Kenneth Fordyce

Dr. Kenneth Fordyce is a Lecturer in Language Education and Co-Head of the Institute for Language Education (ILE) at the University of Edinburgh's Moray House School of Education and Sport. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Lancaster University and has extensive experience teaching Japanese learners of English, including roles in Japan, the UK, and roles at Hiroshima University and the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on second language acquisition, pragmatics, and corpus linguistics, particularly the acquisition of epistemic stance in English by EFL learners.

**Educations**:

• MA Hons in German, University of St Andrews
• MSc in Applied Linguistics, University of Edinburgh
• PGCE in Modern Languages, Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education
• PhD in Applied Linguistics, Lancaster University

**Research Interests**:
His work explores three core areas: (1) effects of explicit/implicit instruction on L2 development, (2) learner corpus analysis for SLA insights, and (3) interlanguage pragmatics. He investigates why certain pragmatic features resist acquisition and how pedagogy can address these challenges, with special focus on epistemic stance markers (e.g., modal verbs, cognitive verbs).

**Supervision & Grants**: Currently supervises 8 PhD students across topics like health/media/political discourse pragmatics and corpus-based critical discourse analysis. Has led roles as MSc TESOL Programme Director and Director of Internationalisation, demonstrating strong commitment to educational innovation and global collaboration.