Sarah Jane Mercer (born 1974) is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
. She is currently the head of the Department of English Language Teaching at the
University of Graz
The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria.
History
The univers ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Her research focuses on
applied linguistics
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, communication rese ...
, with a special focus on
psycholinguistics from a
Complex Dynamic Systems Theory Complex Dynamic Systems Theory in the field of linguistics is a perspective and approach to the study of second, third and additional language acquisition. The general term Complex Dynamic Systems Theory was recommended by Kees de Bot to refer to bo ...
approach.
Career
Mercer attended the
Bolton School
Bolton School is an independent day school in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It comprises a co-educational nursery, co-educational infant school (ages 3–7), single sex junior schools (ages 7–11) and single sex senior schools including sixth fo ...
,
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...
,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
, United Kingdom. She obtained a
Bachelor of Arts degree
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in European Studies (French, German & Politics) at
Royal Holloway
Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
,
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
. She received a
Master of Arts degree
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in
Teaching English as a second or foreign language
Teaching English as a second language (TESL) or Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) are terms that refer to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. The terms TESL, TEFL, and TESOL distinguish betwee ...
(TEFL) at the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
and a
PhD degree
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in
Applied Linguistics
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, communication rese ...
at
Lancaster University.
Between 1998-2015 Mercer was a Lecturer at the
University of Graz
The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria.
History
The univers ...
. In 2013 she became the co-editor of the journal '
System'. Between 2012-2018 she became the Deputy Head of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Graz. Between 2015-2017 she was the joint co-ordinator for the Research SIG at
IATEFL
International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) is an organisation in the field of English language learning and teaching. It is based in Britain and was founded in 1967 as ATEFL (it became ‘International’ in 197 ...
.
In 2012 she was awarded
Habilitation at the
University of Graz
The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria.
History
The univers ...
. The title of her submission was ''Emerging complexity in language learning psychology''.
Research
In 2011 ''Towards an Understanding of Language Learner Self-Concept'' was published by
Springer Publishing
Springer Publishing Company is an American publishing company of academic journals and books, focusing on the fields of nursing, gerontology, psychology, social work, counseling, public health, and rehabilitation (neuropsychology). It was e ...
. In this book, Mercer investigates the nature and development of language and learner self-concept. The book provides a deep insights into how learners view themselves, and how these self-beliefs can develop and affect the progress of an individual’s language learning process.
In her most-cited journal article entitled ''Language learner self-concept: Complexity, continuity and change'', published in
System in 2011, Mercer investigated the nature and dynamics of self-concept in language learning. She found that self-concept is perhaps best conceived of as a complex, multilayered, multidimensional network of interrelated self-beliefs.
Publications
Mercer has published in several major journals such as
System,
The Modern Language Journal
''The Modern Language Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations. It covers research and discussion about the learning and teaching of f ...
,
TESOL Quarterly
''TESOL Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of TESOL International Association. It covers English language teaching and learning, standard English as a second dialect, including articles ...
,
ELT Journal,
Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching and
Language Learning Journal.
Bibliography
Books
*Vaupetitsch, R., Campbell, N., Mercer, S. Reitbauer, M. & Schumm, J. (Eds.) (2009). ''The Materials Generator: Developing Innovative Materials for Advanced Language Production''. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
*Mercer, S. (2011). ''Towards an Understanding of Language Learner Self-Concept''. Dordrecht: Springer.
*Mercer, S., Ryan, S. & Williams, M. (2015). ''Exploring Psychology in Language Learning and Teaching''. Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
*Mercer, S. & Kostoulas, A. (Eds.) (2017). ''Teacher Psychology in SLA''. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
*Mercer, S. & Dörnyei , Z. (2020). ''Engaging Language Learners in Contemporary Classrooms''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Articles
*Mercer, S. (2008). Key concepts in ELT: Learner self-beliefs. ''
ELT Journal 62''(2): 182–183. do
*Mercer, S. & Ryan, S. (2010). A mindset for EFL: Learners' beliefs about the role of natural talent. ''
ELT Journal 64''(4): 436–444. do
*Mercer, S. (2011). The beliefs of two expert EFL learners. ''
Language Learning Journal 39''(1): 57 - 74.
*Mercer, S. (2011). The self as a complex dynamic system. ''
Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 1''(1): 57–82. do
*Mercer, S. (2011). Understanding learner agency as a complex dynamic system. ''
System 39''(4): 427–436. do
*Mercer, S. (2011). Language learner self-concept: Complexity, continuity and change. ''
System 39''(3): 335–346. do
*Mercer, S. (2012). Dispelling the myth of the natural-born linguist. ''
ELT Journal 66''(1): 22 - 29.
*Kostoulas, A. & Mercer, S. (2016). Fifteen years of research on self and identity in System. ''
System'', 1-7. do
*Mercer, S., Glatz, M., Glettler, C., Lämmerer, A., Mairitsch, A., Puntschuh, S., Seidl, E., Tezak, K. & Turker, S. (2017). Moving between worlds: Teaching-based PhD identities from an ecological perspective. ''
Journal of Adult Learning, Knowledge and Innovation''.
*Kostoulas, A., Stelma, J., Mercer, S., Cameron, L. & Dawson, S. (2017). Complex systems theory as a shared discourse space for TESOL. ''
TESOL Journal
The ''TESOL Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering current theory and research in the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of TESOL International A ...
9''(2), 246–260. do
*Mercer, S. (2017). Positive psychology in SLA: An agenda for teacher and learner wellbeing. ''
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 40''(2), 100-122.
*Irie, K., Ryan, S., & Mercer, S. (2018). Using Q methodology to investigate pre-service EFL teachers’ mindsets about teaching competences. ''
Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 8''(3), 575-598.
*Talbot, K., & Mercer, S. (2019). Exploring University ESL/EFL Teachers’ Emotional Well-being and Emotional Regulation in the United States, Japan and Austria. ''
Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 41''(4), 410-432.
*MacIntyre, P., Gregersen, T., & Mercer, S. (2019). Setting an agenda for Positive Psychology in SLA: Theory, practice and research. ''
The Modern Language Journal
''The Modern Language Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations. It covers research and discussion about the learning and teaching of f ...
, 103''(1), 262-274. do
*MacIntyre, P., Ross, J., Talbot, K., Mercer, S., Gregersen, T., & Banga, C.-A. (2019). Stressors, personality and wellbeing among language teachers. ''
System, 82'', 26-38.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Sarah
1969 births
Living people
Applied linguists
Women linguists
Linguists from the United Kingdom
Alumni of Lancaster University