Dr Rachel Wicaksono

National Teaching Fellow 2013 Throughout her career, Rachel has had roles that have allowed her to focus on facilitating effective international communication and language learning. She worked as a teacher, and trainer of teachers, of English as an additional language for many years in Indonesia (with Voluntary Services Overseas), India, Vietnam, Japan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. On returning to the UK she joined York St John University as an educator of teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) educator and is now Head of the Centre for Languages and Linguistics there. Rachel's current teaching and research focuses on raising awareness within UK universities of the need for UK students to participate in international conversations in order to develop their 'English as a lingua franca' communication skills. She has disseminated her research findings via an award-winning website; at local, national and international conferences; and in a variety of publications, including York Talk, the York St John newsletter, a recently-published ground-breaking textbook for advanced undergraduates and Master's students, and a community website for applied linguists. Professor James Paul Gee of Arizona State University, USA, says of the textbook, co-authored with colleagues at York St John and the University of Texas, El Paso: "Mapping Applied Linguistics is far and away the best introduction to applied linguistics we have to date. But it is more than that. It is a major contribution to the very definition and foundations of the field. It will be viewed as a seminal book." Professor Angela Goddard, Rachel's former line manager at York St John, says: "Rachel is a fantastic teacher who constantly assesses her own practice, and a gifted researcher who knows how to turn intellectual insights into applied outcomes. Since joining my subject area, she has made a huge difference to the scope and potential of our programmes, putting 'Englishes' firmly on the agenda, using her intercultural expertise to encourage students to try new ventures, and developing her own digital communication skills to underpin her international pedagogy."