In Summer 2012 the University of Birmingham is hosting the first Birmingham/Melbourne Summer School in Applied Linguistics. The two-week programme offers an intensive research development opportunity for new and emerging scholars in Applied Linguistics, and participants will benefit from the world-leading expertise of scholars in the School of Languages and Linguistics at the University of Melbourne, and the School of English, Drama and American & Canadian Studies and the School of Education at University of Birmingham.

It is aimed primarily at people who are: 

• thinking of embarking on a PhD 
• currently working on a PhD 
• setting out on a career as an applied linguist

The programme consists of four themes: 

• Language Testing 
• Multilingualism 
• Academic Writing 
• Corpus Linguistics

The themes will be jointly taught by academic faculty of the University of Birmingham and the University of Melbourne. In each week, participants will follow two of the four themes, with one of them taught in the mornings and the other in the afternoons.

Academic staff teaching the programme will include:

University of Birmingham

• Professor Adrian Blackledge
• Professor Angela Creese
• Professor Susan Hunston 
• Dr Paul Thompson

University of Melbourne

• Professor Tim McNamara
• Dr Neomy Storch

This collaboration unites the expertise of the School of Languages and Linguistics and the Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) of Melbourne with Birmingham’s MOSAIC Centre for Research on Multilingualism, and the Centre for Corpus Research (CCR).

For further information on the four themes, please view the course webpage

To apply for the School, download the application form. In the application form, you are asked to provide information about yourself and your reasons for wishing to attend the School.

When completed, the form should be sent to the contact address shown at the bottom of this page, by the 30th March, and your application will be reviewed by the School organisers. You will be sent a letter of acceptance by 6th April, and invited to make your payment for the School, to be made online, by 30th April 2012 (details will be given when the invitation is sent).

There are two bursaries available to students from the University of Melbourne, which will cover the cost of air travel to the UK for the School. Applicants must write a statement explaining their reasons for wishing to attend the school and their case for support, and email it to Professor Tim McNamara, tfmcna@unimelb.edu.au 

£550 (standard rate); £500 University of Melbourne and University of Birmingham students.

Participants will make their own accommodation arrangements. A set of links to university accommodation, and a number of local hotels and bed and breakfasts appears below. There are many more hotels and bed and breakfasts in the area – internet searches for ‘hotel accommodation near B15 2TT’ will provide a wider range of options:

University of Birmingham Conference Park (0.4 miles from University of Birmingham) Lucas House, Edgbaston Park Road, B15 2RA Birmingham

Awentsbury Hotel (0.4 miles from University of Birmingham) 21 Serpentine Road, Selly Park,, Birmingham B29 7HU

Edgbaston Palace Hotel (2.4 miles from University of Birmingham) 198-200 Hagley Road, Birmingham, West Midlands B16 9PQ

ETAP hotel (2.4 miles from the University of Birmingham) 1 Great Colmore Street, Birmingham B15 2AY

Kensington Guest House Hotel Bed & Breakfast (0.8 miles from University of Birmingham) 785 Pershore Road, Selly Park, Birmingham, B29 7LR

Quality Hotel Birmingham (1. 5 miles from University of Birmingham) 166 Hagley Rd., Birmingham, B16 9NZ

Premier Inn - Birmingham City Centre (5 min. walk to New Street Station) 3-6 Waterloo Street, Birmingham, B2 5PG

Comfort Inn Birmingham City Centre (next to New Street Station) Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY

Britannia Hotel Birmingham City Centre (across from New Street Station) New Street, Birmingham, B2 4RX

Birmingham Central Backpackers (10-15 min. walk from New Street Station)
58 Coventry Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, England B5 5NH

Hatters Backpack Hostel Birmingham (10-15 min. walk from New Street Station)
92-95 Livery Street, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England B3 1RJ