City, also offers a BA in into a variety of areas, from the forensic linguistics used in court cases
English language and linguistics, as well as a Master’s in the related to poetics. Students come, they exchange ideas, some stay and take a
field of international education. job at a nearby university, they marry, they mingle and create a market
for ideas.
The cities If California has Silicon Valley, then the Midlands has the Anglo
The two other major cities in the West Midlands have also caught Saxon kingdom of Applied Linguistics and its strength still appears
the applied linguistic bug. In Wolverhampton, along with English and to be growing.
26 September 2021