TEACHING AND RESEARCH GROUP OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LINGUISTICS

TEACHING AND RESEARCH GROUP OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LINGUISTICS

Head: Dr. Fatma Shijaku

Email: [email protected]

The Teaching and Research Group “Linguistics” of the Department of English Language at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Tirana, has the following objectives:

• Harmonising language courses with courses related to English language studies, teacher education, translation and interpreting, British and American studies, public relations, international studies, intercultural and tourism communication, within the framework of the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes at the Department of English Language, University of Tirana, as well as in cooperation with other departments of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, other faculties of the University of Tirana, and various universities in Albania and abroad.
• Structuring scientific research in various branches of linguistics, primarily in contrastive linguistics, in accordance with programmes, language policies, the needs of teaching, translation and communication practices, technological developments, various documents, and current contexts of English language teaching.
• Developing research projects in support of the third cycle of studies, involving doctoral students who will select research topics in linguistics.
• Cooperation and activities within the framework of COST Actions involving academic staff who are members of the Linguistics Group.

Other long-term goals of this research group include:

• Defining, improving and updating language courses in accordance with the diverse Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes and developments in linguistics in general.
• Defining priority linguistic research topics, such as contrastive linguistics, languages in contact, etc., in accordance with programmes, language policies, national and international documents, developments in the country, etc.
• Providing linguistic and scientific training, with a humanistic orientation, for specialists in public relations, in cooperation with Kaunas Kolegija, University of Lithuania, Institute of Higher Education.
• Identifying linguistic needs in the current context of English language teaching according to research topics.
• Promoting the professional development of academic staff and researchers in the disciplines of linguistics through participation in Erasmus+ programmes, various workshops, projects such as READ, COST Actions, etc.
• Developing cooperation with other universities in Albania and abroad, with the aim of establishing joint research programmes and projects.
• Providing organised support for students with the aim of developing their linguistic, communicative and research skills, as well as participating in various cultural activities.
• Promoting and disseminating scientific research.

Planned Activities of the Team:

• Participation in various webinars offered by the British Council and National Geographic within the framework of improving and updating teaching materials and methodologies, particularly in courses such as Text Analysis, Historical Grammar, Academic Writing, etc.
• In cooperation with the Teaching and Research Group “Literature”, organising an activity with the National Theatre, where students will engage in an open discussion with director John Blondell, a lecturer and internationally recognised figure for staging Shakespeare’s works in many countries around the world, in connection with Shakespeare’s play As You Like It, and attend rehearsals. Following the discussion and performance, students will discuss the style of the language, the changes it has undergone over time, how it has been rendered into Albanian, as well as adaptations for theatre and cinema, October 2025.
• Organisation of the International Scientific Conference “Innovation in Linguistics and Modern Practices in Teaching, Translation and Culture”, 20 November 2025.
• Open lecture with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eriola Qafzezi on the findings and methodological approaches of the STI(G)MA project, “A Comparative Study of Stigmatisation in Media Discourse in Albanian and English through Information Technology and Digitalisation” – linguistic models shape and reinforce stigmatisation in media discourse, funded by the National Agency of Scientific Research and Innovation (AKKSHI), Fan S. Noli University, December 2025.
• Continued involvement of academic staff in COST ACTION projects such as the European Network on Lexical Innovation (ENEOLI), “Language Plurality in Europe’s Changing Media Sphere (Plurilingmedia),” etc. Presentation of achievements and findings from these projects.
• Preparation of the monograph Interdisciplinary Studies in Applied Linguistics.
• In cooperation with the Teaching and Research Groups “Translation and Interpreting” and “Communication and Cultural Studies”, organisation of the open lecture “Linguistic and Cultural Issues in the Translation of the Historical Study Agents of an Empire by Sir Noel Malcolm” with translator and researcher Kastriot Myftiu, April 2026.
• Organisation of the open lecture “From United Kingdom to Albania, from newsroom to social media – perspectives from Alice Taylor” with journalist Alice Taylor, April 2026.
• Round-table discussion on the presentation and introduction of the publication Fjalor i anglicizmave (Dictionary of Anglicisms), a collaborative work by linguist Prof. Dr. Kristina Jorgaqi, an expert in sociolinguistics and language planning and a member of the Academy of Sciences of Albania, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irena Pata (Kapo), published by the Academy of Sciences.
• Presentation of the publication Anglicisms around the Globe: Cross-linguistic Studies on the Impact of English, edited by Henrik Gottlieb, Anabella-Gloria Niculescu-Gorpin, Alicja Witalisz, Keisuke Imamura and Jaime W. Hunt, published by Routledge in 2026, which includes a contribution on the Albanian language by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irena Pata, based on the “Global Anglicism Database” (GLAD), a multilingual corpus of lexical and phraseological anglicisms.

Members of this Group: Dr. Fatma Shijaku, Prof. Dr. Daniela Tamo, Prof. Dr. Ukë Buçpapa, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adriana Dervishaj, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Leonora Xhori, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Etleva Kondi, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rovena Vora, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irena Pata (Kapo), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Daniela Hasa, Dr. Violeta Shaba, Dr. Erjon Agolli, Dr. Sidita Dano, Dr. Ergys Bezhani, Dr. Ervin Hoxhaj, MSc. Ksenja Ferro (doctoral student), MSc. Ejona Demneri (doctoral student)