New Faculty Profile – David Wood

by Nicole Findlay

David Wood, assistant professor, SLALS, comes to Carleton from the University of Victoria where he had been teaching applied linguistics.

Wood’s research focuses on formulaic language. The term refers to sequences of words that have both meanings and functions as a whole, and so are memorized and used in the same way single words are. Wood is particularly interested in the role of formulaic language in speech, reading and writing during the acquisition of a second language.

“I have researched the role formulaic language has in helping second language learners to improve speech fluency,” said Wood. “My plan is to examine how these units work in academic texts and to see how English as a second language programs deal with them.”

Wood says that research that focuses specifically on formulaic sequences is relatively recent. “The work has been scattered across various branches of linguistics and education until lately.”

The results of his research will lead him implement new teaching methods that can be implemented into ESL curricula to assist students grasp formulaic sequences.

Wood’s interest in formulaic language evolved from his work teaching English as a second language in Greece, Canada and more recently at Naruto University of Education in Japan. He also participated in teacher training.