Breffni O Rourke

Biography

Breffni O Rourke is Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics and Manager of Language Learning Technologies and Resources. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Language Learning in Higher Education (De Gruyter); a founding board member of UniCollaboration, the cross-disciplinary organisation for telecollaboration and virtual exchange in higher education; and a former committee member of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics (IRAAL). Dr O'Rourke's research focuses on the use of online technologies for language and intercultural learning, including eTandem and blended models. In particular, he investigates peer interaction in online language learning contexts, using innovative discourse analysis and eye-tracking methodologies. Other current preoccupations include the construct of discussion engagement; student tools and practices around vocabulary collection and learning; and the use of eye-trackers to investigate communicative alignment between online chat partners. His publications include Synchronous communication technologies in language and intercultural learning and teaching in higher education, a special issue co-edited with Ursula Stickler (2017); New directions in telecollaborative research and practice: Selected papers from the second conference on telecollaboration in higher education, co-edited with Sake Jager and Malgorzata Kurek (research-publishing.net, 2016); and Language Learner Autonomy: Policy, Curriculum, Classroom, co-edited with Lorna Carson (Peter Lang, 2016). Dr O'Rourke teaches modules at undergraduate and postgraduate level on discourse analysis; technology, language, and communication; and pedagogical grammar. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. from Trinity College Dublin, and an M.A. and B.A from NUI Galway.

Research Interest

I work chiefly in the area of technologies for language learning and teaching. New technologies have transformed the everyday communicative landscape for users of most languages, and can be transformative of language pedagogy. But pedagogical practice lags innovations and social developments. Researchers in technology-enhanced language learning aim to help learners, teachers and curriculum designers to understand and systematically exploit the potential of new media and technologies. My main interest is in the potential of online communication between language learners, particularly telecollaboration or virtual exchange, a burgeoning area of practice and research. My publications on online tandem learning and metalinguistic focus in online chat are widely cited. Current focuses of investigation include: Learner/learner interaction in virtual exchange environments: attention to linguistic form; discussion engagement; communicative alignment. These phenomena are central to online language learning, but they also have consequences for our understanding of communication generally. I have pioneered the use of eye-tracking methods to explore them, alongside innovative discourse analysis techniques. Tools and practices of vocabulary learning: This work is driven by two recent developments: in research, increasing recognition of vocabulary as a central component of language competence; and in technology, the rise of ubiquitous online and cloud computing. These developments inevitably have consequences for how learners learn, not least what they do beyond the classroom. My work in this area seeks to find out what tools and practices university students use to collect and learn vocabulary and to develop new technological tools to enhance language acquisition in this central aspect of learners' competence.