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Department of Education

Robert Woore

Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics

Robert is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics and lead tutor for the Modern Languages PGCE course. His main research interests centre on instructed foreign language learning and teaching, particularly in school settings. He is interested in particular in the development of reading skills and strategies, the role of phonology in reading and the teaching of phonics. He is passionate about building stronger links between research and classroom practice, and is a team member of the NCELP (National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy).

Robert teaches and supervises on the PGCE, MSc ALSLA, MSc ALLT, Masters in Learning and Teaching and doctoral programmes. He is a member of the Applied Linguistics, Teaching and Teacher Education and Subject Pedagogy research groups.

Robert obtained an Honours degree in Modern Languages (French and German), an MPhil in General Linguistics and Comparative Philology, an MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition, an MSc in Educational Research Methods and a DPhil in Applied Linguistics at the University of Oxford. After completing a PGCE in Modern Languages at the University of Sheffield in 1998, he worked as a secondary school teacher of French, German and Outdoor Education before joining the department in 2007.

Robert would particularly welcome doctoral applications from students interested in the following topics:

  • The learning and teaching of foreign languages in instructed settings, particularly in respect of reading skills and strategies, phonology and motivation.
  • Teaching phonics in a foreign language context
  • The development of second language (L2) phonological decoding (print-to-sound conversion) in learners of a range of different L2s and with a range of L1 backgrounds
  • The impact of L2 phonological decoding on other aspects of L2 learning, such as vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, motivation, listening comprehension and speaking.
  • The learning and teaching of Chinese as a Foreign Language

Funded Research Projects:

  • FLEUR (Foreign Language Education: Unlocking Reading)

    September 2016 - September 2018

    Role: Principal Investigator; Funder: The Nuffield Foundation

  • Online Language Learning for All (OLLA): developing a catalogue of accessible online resources to support students’ foreign language learning beyond the classroom in times of COVID-19

    • July - September 2020

    Role: Principal Investigator; Funder: ESRC Impact Acceleration Account

  • Foreign language learning and its impact on wider academic outcomes: A rapid evidence assessment

    • September 2019 - January 2020

    Role: Co-Investigator; Funder: Education Endowment Foundation

  • Consolidating the evidence base for MFL curriculum, pedagogy and assessment reform at GCSE: An investigation of pupils' and teachers' views

    • January - May 2020

    Role: Co-Principal Investigator; Funder: UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund

  • Learning and teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language: a systematic review of research evidence

    • November 2017 - June 2018

    Role: Principal Investigator; Funder: OU Department of Education Small Grants Committee

  • A Pedagogical Assessment System to support Modern Foreign Language learning: a proof of concept trial

    • September 2015 - June 2016

    Role: Principal Investigator; Funder: University of Oxford John Fell Fund

Publications:

  • Books

    • Macaro, E., & Woore, R. (2021). Debates in Second Language Education. Routledge.

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). Improving Foreign Language Teaching: Towards a Research-Based Curriculum and Pedagogy (pp. 1-216).

  • Book chapters

    • Molway, L., Mutton, T., Woore, R., & Porter, K. (2018). What are the possibilities and limitations of small-scale, mediated classroom interventions? Two cases from Modern Foreign Languages. In G. Stylianides & A. Childs (Eds.), Classroom-based Interventions Across Subject Areas: Research to Understand What Works in Education. Routledge. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c5171efa-34fc-420c-86a2-b5a32b53e6cb
      https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c5171efa-34fc-420c-86a2-b5a32b53e6cb

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). A pedagogical assessment system. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (pp. 93-124).

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). Reading and listening Developing knowledge and making the most of it. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (pp. 31-67).

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). Oral interaction in the second language classroom. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (pp. 10-30).

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). Improving Foreign Language Teaching Towards a research-based curriculum and pedagogy By way of conclusion. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (pp. 181-185).

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). Developing the learner through writing Recursion and compromise. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (pp. 68-92).

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). The problem with ’improving - language learning’. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (p. 1 - +).

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). The PDCinMFL project. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (pp. 143-164).

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). Putting the principles into practice. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (pp. 165-180).

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). Preparing to become and continuing to be a language teacher. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (pp. 125-142).

    • Macaro, E., Graham, S., & Woore, R. (2016). Assessment framework for MFL. In IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: TOWARDS A RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (pp. 198-209).

    • Mutton, T., & Woore, R. (2014). Designing tasks to promote learning in the foreign language classroom. In I. Thompson (Ed.), Designing tasks in secondary education: Enhancing subject understanding and student engagement. Routledge.

    • Mutton, T., & Woore, R. (2014). Promoting Learning: Task design in the Foreign Language classroom. In I. Thompson (Ed.), Designing Tasks in Secondary Education: Enhancing subject understanding and student engagement. Routledge.

    • Woore, R. (2014). Developing reading and decoding in the modern foreign languages classroom. In DEBATES IN MODERN LANGUAGES EDUCATION (pp. 81-95).

    • WOORE, R. (n.d.). Teaching phonics in a second language. In E. Macaro & R. WOORE (Eds.), Debates in second language education.

    • WOORE, R., & Macaro, E. (n.d.). Identifying key debates in second language teaching and learning. In E. Macaro & R. WOORE (Eds.), Debates in Second Language Education.

  • Journal articles

  • Reports

  • Other

    • Woore, R. (n.d.). Developing and applying knowledge of L2 grapheme – phoneme correspondences amongst beginner learners of German. University of Oxford.

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