Dr Stephen J Disney

Senior Lecturer

School of Education

01752 636700 Ext:4220

sdisney@marjon.ac.uk

Role Summary

My role at Marjon over the last seventeen years has provided me with a range of experience in all areas of teaching, pedagogic innovation, programme, team and project management, international development, research, university processes and procedures, and most importantly, how to create and manage an outstanding student experience to facilitate learning and success. I am also the programme leader for our new MA TESOL developments and have oversight of our on campus English Language courses and manage programmes at two universities in Vietnam, and our MA TESOL. I am actively researching in the field of English Language and SLA pronunciation and interaction.

Programme leader

Qualifications

PhD Linguistics, Lancaster University
TEFLQ
MA Modern English Language, UCL
BA English Language and Linguistics (University of Wales Bangor)
Senior Fellow HEA

Teaching

I currently teach Phonetics and Phonology on the Speech & Language Therapy degree. I also teach Linguistic Analysis and Teaching Speaking Skills on our MA TESOL. Prior to my academic career, I taught English in Poland, Japan and Qatar for many years, which gave me a good grounding in teaching methods, EFL theory as well insights into some complex issues in intercultural communication. In past lives in UKHE I have taught the full spectrum of English Language and Linguistics courses, ranging from syntax to metaphor, CLA to pragmatics and the history of English to sociolinguistics.

Research

My PhD had a construction grammar focus, and also looked at the historical development of some so-called "semi-modals". This has informed my interests in usage-based approaches to Second Language Acquisition, and my research interests now focus on learners of English. I am currently researching the interaction between phonology and morphology in Vietnamese learners.

Publications

Journal articles:

Disney S.J. (2025) Constructional blending: the five functions of BE supposed to and BE meant to,
International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research, Vol.13, No 2, pp.32-49.

Disney, Stephen J. & Le Nu Cam Le (2024) Word-Final /s/-/z/ Omission in Vietnamese English. Languages 2024 (9);0. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9100000

Golder; E. Ladd; K. Mills; R. Thain; S. Disney (2023) International recruitment of radiographers and the development of a workplace integration support package: Project evaluation. Radiography 29(2) 442-449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2023.02.002

2020. Figurative Language in Describing Pain and Lifestyle Impact. English Studies 101(8) 1009-1029. https://DOI:10.1080/0013838x.2020.1847891

2016. Another Visit to BE supposed to from a Diachronic Constructionist Perspective. English Studies 97(8), pp. 892–916. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013838X.2016.1206333

2013. “The reputed sense of BE meant to: a case of gradual change by analogy”. In Giacalone Ramat, Anna, Caterina Mauri and Piera Molinelli. Synchrony and Diachrony: A dynamic interface. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 105-124.

Conference presentations:

2021 Keynote Plenary. Hanoi July 2021 Language Teaching and learning in the 4.0 Era: Opportunities, Challenges and Strategies. Education 4.0 & ELT Title: ""Moving 4.0ward in a Connected World: Opportunities & Challenges

2017 Describing and coping with pain: figurative language and people with limited English. iMean 5. UWE.

2016 Migrants and healthcare: figurative language in describing and coping with pain. IALIC 2016 Barcelona.

2014 Blended Constructions and Emerging Modals: UK-CLC5 Lancaster University.

2014 Generalisation and constructional smoothing: the case of the Predictive Passive Construction: The 8th International Conference on Construction Grammar Osnabruck University, Germany.

2013 Another visit to BE supposed to. SLE 2013. 46th Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea. University of Split, Croatia.

2012 Analogy in language change: the case of BE going to revisited again UK-CLC, Kings College London.

2012 The effect of error in the OED on grammaticalisation research: the case of going to: NRG-4 New Reflections on Grammaticalisation. Edinburgh University.

2012 The World English Model: variation in register. Proceedings from the 6th International IDEA Conference, Istanbul.

2011 Variation in the form BE Meant to: what it is and where it comes from: Workshop on Gradualness in change and its relation to synchronic variation and use. University of Pavia.

2011 The World English Model: variation in register IDEA-11 English Language and Research Association of Turkey. Istanbul.

2009 The World English Model revised: Definite article use in ICE-GB and ICE-HK: 4th Lancaster University International Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics and Language Teaching. Lancaster University.

2008 The Grammaticalisation of BE going to. The 3rd Newcastle Postgraduate Conference in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. Newcastle University.

2008 A domain matrix view of the uses and development of BE going to + infinitive. 3rd Lancaster University International Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics and Language Teaching. Lancaster University.