Contact details +6469516590

Dr Oliver Ballance PhD

Lecturer - Applied Linguistics and English for Academic Purposes

Doctoral Co-Supervisor
School of Humanities Media and Creative Comm

Oliver has extensive experience of teaching English. His research interests are centred around effective teaching, learning and assessment. He is also a passionate advocate of corpus linguistics and of exploring the affordances of information technology for language learning. He has a hobby-enthusiast interest in natural language production and computer game design. His main areas of research interest include English for specific purposes, lexis, grammar and genre, computer-assisted language learning, assessment, and applied corpus linguistics.   

Professional

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy - Victoria University (2017)

Certifications and Registrations

  • Licence, Co-Supervisor, Massey University

Research Expertise

Research Interests

  • Language learning and teaching 
  • English for specific purposes
  • Lexis, grammar and genre
  • Curriculum
  • Learner autonomy
  • Teacher cognition
  • Assessment
  • Computer-assisted language learning
  • Corpus linguistics

Thematics

21st Century Citizenship

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Applied Linguistics and Educational Linguistics (200401): Languages, Communication And Culture (200000): Linguistics (200400)

Research Outputs

Journal

Ballance, OJ. (2023). Sampling and randomisation in experimental and quasi-experimental CALL studies: Issues and recommendations for design, reporting, review, and interpretation. ReCALL.
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Omidian, T., Ballance, OJ., & Siyanova-Chanturia, A. (2023). Replicating corpus-based research in English for academic purposes: Proposed replication of Cortes (2013) and Biber and Gray (2010). Language Teaching. 56(1), 128-136
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, OJ. (2022). Methodological considerations for the use of mutual information: Examining the role of context in collocation research. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. 1(3)
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, OJ. (2021). Narrow reading, vocabulary load and collocations in context: Exploring lexical repetition in concordances from a pedagogical perspective. ReCALL. 33(1), 4-17
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Coxhead, A., & Ballance, O. (2020). ESP in the Pacific Rim. English for Specific Purposes. 58, 75-76
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, OJ., & Coxhead, A. (2020). How much vocabulary is needed to use a concordance?. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics. 25(1), 36-61
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, OJ. (2017). Pedagogical models of concordance use: correlations between concordance user preferences. Computer Assisted Language Learning. 30(3-4), 259-283
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Webb, S., Sasao, Y., & Ballance, O. (2017). The updated Vocabulary Levels Test: Developing and validating two new forms of the VLT. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics (Belgium). 168(1), 33-69
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, OJ. (2016). Analysing concordancing: a simple or multifaceted construct?. Computer Assisted Language Learning. 29(7), 1205-1219
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, OJ. (2013). Mall-somewhere between the tower, the field, the classroom and the market: A reply to professor Stockwell's response. Language Learning and Technology. 17(1), 37-46
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, OJ. (2012). Mobile language learning: More than just "the platform". Language Learning and Technology. 16(3), 21-23
[Journal article]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Book

Ballance, O., & Coxhead, A. (2022). What can corpora tell us about English for Academic Purposes?. In The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguistics, Second edition. (pp. 405 - 415).
[Chapter]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Coxhead, A., & Ballance, OJ. (2021). Learning Through a Corpus. In A. Burns, & JC. Richards (Eds.) The Cambridge Guide to Learning English as a Second Language. (pp. 307 - 315). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
[Chapter]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, O., & Cobb, T. (2020). Resources for Learning Single-Word Items. In The Routledge Handbook of Vocabulary Studies. (pp. 320 - 335).
[Chapter]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, O., & Cobb, T. (2019). Resources for learning single-word items. In The Routledge Handbook of Vocabulary Studies. (pp. 320 - 335).
[Chapter]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, OJ. (2018). Strategies for Pre-Teaching Vocabulary in Context. In JL. Liontas (Ed.) The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, 8 Volume Set. : John Wiley and Sons
[Chapter]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, OJ. (2018). Technology to Teach Vocabulary. In JL. Liontas (Ed.) The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, 8 Volume Set. : John Wiley and Sons
[Chapter]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Conference

Ballance, O. (2022, November). Statistical collocation and the local emergence of patterning: Evidence and reflection on the extent of variation. Presented at ALANZ-ALAA-ALTAANZ 2022. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, O. (2022, November). A corpus-driven study of learner autonomy, agency and self-regulation in the applied linguistics literature. Presented at SSU4. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, O. (2022, March). On the affordances of concordances. Presented at 56th RELC International Conference. Online.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Ballance, O. (2021, November). Connecting curriculum and autonomy: Friend, foe or irrelevance?. Presented at Symposium: Learning Strategies Across the Curriculum. Wellington.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Ballance, O.
Ballance, O. (2021, November). A typology of concordances. Presented at ALANZ SYMPOSIUM 2021, Diverse Approaches in Applied Linguistics: Exploring Perspectives, Building Connections. Online.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Ballance, O.
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Teaching and Supervision

Teaching Statement

In my teaching and supervision, I aim to develop both subject knowledge and critical skills, because I believe that they are mutually dependent. I also recognise that my students and supervisees come with their own background, knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses, so it is essential that I adjust my teaching and supervision to support the student, both in terms of where they are coming from and also in terms of where they want to go. I have been a teacher for more than two decades, and I still find teaching a fascinating and rewarding activity. I am currently involved in a range of postgraduate supervision panels, and I teach on Massey’s MA Applied Linguistics Programme and on 192102 Academic Writing in English for Speakers of Other Languages.

Contact Supervisor

Summary of Doctoral Supervision

Position Current Completed
Co-supervisor 3 0

Current Doctoral Supervision

Co-supervisor of:

  • Pakkawan Udomphol - Doctor of Philosophy
    Critically investigating metadiscourse in New Zealand environmental sustainability reports using corpus linguistics
  • Phakhawadee Chaisiri - Doctor of Philosophy
    Exploring the Language Learning Beliefs of Multilingual Indigenous-background Language Students in Thailand
  • Haixia Wang - Doctor of Philosophy
    Exploring university Chinese EFL learners’self-regulated strategies in learning spoken English beyond the classroom

Media and Links

Other Links