Student Profile

My name is Jonathon (Jono) Ryan and I am currently a full-time PhD student.  After graduating with a BA in 1995, I spent several years in Europe and did an introductory TEFL course in Dublin in 1997.  My first teaching job was in Dublin, followed by one in Guadalajara, Mexico.  On returning to NZ, I knew that I wanted a career teaching English, and that this meant developing my teaching skills and knowledge.  I had also become frustrated with the poor conditions and job security for those with minimal teaching qualifications.  So I enrolled part-time on the PGDipSLT while teaching full-time.  I later worked as the principal of a new language school - ECN English Academy - where I spent 6 years, and completed the MA (Applied) part-time. 

By mid-2007, three years after completing the MA, I felt a pull back to further study and research.  I was ready to set myself a new challenge, and keen to commit to research full-time.  After some preparatory work, I began full-time study in early 2008.

My research is in an area of second-language pragmatics called reference.  Reference concerns the ways in which speakers refer to entities in the world, and make it clear to the audience which entity they mean.  I am particularly interested in exploring reference by learners of English, and in how and to what extent reference can be a source of miscommunication.  I was initially motivated through my experiences working with L2 English speakers in non-classroom situations, and also through an interest in how the English article system works.  However, the relevant body of literature has proved to be vastly more wide-ranging and diverse than I could have imagined, and has already been a fascinating journey taking in elements of philosophy, psycholinguistics, cognitive science, linguistics, research methodology and more. 

In exploring L2 reference, I hope that my research can contribute to the body of literature relating to the teaching of L2 pragmatics.