
19 January 2023
Monica Karlsson new Professor and Head of Subject
Monica Karlsson is new as professor at Luleå University of Technology and new as head of English with a specialization in didactics. As a researcher within linguistics, she has explored how university students learn English. She looks forward to uniting literature and linguistics in her new role as head, as well as exploring Luleå.
"Paint the town red" is one of Monica Karlsson's favorites when it comes to idiomatic expressions – phrases or words with figurative meaning that are difficult to translate. How do students understand these expressions, and what methods can promote learning them? This is what one of her books, published in 2019, is about.
Monica Karlsson began studying English at the University of Skövde, continued to the University of Gothenburg and defended her doctoral thesis in Lund in 2001. For the past 20 years, she has been working at Halmstad University, but since mid-January she is professor at Luleå University of Technology and head of English with a specialization in didactics.
Her early research focused on how advanced learners develop grammatically, while her more recent research has been focused on exploring how they understand vocabulary, such as idiomatic expressions. In her most recent book, from 2022, she examines how students understand different kinds of words, for example polysemous words – words with multiple meanings.
Updating education programmes during spring
Luleå is new ground for Monica Karlsson, apart from a previous collaboration with an application for a research project. Already on the second day at her new job, she has an idea of what the first semester will be about.
“As Head of Subject, I have a lot to learn and many meeting forums. I need to get to know the group and the organization before any big decisions are made. During the spring we will have a lot of work to do, the teacher education programmes are being reworked and updated and this will take a lot of time,” says Monica Karlsson.
She hopes that eventually, there will be more time for research. Something she looks forward to is also to create a joint research project within the research subject.
“Literature and linguistics are often separated. I would like for us as a group to develop an application for external research funding, for a project where we can all collaborate. But this is still to be planned further in the future,” she says.
“I Look forward to exploring Luleå”
Even though “paint the town red” it is a favorite among idiomatic expressions, Monica Karlsson does not describe herself as a city person.
“I like being in nature, hiking and just being outdoors. I look forward to exploring Luleå.”
At the moment she is based in Lidköping, the town she grew up in and returned to a few years ago. During spring, most of the work will be done remotely, but with the aim of being on site in Luleå from the autumn semester.
In addition to her interest in nature, Monica Karlsson likes to read, not just for work. This includes all genres, but she avoids translations and prefers to read in English.
“English has a lot of synonyms, there is a wealth of words that gives nuances to the language. Besides reading, movies are a big interest, I watch almost everything that comes out”
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