Richard Silburn

Who am I?

I have been teaching English for over 15 years and have taught in Japan, Greece, Austria and China as well as the UK. My main areas of expertise are English for Academic Purposes, English for Specific Purposes and academic management.

I have previously taught at the University of Essex andthe University of Birmingham. Prior to
joining Manchester Met, I was the Head of the Centre for English Language Education at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China.

I held a variety of management roles within University language centres and have experience of
developing and implementing programmes at foundation, pre-sessional and in-sessional levels. I have extensive experience of developing commercial courses and have worked with a number of international partners throughout my career.

Academic and professional qualifications

MA English Language Teaching, Essex

Trinity Certificate in TESOL, Colchester Institute

BA History and War Studies, King’s College London

Research expertise

Selected Conference Papers and Presentations  

2018

'Teaching English in International Higher Education: Lessons from EAP', The 9th Heads of English Language Departments Conference, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Invited Speaker)

'Revitalising a Pre-sessional Programme: The Manchester Met Case Study', Paper presented at EAP in Ireland,Marino Institute of Education, Dublin (co-presentation with Fiona Long)

2016
‘Issues in EAP: Perspectives from Ningbo and Nottingham’. Paper presented at the 2nd China English for
Academic Purposes (EAP) Association Annual Conference & the First International Symposium on EAP in Asia, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

‘The UNNC Story - The Evolution of an English for Academic Purposes Programme in
China.’ Paper presented at symposium on “Innovative approaches and challenges in enhancing English
proficiency among Chinese students at tertiary level” at United International College, Zuhai, China (Invited Speaker)

2015
‘The Role of EAP in Improving the Student Experience in Higher Education’Paper
delivered at BALEAP bi-annual conference, ‘EAP in a rapidly changing landscape: issues, challenges and
solutions’, University of Leicester, UK

2013
‘Reinventing the Wheel: The Continued Relevance of the Functional Syllabus in Academic
Writing’ Paper delivered at BALEAP bi-annual conference, ‘The Janus Moment in EAP: Revisiting
the Past and Building the Future’, University of Nottingham, UK

2012
‘How Far We Went: A Practical Guide to Designing and Implementing a Large-Scale
ESAP Syllabus’ Paper co-authored at the 1st International Conference of the Chinese Association for
ESP & The 4th International Conference on ESP, Hong Kong Polytechnic
University

Grants

2018

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant, 4k from the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. 'Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Pre-sessional Academic English Programme: The Student Perspective.' (with Fiona Long)

Community, charity and NGO links

Established the Language Centre's partnership with Refuaid to implement IELTS preparation and Academic Skills courses for refugees and asylum seekers seeking to enter Higher Education and employment in the UK 

Membership of professional associations

British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes

International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language