I work at the Department of English as a Professor and lead the Second Language Acquisition track. I was appointed Professor from August 2021 onwards. Currently, I am also a Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. Previously, I was the Deputy Head of the School of Languages and Translation Studies 2021-2024. I also coordinate the MA-Ievel Degree Programme in Language Learning and Teaching. In addition, I am a contact person for Applied Language Studies in PhD studies. I gained my PhD in English Philology in 2004. Thereafter I have taught at the University of Turku focusing on English linguistics. I previously worked as a Senior Lecturer for about 20 years. I am also Docent in Applied Linguistics at the University of Jyväskylä.

My research interests have focused on learning English as a second language (L2). My special interest area is the learning and development of spoken English, especially pronunciation. I have also focused on the development of learner language, the effect of teaching methods on learning, and learner beliefs. The topic of my PhD was the connection between phonetic transcription skills and pronunciation learning and accuracy. Thereafter, I have studied spoken language skills in a wider perspective, such as the learning of intonation or spoken language fluency and complexity. I have also studied the differences between written and spoken language as well as the use of technologies to facilitate L2 learning.

I led two funded research projects: MultiFluency (funded by Svenska Kulturfonden 2020-2023) focusing on L1 and L2 speech fluency and individual differences by multilingual speakers, and FDF2 ​​​​​​​(Fluency and Disfluency in L2 Speech, funded by Academy of Finland 2020-2024) focusing on the connections of L2 speech and cognitive fuency and the effect of learner characteristics on fluent performance.

You can find more information about the FlowLang research projects here: https://sites.utu.fi/flowlang/en/

My teaching focuses on Second Language Acquistion, English linguistics and language skills. I have given small group teaching, led lecture series and seminars on my own and in cooperation with my colleagues. In addition, I have supervised theses on BA, MA and PhD levels. I have taught English Phonetics and pronunciation for many years as well as courses focusing on learning English as a second/foreign language. I have also led methodological and project courses on second language learning.

Taught courses since 1998:

Basic level: English Language and Linguistics (team-taught), English Phonetics, English Phonology, Inroduction to Linguistics (team-taught), Grammar 1, Pronunciation & Intonation, Spoken English, Study Skills, Translation: English into Finnish

Intermediate level: Accents of English, Applied Linguistics, English Phonetics 2, Global English (as a book exam), Language Learning and Teaching (team-taught), Presentation Skills, Second Language Acquisition, BA Thesis seminar

Advanced level: Language Assessment (team-taught), Language Learning Research (team-taught), Language Testing, L2 Speech (as a book exam), Second Language Acquisition Methodology (team-taught), Technologies in Language Learning and Teaching (team-taught), Theories of Second Language Learning, Topics in Applied Phonetics, MA Thesis seminar