Dr Lynn Downes
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Teacher Education & Leadership
Biography
PhD (Queensland University of Technology), Master of Education (TESOL) (Queensland University of Technology), Master of Education (Inclusive Education) (Queensland University of Technology), CELTA (University of Queensland), Bachelor of Education (Primary) (Bloemfontein Teachers Training College), Bachelor of Education (Pre-Primary) (Bloemfontein Teachers Training College). Dr Lynn Downes is based in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership within the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education, and Social Justice. Her research interests involve language and literacies, language variation and change, linguistics and sociolinguistics, specifically taboo language; swearing and -Isting. Lynn’s PhD focused on social changes in language use, specifically swearing and taboo words, with the implications for school behaviour management policies on verbal misuse. Lynn completed her PhD titled “Language change: Identity management and the boundaries of acceptable verbal conduct in school settings” at the Queensland University of Technology. In 2019 she was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Research in the Faculty by an HDR Student, by the Associate Dean of Research of the Faculty of Education, for her significant contribution to the intellectual culture of the Faculty. Currently, Lynn is working with academics from Sydney University, in Australia, the University of Stirling, in Scotland, and Uppsala University in Sweden, on a global project focusing on teachers' perceptions of multimodal texts. Lynn has recently completed a project with Associate Professor Margaret Kettle, Professor Annette Woods, and Professor Susan Danby on a Department of Education project investigating how students’ home languages can be used in secondary education in regional and rural schools experiencing increasing linguistic diversity.Personal details
Positions
- Lecturer in Literacy
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Teacher Education & Leadership
Keywords
Language, Linguistics, Literacy, Swearing and taboo language, Multimodality and multimodal texts, Critical Literacy, Critical Discourse Analysis
Research field
Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies in Education
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- PhD (Queensland University of Technology)
- Master of Education (TESOL) (Queensland University of Technology)
Professional memberships and associations
Vice President (Brisbane) ALEA Meanjin.
University Liaison/ ALEA Brisbane.
Associate Editor - Literacy Learning: the Middle Years (LLMY)
ALEA TESIG co-convenor
Teaching
Lynn has higher education undergraduate and postgraduate teaching experience in the Sociology of Education, English as an Additional Language and Dialect (EAL/D), and English Curriculum Studies. She has extensive experience as a primary and pre-primary classroom teacher both in South Africa as well as Australia. Her interests also include language and literacy in the primary school context, and she is enthusiastic about sharing this knowledge and passion with her students. Lynn Coordinates and teaches the following units: EUB110 Primary English Curriculum 1 EUB306 Primary English Curriculum 3 EUN106 Primary English Curriculum 1
Experience
Lynn’s real-world teaching experience includes teaching students younger than 3 years old to mature adult learners. She spent many years teaching in primary and pre-primary contexts in Natal and the Orange Free State in South Africa, then teaching in Western Australia and Queensland, in Australia. Because of her international experience Lynn is passionate about teaching into diverse classrooms with a focus on language and literacies. Lynn undertakes tutor work in the areas of literacy and English, including English as an Additional Language. She is particularly interested in working with Higher Education Research students to assist them with academic English and structuring of their writing. Lynn has undertaken volunteer work with migrants and refugees assisting them with learning English. In addition, Lynn’s interests in taboo language takes her into various sociolinguistic environments to study cultural and social aspects of language. Selected Conference Presentations
- Downes, L. (October, 2021). Language Change: Swearing and taboo language use in social and school contexts. Research Series Presentation for ALEA Meanjin.
This presentation took a Foucaultian archaeological approach detailing background changes in swearing and taboo language from the Middle Ages through to the current times. The presentation highlighted the current transitions showing changes in acceptability of different English words and emphasised cultural and social changes that support and reinforce the variations.
- Downes, L. (July, 2021). The sophisticated literacy practitioner and the global pandemic [Conference Paper]. AATE/ALEA National Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
This presentation explored data produced in a study focusing on teachers’ conceptions of multimodal texts and multimodality specifically related to teaching practices generated through the pandemic lockdown period in Queensland, Australia.
- Downes, L & Brosseuk, D. (July, 2021). What can teachers’ language tell us about the changing nature of conceptions of multimodality and multimodal text. [Conference paper]. AATE/ALEA National Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Presented with Dr Deb Brosseuk from the University of Sydney, the paper elaborated on key aspects of a study that investigated teacher conceptions of multimodality and multimodal texts.
- Kettle, M., Woods, A., Danby, S., & Downes, L. (July, 2021).Teachers engaging with diverse students and their families: Collaborative curriculum design workshops for rural teachers with increasing numbers of EALD students. [Conference paper]. Australian Teacher Education Association National Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. https://atea.edu.au/2021-atea-conference/
This paper, presented by the team, shared data analysis from the Queensland Education Horizon Grant funded study of home language as a pedagogical strategy in rural schools in Australia.
- Downes, L. (2019). Acceptable language conduct in school settings: Practice juxtaposed between school and institutional policy [Conference paper]. AARE International Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
This presentation offered analysis from Lynn's doctoral study which focused on teacher responses to swearing and taboo language use in contrast to institutional policy requirements. The paper highlighted the personal parameters used in responding to linguistic acceptability standards within schooling contexts.
- Downes, L. (2019). Language Change: Identity management and the boundaries of acceptable verbal conduct in school settings. [Final submission seminar]. QUT Final Submission Seminar, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
This presentation highlighted the completion of Lynn's PhD study and saw a well-attended final presentation to fellow university colleagues, supervisors, mentors, and academic scholars. The presentation focused on the totality of the study.
- Downes, L. (2018). Identity management: Expectations and experiences of verbal conduct in school settings [Conference Paper]. AARE International Conference, Sydney. NSW, Australia.
This presentation explicated data analysis undertaken as part of Lynn's doctoral studies in relation to gender boundaries and language in school settings, specifically regarding staff and their boundaries, experiences, and expectations of language use.
- Downes, L. (2018). Language conduct: Teacher practice juxtaposed between school and institutional policy [Conference Paper]. QUT-BNE-UC International Doctoral Forum, Beijing, China.
Lynn represented QUT at the QUT-BNE-UC forum in Beijing. The presentation for this conference expanded on data analysis from her doctoral study investigating school and institutional policy, as well as teacher practice, regarding verbal conduct in school settings.
- Downes, L. (2017). Journey of Language Change: The boundaries of acceptable language. [Conference Paper]. QUT-BNU-UC International Doctoral Forum, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
The presentation explored the change in taboo language and swearing through history and showed present and expected future changes and how these may impact school settings.
Publications
- Alford, J., van Leent, L., Downes, L. & Woods, A. (2022). Critical Literacies in Australia. In J. Zacher Pandya, R. Mora, J. Alford, N. Golden & R. de Roock (Eds.), The Handbook of Critical Literacies (pp. 125–132). Routledge. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/203760
- van Leent, L., Downes, L., Alford, J., Thomas, A. & Novianti, N. (2022). Critical Literacies. Teaching and Learning Primary English, 474–491. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/203759
- Downes, L., (2022). 'I say it but wouldn't be happy hearing it from a kid': Personal boundary parameters in responding to taboo language, swearing and -IST-ing use. International Journal of Educational Research, 111. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226564
- Brosseuk, D. & Downes, L. (2022). Exploring the changing nature of teachers’ pedagogic identities during the delivery of online literacy teaching. The Australian Journal Of Teacher Education, 47(2), 29–43. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/234204
- Downes, L. & Brosseuk, D. (2022). The sophisticated literacy practitioner and the global pandemic. Australian Educational Researcher (AER), 49(2), 347–365. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/210493
- Downes, L., Kettle, M., O'Brien, P. & Tait, G. (2021). Responsibilisation and acceptable verbal behaviour in schools: Teachers and leaders arbitrating the boundaries of swearing. Linguistics and Education, 61. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207046
- Kettle, M., Woods, A., Danby, S., Downes, L. & Wright-Brough, F. (2021). Home Languages in Schools: Students, families and teachers learning together (HLinS). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/227790
- Downes, L., (2020). Ssh, be quiet! The importance of oral language use in school settings: Practical ways to use oral language to develop literacy skills. Practical Literacy, 25(3), 29–31. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/206611
- Downes, L. & Kim, M. (2019). Critical discourse analysis in transcultural spaces. Emerging Perspectives: Interdisciplinary Graduate Research in Education and Psychology, 3(1), 42–53. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/206619
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Lynn, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).