Dr Peter Mickan

Dr Peter Mickan

  • Biography/ Background

    Dr Peter Mickan is Visiting Research Fellow (Applied Linguistics) in the Faculty of Arts. He established and managed the Postgraduate Applied Linguistics program in the University of Adelaide (2000-2013), designing and teaching in postgraduate courses in Language and Meaning (Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics), Language and Learning, English for Academic Purposes, Language Teaching in Specific Settings and Language Teaching Methods.

    Theoretically his work is based on Halliday's language as a social semiotic and learning as socialisation experiences. The theory frames his studies in curriculum design, in languages pedagogy, in academic literacies, in language and literacy, in workplace communication, in German language revival, and in language assessment.

    His most recent books include

    Mickan, P & E. Lopez (eds) (2017) Text-Based Research and Teaching: a Social Semiotic Perspective on Language in Use. Palgrave Macmillan. Basingstoke, UK

    Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Brief career overview

    • Teacher of German and English languages in secondary schools in South Australia and Germany;
    • Project Director in the Curriculum Directorate of the South Australian Education Department with responsibility for languages policy implementation, curriculum evaluation and development in Vietnamese, Khmer, French and German languages, and inservice training of languages teachers in Reception to Year 12 schools.
    • Lecturer in postgraduate TESOL program in the University of South Australia with specialisations in second language acquisition and qualitative research methodologies; Project Officer for the National Language and Literacy Institute of Australia;
    • Head of Discipline and Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Adelaide, with responsibility for introduction and management of Applied Linguistics program, research and PhD supervision.

  • Qualifications

    Ph.D (Applied Linguistics) - Macquarie University

    Master of Education (Honours) - Wollongong University

    Diploma of Education - Flinders University

    Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - University of Adelaide

  • Teaching Interests

    Peter Mickan has a record of successful supervision of doctoral and masters research students. The studies applied text analyses  across many domains of language use. The investigations included text-based teaching and curriculum design basedon Functional Linguistics; academic literacies and interdisicplinary studies; IELTS assessment; inquiry-based teaching; bilingual upbringing of children; and revival linguistics with a focus on heritage speakers of German in the Barossa Valley.

    Research PhD (MA*) dissertations supervised:

    Guan Eng, Ho (2003) Exploring the socio-cultural structure of formal ESL instruction in classroom talk: a case study of a secondary school in Brunei

    Sornchai, Mungthaisong (2003) Constructing EFL literacy practices: a qualitative investigation in intertextual talk in Thai university language classes.

    Ward, Maurice (2004) Contracting participation out of union culture: patterns of modality and interactional moves in a labour contract settlement.

    Fazelimanie, Ayatollah (2004) A linguistic analysis of some ESP texts used in Iranian universities with special focus on cohesion in texts of business and commerce.

    Abu Bakar, Nadzrah (2005) Computers for teaching English as a second language (secondary school) in Malaysia: a case study.

    Yu, Shu-Hui (2006) Listening and speaking skill development in a Taiwanese tertiary EFL context: Manipulating power-in-interaction for participation.

    Mackey, Faye (2006) “I never used to read”. Patterns of talk in regulative and instructional discourse: A Systemic Funcational approach to analysing a literacy difficulty

    Lim, Mi-ok (2007) Exploring social practices in English classes: a qualitative investigation of classroom talk in a Korean secondary school.

    Moghaddam, Sharif (2010) Students' preparation for IELTS: development of written and oral argumentative texts.

    Teramoto, Hiromi (2010) New-arrival-ness as a social construct: a qualitative case study.

    Zoghi, Aramesh (2011) Aims, expectations and caring in Australian year 12 ESL: a case study of curriculum and classroom practice.

    Tariq, Elyas (2011) Diverging identities: a 'contextualised' exploration of the interplay of competing discourses in two Saudi university classrooms.

    Srinon, Udom (2011) A longitudinal study of developments in the academic writing of Thai university students in the context of a genre based pedagogy.

    Poh Yoke Chu, Celine (2011) Picture book reading in a new arrival context: a multimodal perspective on teaching reading.

    Cominos, Nayia (2011) Managing the subjective: Exploring dialogistic positioning in undergraduate essays.

    Vo, Duc Vuy (2012) A discourse analysis of English-Vietnamese news reports.

    Rebelos, Margareta (2013) Bringing up a child bilingually

    Pineh, Aiyoub (2013) Grammatical metaphor: Consciousness-raising, teaching of nominalisation and abstractions in EFL academic writers

    Alyousef, Hesham (2014) Investigating international postgraduate business students’ multimodal literacy and numeracy practices: a multidimensional approach

    Martin, Jodie (2014) On notes and knowers: The representation, evaluation and legitimisation of jazz

    Widodo, H. P. (2015) The development of vocational English materials from a social semiotic perspective: Participatory action research

    *Alamiri, Zaid. (2017) Applying SFL in the Quran: Textual metafunction in some of the Quranic narratives of Abraham.

     

  • Research Interests

    Peter Mickan's research is based theoretically on social theory and language as a social semiotic. The theory frames his studies in adult literacy, in education, in workplace communication, in assessment and in curriculum design. He is currently directing research projects on:

    • Language curriculum design and text-based teaching;
    • Academic literacies and interdisciplinary studies;
    • First and second language socialisation and learning;
    • Language proficiency assessment (IELTS research projects);
    • Barossa German language documentation, maintenance and revival;
    • Language revival (Indigenous language, Ngarrindjeri); 
    • Bilingualism and bilingual education.

  • Publications

    Books:

    Mickan, P. & I. Wallace (forthcoming) Language Education Curriculum Design. Routledge Applied Linguistics Handbook Series. New York: Routledge

     

    Mickan, P & E. Lopez (eds) (2017) Text-Based Research and Teaching: a Social Semiotic Perspective on Language in Use. Palgrave Macmillan. Basingstoke, UK

    Mickan, P (2013) . UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Mickan, P., I. Petrescu & J. Timoney (Eds) (2006) . Adelaide: Lythrum Press


    Key publications:

    Book chapters:

    Mickan, P. 2011. . In S.Fukuda & H. Sakata (eds) Monograph on Foreign Language Education. Tokushima, University of Tokushima: 161-25

    Mickan, P. 2004. . In C. Conlan (ed). Teaching English in Australia: theoretical perspectives and practical issues. Perth, WA.: API Network, Australia Research Institute: 171-191

    Mickan, P. 2004. . In C. Conlan (ed). Teaching English in Australia: theoretical perspectives and practical issues. Perth, WA.: API Network, Australia Research Institute: 193-214

    Mickan, P. 2003 .'' An investigation into language descriptors for rating written performance. In Lindy Hyam (ed) International English Language Testing System Research Reports, Vol 5. Canberra, IELTS Australia Pty Ltd:125-157

    Mickan, P. 2003. . In J. James (ed). Grammar in the language classroom: changing approaches and practices. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre: 220-227

    Mickan, P. and J. Motteram. 2009. . In J. Osborne (ed.) IELTS Research Reports Volume 10, Canberra, IELTS Australia Ltd: 223-262

    Mickan, P. & J. Motteram. 2008. . In J. Osborne (ed.) IELTS Research Reports Volume 8. Canberra, IELTS Australia Ltd: 17-43

    Mickan, P. and S. Slater. 2003. . In R. Tulloh (ed) International English Language Testing System Research Reports, Vol 4. Canberra, IELTS Australia Pty Ltd: 59-88


    Refereed journal papers

    Teramoto, H. and Mickan, P. 2008. . Language Awareness. Vol. 17, No. 1: 44-56.

    Mickan, P. 2007. . Language and Education, 21:2, 107-123.

    Mickan, P., K. Lucas, B. Davies, M. Lim. (2007) . Prospect 22,2: 4-24.

    Mickan, P. 2006. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 9:3.


    Conference presentations

    Mickan, P. & K. Katsmann. 2012 German language attrition in the Barossa Valley in South Australia: a social semiotic analysis of language loss. Paper presented at the international conference Deutsche Gemeinschaft für Sprachen, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main 7-9 March 2012

    Mickan, P. 2012. *. ERGA Workshop Presentation, Adelaide University, September 2012
    *audio and slideshow viewable from approx. 23:00

    Mickan, P., I. Winter & H. Teramoto . ERGA Workshop Presentation, Adelaide University, September 2012

  • Professional Associations

    Editorial Board Member

    Language and Education
    TESOL in Context
    Iranian Journal of Language Studies

  • Community Engagement

    Academic Board Member

    Australian Lutheran College, Adelaide, South Australia

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Entry last updated: Thursday, 30 Mar 2017