About
Alex Runchman is Lecturer/Assistant Professor in English for Academic Purposes (China Partnerships) at University College Dublin’s Centre for English and Global Languages. Since 2018 he has led the academic co-ordination of EAP modules across three Sino-Irish joint institutes—BDIC, CDIC and GDIC—overseeing curriculum design, assessment, teacher recruitment/training and quality assurance for c. 60 staff, while also teaching and co-ordinating modules on UCD’s MA TESOL and directing the Professional Certificate in TESOL.
Education & Certifications
- PhD in Philosophy, Trinity College Dublin (2012)
- MPhil in American Literature, University of Cambridge
- MA in English Language and Literature, University of Oxford
- Postgraduate Certificate in Education (English), University of Oxford (2005-06)
- Trinity College Certificate in TESOL, Oxford House College, Barcelona (2002)
Research & Teaching Interests
Runchman’s current research centres on English for Academic Purposes within trans-national education, spanning teacher training, sustainable education, assessment literacy, IELTS-to-EAP transition, Global Englishes and academic writing/listening pedagogy. He previously specialised in twentieth-century American, British and Irish poetry, publishing a monograph Delmore Schwartz: A Critical Reassessment (Palgrave, 2014) and multiple articles on modernist poetics, transatlantic literary relations and poetic form.
Publications Overview
His scholarly output bridges modernist literary studies and language education. Between 2004 and 2024 he authored a monograph, nine peer-reviewed journal pieces (including reviews), and seven book chapters treating poets such as Delmore Schwartz, Robert Lowell, John Berryman and Wallace Stevens, alongside genre studies of epic and sonnet forms and cultural histories of Irish-American literary exchange.
Awards & Recognition
- Donald C. Gallup Fellowship in American Literature, 2012
- Regular reviewer for Irish Journal of American Studies since 2014
Teaching & Supervision
He co-ordinates six EAP modules delivered to over 1,000 Chinese joint-programme students annually and leads the teacher-training strand of the MA TESOL, having supervised ten MA dissertations on topics ranging from CLT adoption in Vietnam to online learning perceptions during the pandemic.
Professional Roles
Programme Director, UCD Professional Certificate in TESOL; Academic liaison and quality assurance officer for UCD’s partnership colleges in Beijing, Xi’an and Guangzhou; Mentor to c. 60 EAP teachers across three Chinese campuses.
Research fields
