缅北禁地

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Staff Profile

Dr Spencer Hazel

Reader in Applied Linguistics & Communication

  • Email: spencer.hazel@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: 0191 2086374
  • Address: Room 1.37 KGVI
    School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences
    King George VI Building
    缅北禁地
    Queen Victoria Road
    缅北禁地 upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU
Background

I joined 缅北禁地 in 2016, following a decade moving between the University of Luxembourg, Roskilde University (Denmark), the University of Southern Denmark, and the University of Nottingham. This mobility has characterised much of my life, starting in childhood and continuing through my adult years. I spent some 25 years living, studying and working in a range of inspiring places around the world, and trying (not always successfully) to navigate the linguistic and cultural labyrinths in which I would find myself. This has ultimately informed my wider interests in the world, with much of my research also seeking out international settings - multilingual workplaces, language classrooms, Higher Education, the Arts and the like – to explore how people from different walks of life come to make sense of one another.

I build on an earlier career in theatre, where I collaborated with companies such as Frantic Assembly and V-TOL Dance, and wrote for these and a number of other companies internationally. My book Social Interaction and Dramatic Performance - Staging Conversation was published by Bloomsbury in 2025, and sets out a framework for combining social scientific approaches to the study of human sociality with those adopted in the dramatic arts, including film, television and theatre.

I am also interested in the media output, and in 2016 was a British Science Association Media Fellow. This gave me the opportunity to spend a month working as science writer for The Times.

I am Co-Editor of the scientific journal Social Interaction - Video-based Studies of Human Sociality.

Propedeutic Diploma, Psychology, University of Amsterdam

BA (Hons) Drama, University of Manchester

MA Applied Linguistics & TESOL, 缅北禁地

PhD Humanities Research, Roskilde University


University roles and responsibilities

  • Director of Global (ECLS)
  • RENKEI UK-Japan university partnership (British Council) Lead, 缅北禁地
  • Pathway Leader MA CCC & International Management
  • Member of School Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee
  • Co-Chair of Board of Examiners
  • Member of REF Internal Quality Audit committee, ECLS
  • ECLS convenor for HaSS Faculty Ethics Committee
  • Independent Chair for PhD vivas
  • Academic Lead Athena Swan, ECLS, 2016-2021
  • Director of EDI, ECLS, 2016-2021

Area of expertise

  • Applied Linguistics
  • Communication
  • Social Interaction
  • Dementia and communication
  • Conversational AI
  • Multimodality
  • Multilingual Workplace
  • Language Policy
  • Creative Sector
  • Theatre Practice


Peer review and editorial work

Social Interaction - Video-Based Studies of Human Sociality (Co-editor); Research on Language and Social Interaction (ROLSI); Applied Linguistics; Language & Communication; Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice; Applied Linguistics Review; Discourse Processes; Discourse Studies; Classroom Discourse; Qualitative Research Journal; Journal of Pragmatics; Pragmatics and Society; Text & Talk; Modern Language Journal; Aging and Mental Health; Qualitative Research in Psychology; Qualitative Research in Health; Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders; Qualitative Video Research Reports; Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education; Forum Qualitative Social Research; International Journal for the Semiotics of Law; Ampersand; Journal of Medical Internet Research - Mental Health; Research Methods in Applied Linguistics; Linguistics & Education; Language Teaching Research; Journal of Interaction Research and Communication Design (Advisory Board); Guest Editor work: Journal of Pragmatics (2014; 2018); Journal of Linguistic Anthropology (2017), and a number of edited collections.

Scientific committees: International Institute for Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis (IIEMCA); American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL); Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice (ALAPP); Cultural and Linguistic Practices in the Internationalised University (CALPIU)

Google scholar:

SCOPUS:


Research

My research interests are in social interaction, particularly in institutional contexts, with recent research output dealing with such settings as theatre rehearsals, service encounters, corporate business meetings, guidance counselling in higher education, classroom interaction, healthcare, and human-robot interaction. In recent years, my research has also explored healthy ageing, including communication involving people living with dementia, and conversational AI.

Most settings that I have investigated have been linguistically dynamic, and I am especially interested in exploring the ways through which people make use of the body and other resources from the surround to facilitate communication. I adopt a multimodal analytic approach to do so, drawing on Ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis, micro-ethnography, and video analysis.

Over the years, I have been involved in a range of projects on internationalised, multilingual settings. At the University of Luxembourg I was attached to the Codiscilea project (Competences for Organizing Discourse-in-Interaction and Science Learning), exploring the discourse of elementary school science classrooms. At Roskilde University, I carried out my PhD research as a member of the Research Centre for Cultural and Linguistic Practices in the Internationalised University (calpiu.dk), and postdoctoral research in the project Language and Interaction in the Global Corporation (lingcorp.ruc.dk). The research project Transient Multilingual Communities (tmc.ku.dk) built on this previous work, and I was involved in the Erasmus+ project Critical Skills for Life and Work (cslw.eu), developing toolkits for highly skilled refugees. 

My research in these projects has focused first and foremost on resources such as talk, gaze, gesture, body posture and material objects that people make use of in their interactions. This builds on my earlier career in theatre, adopting embodied approaches to the study of human sociality in action.

This line of work was carried through in the project Social Objects for Innovation and Learning (SOIL) at the University of Southern Denmark in Kolding, where I undertook research on collaborative processes in theatre production.

Recently, with colleagues across 缅北禁地, we have conducted research on social interaction involving people living with dementia. This project, Interaction, Dementia and Engagement in the Arts (IDEA) was funded from the British Academy, and provided the foundations for a follow-up project Interaction, Dementia and Engagement in the Arts for Lifelong Learning (IDEAL), supported by a grant from the UKRI Industrial Strategy Catalyst Fund. Both these projects are collaborations with colleagues from across 缅北禁地, working in partnership with Equal Arts and Sunderland Culture.

I am currently also working with colleague Adam Brandt on applying Conversation Analysis to the product development of conversational AI, collaborating with HealthTech company Ufonia on the development of automated AI agent Dora. This is funded by an Innovate UK grant.

Teaching

I am currently module leader for ALC8021 Multimodal Communication and contributor to ALC8003 Research Portfolio.I also contribute to HSS8004 Qualitative Methods and Critical Analysis in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.


I am also currently supervising five PhD students. I would be happy to hear from candidates looking to do a PhD in areas of research related to my own, specifically research from and interactionist perspective, including Conversation Analysis, Ethnomethodological Interaction Analysis, and Video Analysis.


Office hours: Monday & Tuesday 9-10.30



Publications

  • Articles

    • Brandt A, Hazel S. . Applied Linguistics Review 2025, 16(2), 775-786.
    • Stephenson M, Hazel S. . Applied Linguistics 2026, 47(1), 127–146.
    • Brandt A, Hazel S, McKinnon R, Sideridou K, Tindale J, Ventoura N. . Discourse & Communication 2024, 18(6), 905-916.
    • Leyland C, Hazel S, Brandt A. . Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology 2023, 49(3), 114-136.
    • Schneider J, Hazel S, Morgner C, Dening T. . Ageing and Society 2019, 39(8), 1731-1751.
    • Morgner C, Hazel S, Schneider J, Tischler V. . Sociological Research Online 2019, 24(4), 514-540.
    • Hazel S, Svennevig J. . Journal of Pragmatics 2018, 126, 1-9.
    • Hazel S. Doing notes – coordinating collaborative ideas development using inscribed objects. Day, D. & Mortensen, K. (eds.) Special Issue: Inscribed Objects in Professional Interaction. Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice 2018. Submitted.
    • Hazel S, Mortensen K. . Classroom Discourse 2017, 8(3), 214-234.
    • Hazel S. . Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 2017, 27(3), 308–325.
    • Lønsmann D, Hazel S, Haberland H. . Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 2017, 27(3), 264-270.
    • Hazel S. . Qualitative Research 2016, 16(4), 446-467.
    • Hazel S. . Coup de Theatre 2015, 29, 45-68.
    • Hazel S. . Language and Intercultural Communication 2015, 15(1), 141-160.
    • Hazel S. . Akademisk Kvarter/Academic Quarter 2015, 12(Fall 2015), 44-64.
    • Mortensen K, Hazel S. . Journal of Pragmatics 2014, 62, 46-67.
    • Hazel S, Mortensen K, Rasmussen G. . Journal of Pragmatics 2014, 65, 1-9.
    • Hazel S, Mortensen K. . Journal of Pragmatics 2014, 65, 10-29.
    • Mortensen K, Hazel S. Initiating round robins in the L2 classroom – preliminary observations. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language) 2011, 5(1), 55-70.

  • Authored Books

    • Hazel S. . London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025.
    • Hazel S. Interactional competence in the institutional setting of the international university – talk and embodied action as multimodal aggregates in institutional interaction. Roskilde, Denmark: Roskilde University, 2012.

  • Book Chapters

    • Humonen K, Hazel S, Brandt A. . In: Balaman U; Oittinen T, ed. Video-Mediated L2 Interaction: Conversation Analytic Research. New York: Routledge, 2026. In Press.
    • Kurhila S, Lilja N, Hazel S, Brandt A. . In: Burdelski M; Greer T, ed. The Routledge Handbook of Conversation Analysis. Routledge, 2026. In Press.
    • Hazel S, Lønsmann D. . In: Mortensen J; Kraft K, ed. Norms and the Study of Language in Social Life. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2022, pp.43-67.
    • Hazel S, Mortensen K. . In: Day, D; Wagner, J, ed. Objects, Bodies and Professional Practice. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters, 2019, pp.216-249.
    • Hazel S. . In: Doehler SP; González-Martínez E; Wagner J, ed. Longitudinal Studies on the Organization of Social Interaction. Basingstoke: Springer, 2018, pp.255-283.
    • Mortensen J, Hazel S. . In: Davidsen J; Kjær M, ed. Videoanalyse af social interaktion. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur, 2018, pp.61-86.
    • Mortensen K, Hazel S. . In: Schwab, G; Hoffmann, S; Schön, A, ed. Interaktion im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Beiträge aus der empirischen Forschung. Münster: LIT Verlag, 2017, pp.113-132.
    • Mortensen J, Hazel S. . In: Filppula, M; Klemola, J; Mauranen, A; Vetchinnikova, S, ed. Changing English: Global and Local Perspectives. Berlin/New York: De Gruyter Mouton, 2017, pp.255–276.
    • Hazel S. . In: Ledgaard, HJ; Jenks, CJ, ed. Language and Intercultural Communication in the Workplace: Critical approaches to theory and practice. Routledge, 2017.
    • Hazel S, Wagner J. . In: Jenks CJ; Seedhouse P, ed. International Perspectives on the ELT classroom interaction. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave MacMillan, 2015, pp.149-167.
    • Hazel S. . In: Grujicic-Alatriste, L, ed. Linking Discourse Studies to Professional Practice. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2015.
    • Hazel S. . In: Nevile M; Haddington P; Heinemann T; Rauniomaa M, ed. Interacting with Objects: Language, materiality, and social activity. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2014, pp.169-194.
    • Hazel S, Mortensen J. Kitchen talk – Exploring linguistic practices in liminal institutional interactions in a multilingual university setting. In: Haberland, H; Lønsmann; D; Preisler, B, ed. Language alternation, language choice and language encounter in international education. Dordrecht: Springer, 2013, pp.3-30.

  • Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

    • Brandt A, Hazel S, Mckinnon R, Sideridou K, Tindale J, Ventoura N. . In: CUI '23: ACM conference on Conversational User Interfaces. 2023, Eindhoven, The Netherlands: Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, United States.
    • Hazel S, Brandt A. . In: 25th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2023. 2023, Copenhagen: Springer.
    • Brandt A, Hazel S, Leyland C. . In: Atypical Interaction Conference 2019. 2019, University of Helsinki, Finland.
    • Leyland C, Hazel S. . In: Creativity and Dementia II: 3rd Annual SoPraCon Symposium. 2019, University of Southern Denmark.
    • Hazel S. . 2018, Centre for Advanced Studies in Language and Communication, University of York, York.
    • Hazel S, Lønsmann D. . In: Sociolinguistics Symposium 22. 2018, Auckland, New Zealand.
    • Hazel S, Kappa K, Kraft K. . In: Multilingualism in International Organizations and International Co-operation. 2018, United Nations, New York: The Study Group on Language at the United Nations.
    • Hazel S. . In: 11th International Conference of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF11). 2018, King's College, London.
    • Hazel S. . In: British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) 2017. 2017, Leeds, UK: BAAL.
    • Hazel S. . In: ECLS Seminar Series. 2017, 缅北禁地 upon Tyne: School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, 缅北禁地.
    • Hazel S. . In: Helsinki Lectures on Intersubjectivity. 2017, Helsinki, Finland: Finnish Centre of Excellence in Intersubjectivity in Interaction.
    • Hazel S. . In: Interactional Competences and Practices in a Second Language (ICOP-L2). 2017, Neuchatel, Switzerland.
    • Hazel S, Mortensen J, Haberland H. Transcription linking software: integrating the ephemeral and the fixed in interaction research. In: Challenges and New Directions in the Micro-Analysis of Social Interaction. 2012, Osaka, Japan: Kansai University, Osaka, Japan.
    • Mortensen J, Hazel S. The data cycle. In: Challenges and New Directions in the Micro-Analysis of Social Interaction. 2012, Osaka, Japan: Kansai University, Osaka, Japan.

  • Edited Books

    • Svennevig J, Hazel S, ed. . Elsevier, 2018.
    • Lønsmann D, Hazel S, Haberland H. . Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 2017, 27(3), 264-270.
    • Rasmussen G, Hazel S, Mortensen K, ed. . Amsterdam: Elsevier BV, 2014.

  • Editorial

    • Brandt A, Hazel S, Leyland C. . Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders 2023, 14(2), 189-194.

  • Report

    • Hazel S. Den institutionelle krop i den international verden. Roskilde, Denmark: Roskilde University, 2013. Årsberetning 2013.

  • Reviews

    • Zhu H, Dai DW, Brandt A, Chen G, Ferri G, Hazel S, Jenks C, Jones R, O'Regan J, Suzuki S. . Applied Linguistics Review 2025, 16(2), 809–824.
    • Mortensen K, Hazel S. . Pragmatics & Society 2020, 11(1), 167-172.

  • Working Paper

    • Hazel S, Haberland H. Negotiated exclusion – on the constitution of ‘otherness’ in a multilingual workplace setting. 2013.