Peter Mickan
School of Humanities
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics
Brief career overview
My research is on language learning and language use for participation in society with the focus on text analysis for transforming languages pedagogy and curriculum.
My career in language education began as a teacher of German and English languages in secondary schools in South Australia and Germany. I then spent six years as program manager in the Curriculum Directorate of the South Australian Education Department with responsibility for languages policy implementation, curriculum development and evaluation for teaching Vietnamese, Khmer, French and German languages , and professional development of languages teachers in primary and secondary schools.
My next position was as lecturer in the postgraduate TESOL program in the University of South Australia with specialisations in second language acquisition and qualitative research methodologies and with duties including Project Officer for the National Language and Literacy Institute of Australia.
From 2000 to 2015 I held the positions of Lecturer, Head of Discipline and Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Adelaide. I developed and managed the Postgraduate Applied Linguistics program. My research is on language learning and teaching, curriculum development and revival of German language in South Australian communities including the Barossa Valley region.
My current academic positions are:
1. Visiting Research Fellow in Linguistics, University of Adelaide;
2. University Fellow, School of Academic Language and Learning, Charles Darwin University.
- My Research
- Career
- Publications
- Grants and Funding
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Professional Activities
- Contact
Biography/ Background
My current positions are as Visiting Research Fellow (Applied Linguistics) in the Faculty of Arts University of Adelaide, and University Fellow in the School of Language and Learning, Charles Darwin University. I established and managed the Postgraduate Applied Linguistics program in the University of Adelaide (2000-2015), designing and teaching in postgraduate courses in Language and Meaning (Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics), Language and Learning, English for Academic Purposes, Language Teaching in Specific Settings and Language Teaching Methods.
Theoretically my work is based on Professor Halliday's Functional Linguistics with the focus on text analysis and language as a social semiotic and learning as socialisation experiences. The theory frames my publications and research projects in text-based curriculum design and pedagogy, in academic literacies, in language and literacy, in workplace communication, in German language revival, and in high stakes language assessment.
In April 2017 I was appointed as University Fellow with the School of Academic Language and Learning In Charles Darwin University
His most recent books include
Mickan, P and I. Wallace (commissioned editors) Routledge Handbook of Language Education Curriculum Design. Routledge
Mickan, P & E. Lopez (eds) (2017) Text-Based Research and Teaching: a Social Semiotic Perspective on Language in Use. Palgrave Macmillan. Basingstoke, UK
Mickan, P. 2013 Language Curriculum Design and Socialisation Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Brief career overview
- Teacher of German and English languages in secondary schools in South Australia and Germany;
- Project Director in the Curriculum Directorate of the South Australian Education Department with responsibility for languages policy implementation, curriculum evaluation and development in Vietnamese, Khmer, French and German languages, and inservice training of languages teachers in Reception to Year 12 schools.
- Lecturer in postgraduate TESOL program in the University of South Australia with specialisations in second language acquisition and qualitative research methodologies; Project Officer for the National Language and Literacy Institute of Australia;
- Head of Discipline and Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Adelaide, with responsibility for introduction and management of Applied Linguistics program, research and PhD supervision.
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Qualifications
Ph.D (Applied Linguistics) - Macquarie University
Master of Education (Honours) - Wollongong University
Diploma of Education - Flinders University
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - University of Adelaide
Teaching Interests
Peter Mickan has a record of successful supervision of doctoral and masters research students. The studies applied text analyses across many domains of language use. The investigations included text-based teaching and curriculum design basedon Functional Linguistics; academic literacies and interdisicplinary studies; IELTS assessment; inquiry-based teaching; bilingual upbringing of children; and revival linguistics with a focus on heritage speakers of German in the Barossa Valley
Research Interests
Peter Mickan's research is based theoretically on social theory and language as a social semiotic. The theory frames his studies in adult literacy, in education, in workplace communication, in assessment and in curriculum design. He is currently directing research projects on:
- Text-based curriculum design and pedagogy;
- Academic literacies and interdisciplinary studies;
- First and second language socialisation and learning;
- Language proficiency assessment (IELTS research projects);
- Barossa German language documentation, maintenance and revival;
- Language revival (Indigenous language, Ngarrindjeri);
- Bilingualism and bilingual education.
Professional Associations
Editorial Board Member
Language and Education
TESOL in Context
Iranian Journal of Language StudiesCommunity Engagement
Academic Board Member
Australian Lutheran College, Adelaide, South Australia
Project Barossa Deutsch/Barossa: German Language Documentation, Maintenance and Revival.
I am involved in a major project is the documentation, maintenance and renewal of German use in the Barossa Valley and South Australia. The community in the Barossa has established the Barossa German Language Association to support German language use and teaching.
One of the initial activities was the documentation of speakers descended from settlers in the mid-nineteenth century. Simon Royal has filmed some aspects for the project. Here is a link to a recent news report on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation [ABC].
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2017 - ongoing University Fellow Charles Darwin University 2016 - ongoing Management Committee School of German Language 2016 - ongoing Visiting Research Fellow University of Adelaide 2016 - ongoing Visiting Research Fellow University of Adelaide 2015 - ongoing Barossa German Language Association Inc. Incorporated community organisation 2000 - 2015 Lecturer and Senior Lecturer University of Adelaide 1995 - 2000 Lecturer in TESOL Postgraduate Program University of South Australia -
Language Competencies
Language Competency English Can peer review German Can peer review -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2001 Macquarie University Australia PhD, Macquarie University. 1997 University of Wollongong Australia Master of Education (Honours) 1973 Flinders University Australia Diploma of Education 1968 University of Adelaide Australia 1968 Bachelor of Arts (Honours), -
Research Interests
Applied Linguistics and Educational Linguistics Education Education Assessment and Evaluation Education Policy English and Literacy Curriculum and Pedagogy English as a Second Language German Language Language, Communication and Culture Languages & Linguistics Linguistics LOTE, ESL and TESOL Curriculum and Pedagogy Secondary Education
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Journals
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Books
Year Citation 2020 Mickan, P., & Wallace, I. (2020). The Routledge handbook of language education curriculum design. New York: Routledge.
DOI Scopus32020 Mickan, P., & Wallace, I. (2020). The Routledge handbook of language education curriculum design. New York: Routledge.
DOI Scopus32018 Shum, M. S. K., & Mickan, P. (2018). Researching Chinese language education: Functional linguistic perspectives. Routledge.
DOI Scopus32017 Lopez, E., & Mickan, P. (Eds.) (2017). Text-Based Research and Teaching: A Social Semiotic Perspective on Language in Use. Palgrave Macmillan UK.
DOI Scopus122014 Mickan, P. (2014). An investigation of IELTS preparation courses for university study: Development of written and verbal argumentative texts (1 ed.). Scholars' Press. 2013 Mickan, P. (2013). Language curriculum design and socialisation. United Kingdom: Multilingual Matters. 2007 Mickan, P., Petrescu, I., & Timoney, J. (Eds.) (2007). Social practices, pedagogy and language use: studies in socialisation. South Australia: Lythrum Press. 2007 Mickan, P., Petrescu, I., & Timoney, J. (Eds.) (2007). Social practices, pedagogy and language use: studies in socialisation. South Australia: Lythrum Press. -
Book Chapters
Year Citation 2024 Mickan, P. (2024). Barossa German: Language documentation, maintenance and renewal in a German-speaking enclave in South Australia. In K. K. Grohmann (Ed.), Multifaceted Multilingualism (Vol. 66, pp. 414-427). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
DOI2019 Mickan, P. (2019). Language and education learning to mean. In G. Thompson, W. L. Bowcher, S. Yat-Sen, L. Fontaine, & D. Schonthal (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Systemic Functional Linguistics (pp. 537-560). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Scopus72019 Mickan, P., & Wallace, I. (2019). Language Education Curriculum Designs: Voices for Uncertain Times. In The Routledge Handbook of Language Education Curriculum Design (pp. 3-7). 2019 Mickan, P., & Wallace, I. (2019). Freedom and authority, success and failure in Australian education: Disruptive designs in curriculum policy and practice. In The Routledge Handbook of Language Education Curriculum Design (pp. 11-25).
Scopus12019 Mickan, P. (2019). Curriculum design in language education: Research, evaluation and renewal. In The Routledge Handbook of Language Education Curriculum Design (pp. 307-308). 2019 Mickan, P. (2019). Transformative curriculum design: Functional linguistics applied in text-based teaching. In P. Mickan, & I. Wallace (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Education Curriculum Design (pp. 193-202).
Scopus12019 Mickan, P. (2019). Transformative curriculum design: Functional linguistics applied in text-based teaching. In P. Mickan, & I. Wallace (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Education Curriculum Design (pp. 193-202).
Scopus12018 Mickan, P. (2018). A social semiotic perspective on language teaching: Why context matters. In M. Shiu-kee, & P. Mickan (Eds.), Researching Chinese Language Education: Functional Linguistic Perspectives (pp. 46-58). London: Routledge.
DOI Scopus42017 Mickan, P., & Lopez, E. (2017). Documentation, renewal, and semiotic mediation: Continuing text-based research and teaching. In P. Mickan, & E. Lopez (Eds.), Text-Based Research and Teaching: A Social Semiotic Perspective on Language in Use (pp. 363-365). London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.
DOI Scopus32017 Mickan, P. (2017). Text-based research and teaching from a social semiotic perspective: Transformative research and pedagogy. In P. Mickan, & E. Lopez (Eds.), Text-Based Research and Teaching: A Social Semiotic Perspective on Language in Use (pp. 15-35). London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.
DOI Scopus152016 Alyousef, H., & Mickan, P. (2016). Literacy and numeracy practices in postgraduate management accounting. In A. Archer, & E. Breuer (Eds.), Multimodality in Higher Education (Vol. 33, 1 ed., pp. 216-240). Leiden: Brill.
DOI Scopus42009 Mickan, P., & Motteram, J. (2009). The preparation practices of IELTS candidates: Case studies. In IELTS Research Reports Volume 10 (pp. 223-262). IELTS Australia Pty Limited. 2007 Yu, S., & Mickan, P. (2007). Participation and Power in an EFL Classroom in Taiwan: Who's Talking First?. In H. Azman, L. Siong, & N. Noor (Eds.), Transforming Learning Realities in the ELT World (pp. 66-78). Malaysia: Pearson. 2006 Mickan, P. (2006). Socialisation, social practices and teaching. In P. Mickan, I. Petrescu, & J. Timoney (Eds.), Social practices, pedagogy and language use: studies in socialisation (pp. 7-23). Adelaide: Lythrum Press. 2005 Sit, M., Mickan, P., & Gray, C. (2005). Building academic discourse skills in chat rooms. In Gloria Poedjosoedarmo (Ed.), Innovative approaches to reading & writing instruction (pp. 209-219). 30 Orange Grove Road, Singapore 258352: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. 2004 Mickan, P. (2004). Teaching strategies. In Chris Conlan (Ed.), Teaching English language in Australia - Theoretical perspectives and practical issues (pp. 193-214). Curtin Uni of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845: Australian Public Intellectual Network. 2004 Mickan, P. (2004). Teaching methodologies. In Chris Conlan (Ed.), Teaching English language in Australia - Theoretical perspectives and practical issues (pp. 171-191). Curtin Uni of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845: Australian Public Intellectual Network. 2003 Mickan, P. (2003). 'What's your score?' An investigation into language descriptors for rating written performance. In IELTS Australia (Ed.), IELTS research reports 2003. Vol. 5 (pp. 125-157). Canberra: IELTS Australia Pty Limited. 2003 Mickan, P., & Slater, S. (2003). Text analysis and the assessment of academic writing. In Robyn Tulloh (Ed.), IELTS Research Reports 2003, volume 4 (pp. 59-88). Canberra: IELTS Australia Pty Limited. 2000 Mickan, P., Slater, S., & Gibson, C. (2000). A study of response validity of the IELTS writing module. In Robyn Tulloh (Ed.), IELTS: International English Language Testing System (Vol. 3, pp. 29-48). Canberra, Australia: IELTS Australia Pty Limited. -
Conference Papers
| Date | Project/ No. | Investigators | Funding Body | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/2014 | Barossa German Project |
Dr Peter Mickan, Professor Claudia Riehl, Kateryna Katsman |
Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst | $20,000.00 |
| 2008 | Indigenous Language Teachers Training Program (Stage 2) CI | Dr Peter Mickan, Dr Maryanne | Fed. Dept. of Communications, Information, Technology and the Arts (DCITA) | $38,500.00 |
| 2007 | Student preparation for IELTS examination | Dr Peter Mickan | International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Australia Pty Ltd |
$14,000.00 |
| 2007 | Schooling, socialisation and settlement experiences of refugee immigrants – a longitudinal study | Dr Peter Mickan | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 2007 Small Grant Scheme | $7,800.00 |
| 2006 | Schooling, socialisation and settlement experiences of refugee immigrants – a longitudinal study | Dr Peter Mickan | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 2006 Small Grant Scheme | $7,000.00 |
| 2006 | 2006 Indigenous Language Teachers Training Program (Stage 1) | Dr Peter Mickan, Dr Maryanne | Fed. Dept. of Communications, Information, Technology and the Arts (DCITA) | $77,000.00 |
| 2005 | An ethnographic study of classroom instruction in an IELTS preparation program | Dr Peter Mickan | International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Australia Pty Ltd | $19,138.00 |
| 2005 | Socialisation experiences of immigrants on humanitarian visas in South Australia | Dr Peter Mickan | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 2005 Small Grant Scheme | $6,700.00 |
| 2003/2004 | Evaluation of DECS curriculum framework ESL Scope and Scales | Dr Peter Mickan |
Faculty Early Career Grant $3,783 Industry funding: DECS - ESL teacher release $5,000 |
$8,783.00 |
| 2002 | Linguistic construction of curriculum: the text analysis of curriculum statements for biology, English and geography. | Dr Peter Mickan |
Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia |
$16,000.00 |
| 2001 | Multimedia language teaching - German online | Dr Peter Mickan | Australian-German Joint Research Co-operation Scheme |
$13,500.00 |
| 2001 | What's your score? An investigation into performance descriptors for rating written performance | Dr Peter Mickan |
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Australia Pty Ltd |
$9,915.00 |
| 2000 | Artsvan applications—applications of video-streaming. | Peter Mickan | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Adelaide University | $4,000.00 |
| 1999 | A study of response validity of the IELTS Writing Subtest Stage 2 | Peter Mickan, Steve Slater |
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Australia Pty Ltd |
$17,000.00 |
| 1998 | Improving the quality of oral, academic discourse between lecturers and overseas students | Peter Mickan, Charles Clennell | Innovative Teaching and Learning Project, Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of South Australia | $7,500.00 |
| 1998 | A study of response validity of the IELTS Writing Subtest | Peter Mickan, Steve Slater and Carol Gibson: |
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Australia Pty Ltd |
$13,700.00 |
| 1996 | How do we train overseas students to be more efficient communicators? | Peter MIckan, Charles Clennell | University of South Australia Grant Scheme: Researching Flexible Approaches to Tertiary Teaching and Learning | $4,500.00 |
| 1996 | Linguistic limitations in English language proficiency | Peter Mickan, Charles Cl | Industry funded: Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia (SSABSA) | $4,000.00 |
| 1995 | Development of Language Specific Resources for Distance Education Training Courses | Peter Mickan | DEET funded National Priority Reserve Funded project | $100,000.00 |
| 1994 | Post-Implementation Review of the ILOTES Program, the Asian Studies Program and the Asian Languages and Studies Elements of the NPRF | Don Plimer, Jill Burton, Peter Mickan | DEET funded project | $100,000.00 |
| 1994 | Documentation of a Bilingual Program; the project documented a Grade One Italian bilingual program | Peter Mickan | DEET/NLLIA/SATCC funded | $21,000.00 |
| 1993 | LOTE [Languages other than English] Open Learning Evaluation Project a national evaluation of open learning LOTE teaching | Peter Mickan, Jill Burton | DEET funded | $100,000.00 |
Teaching
I have over 30 years experience in linguistics and language education, teaching in secondary schools, managing curriculum development and teacher inservice in the Curriculum Directorate of the SA Department of Education, lecturing in postgraduate teacher education in the University of S.A., and in Linguistics in our University. My early teaching was in German and English in South Australia and in Germany.
In the Curriculum Directorate of the SA Department of Education I managed languages policy implementation, curriculum development in French, Khmer and Vietnamese languages, and managed innovative inservice training of languages teachers across South Australia, involving teachers’ action research (Burton & Mickan 1993a,b).
For the TESOL Program in the University of South Australia I wrote and taught the postgraduate Second Language Acquisition course for distance learning.
In the University of Adelaide I am a specialist in language education and literacy, with first and second language acquisition and applications to teaching languages as areas of expertise, as well as academic and workplace literacies. I introduced and taught foundational courses on Language Learning for undergraduate Level 2 and 3 students. I initiated, designed, coordinated and delivered the core courses in the PGCW Applied Linguistics program. I have designed, coordinated and delivered courses in different modes of delivery - intensive, distance, face-to-face - in the University of SA and in the University of Adelaide.
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Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2012 - 2016 Principal Supervisor Applying SFL to the Quran: Textual Metafunction in Some of the Quranic Narratives of Abraham Master of Philosophy Master Part Time Mr Zaid Shihab Alamiri 2011 - 2013 Principal Supervisor Exploring Consciousness-Raising Impacts of a Genre-Based Pedagogy in the Context of an Iranian University Student's Academic Writing Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Aiyoub Jodairi Pineh 2011 - 2015 Principal Supervisor The Development of Vocational English Materials from a Social Semiotic Perspective: Participatory Action Research Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Handoyo Puji Widodo 2010 - 2013 Principal Supervisor On Notes and Knowers: the representation, evaluation and legitimation of jazz Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Jodie Martin 2010 - 2022 Principal Supervisor Presenting, and Persuading: International Health Sciences Doctoral Candidates’ Research Proposal Presentations Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Jessica Anne Scott 2009 - 2014 Principal Supervisor Investigating International Postgraduate Business Students' Multimodal Literacy and Numeracy Practices: a Multidimensional Approach Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Hesham Suleiman D. Alyousef 2008 - 2011 Principal Supervisor Managing the Subjective: Exploring Dialogistic Positioning in Undergraduate Essays Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Nayia Cominos 2008 - 2012 Co-Supervisor Style, Structure and Ideology in English and Vietnamese Business Hard News Reporting - A Comparative Study Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Duy Duc Vo 2007 - 2011 Principal Supervisor Picture Book Reading in a New Arrival Context: A Multimodal Perspective on Teaching Reading Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Celine Chu 2007 - 2013 Principal Supervisor Mami Lietadlo Aeroplane Daddy A Case Study Exploring Bilingual First Language Acquisition in a Mixed-Lingual Family Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Margareta Rebelos 2006 - 2011 Co-Supervisor A Longitudinal Study of Developments in the Academic Writing of Thai University Students in the Context of a Genre Based Pedagogy Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Udom Srinon 2006 - 2010 Principal Supervisor Students' Preparation for IELTS: Development of Written and Oral Argumentative Texts Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Sharif Moghaddam 2006 - 2011 Co-Supervisor Diverging Identities: An Exploration of the Interplay of Competing Discourses in Two Saudi University Classrooms Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Tariq Elyas 2004 - 2015 Principal Supervisor Teaching Settlement in the CSWE Curriculum Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Ms Glenda Inverarity 2004 - 2010 Principal Supervisor New-Arrival-Ness as a Social Construct: A Qualitative Case Study Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Hiromi Teramoto 2003 - 2007 Principal Supervisor Exploring Social Practices in English Classes - A Qualitative Investigation of Classroom Talk in a Korean Secondary School Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Mi-ok Lim 2002 - 2004 Principal Supervisor CONSTRUCTING EFL LITERACY PRACTICES: A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION IN INTERTEXTUAL TALK IN THAI UNIVERSITY LANGUAGE CLASSES Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time PfDr Sornchai Mungthaisong 2002 - 2003 Principal Supervisor EXPLORING THE SOCIO-CULTURAL STRUCTURE OF FORMAL ESL INSTRUCTION IN CLASSROOM TALK - A CASE STUDY OF A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN BRUNEI Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Guan Eng Ho 2002 - 2006 Principal Supervisor Computers for Teaching English as a Second Language (Secondary School) in Malaysia: A Case Study Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Nadzrah Abu Bakar 2001 - 2007 Co-Supervisor A Linguistic Analysis of Some Esp Texts used in Iranian Universities with Special Focus on Cohesion in Texts of Business and Commerce Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Ayatollah Fazelimanie 2001 - 2006 Principal Supervisor "I Never used to Read." Patterns of Talk in Regulative and Instructional Discourse: A Systemic Functional Approach to Analysing a Literacy Difficulty Master of Arts Master Part Time Mrs Dorothy Mackey 1999 - 2006 Principal Supervisor Contracting Participation Out of Union Culture: Patterns of Modality and Interactional Moves in a Labour Contract Settlement Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Maurice Norman Ward
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Consulting/Advisories
Date Institution Department Organisation Type Country 1995 - ongoing South Australian Institute of Languages (SAIL) - - - -
Editorial Boards
Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country 2004 - ongoing Consulting Editor TESOL in Context - -
Connect With Me
External Profiles
