Linguist Tom Farrell’s 35 years of work into reflective practice in language teaching is being recognized with a prestigious fellowship.

Farrell, in the Department of Applied Linguistics, has been named the 2016 Ian Gordon Fellow by the University of Victoria in New Zealand.

The fellowship has been awarded annually since 2006 by the Ian A. Gordon Trust to top scholars in the field of linguistics and applied language studies.

Farrell, who has authored, co-authored or edited nearly 30 books on reflective practice for language teachers, joins the ranks of esteemed experts from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Michigan and Oxford University, among others.

“I am honoured to have been chosen for this prestigious award because it is in recognition of over 35 years of my work on the complex topic of reflective practice in language teaching. In addition, I am honoured to be included with the past recipients, all of whom are top scholars in the field,” says Farrell.

Farrell recently visited the University of Victoria for two weeks to give lectures, participate in discussions and deliver a special lecture titled The Art of Burglary and Learning to Teach: The Importance of Reflective Practice in Language Education.

Farrell says the topic of his public lecture is pertinent to Applied Linguists and Second Language Teacher Educators because “it outlines how the profession can better prepare language teachers for the reality of the context they will be teaching in.”

During Farrell’s time in New Zealand, he also delivered the keynote address on a similar topic of the importance of reflective practice for language teachers at the 15th National Conference for Community Languages and ESOL and was well received.

“Professor Farrell’s important research and writing on second language teaching is highly respected around the world,” says Thomas Dunk, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences. “He is raising Brock’s international profile as an outstanding comprehensive university. We are very proud to have him as a member of the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Brock community.”