About
Dr Melanie Cooke is a Senior Lecturer in ESOL and Applied Linguistics at King's College London, working within the School of Education, Communication and Society and the Centre for Language, Discourse and Communication. She has been with King's since 2003, following prior teaching experience teaching EFL in Spain and ESOL to adult migrants in London. Cooke serves as convenor of the Hub for Education and Language Diversity (HELD), a collaboration between the Centre for LDC and English for Action, and co-organized the ESRC-funded 'Queering ESOL' seminar series.
Her research focuses on teaching and learning in adult ESOL classrooms in the UK, particularly examining the social and political contexts of migrant language education. Cooke's work explores linguistic citizenship, participatory pedagogy in ESOL, and the relationship between language education and citizenship policies. She has made significant contributions to understanding how language is used as a political tool in immigration policy and integration debates.
Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on linguistic citizenship, with major works including 'Localising linguistic citizenship in England' (2024), 'Working papers for a more open academy' (2023), and 'Brokering Britain, Educating Citizens' (2019) with Rob Peutrell. These works explore the intersection of language education, migration policy, and citizenship frameworks.
- Elsevier Outstanding PhD Thesis Prize for Exceptional Doctoral Work (2016)
Cooke teaches across multiple programs including BA English Language & Linguistics, MA Applied Linguistics and ELT, MA Language and Cultural Diversity, and MA TESOL. Her courses cover sociolinguistics, qualitative research methods, language and migration, and communicative language teaching. She also actively supervises PhD students in areas related to ESOL teaching and learning, language and citizenship, and language and migration. Notably, Cooke maintains active engagement with ESOL practice, regularly teaching in an ESOL class in East London that uses the participatory ESOL approach, creating a valuable connection between her research and practice.
