Picture of Veronika Derecsky

Veronika Derecsky

It was one of the best decisions of my life to give up everything and move to York to get a TESOL master’s degree at York St. John. That one year flew so fast that I felt like I would still have liked to stay a university student. We always had a good time in the classes, but at the same time we learned a lot about applied linguistics, teaching and how to conduct research. When I had difficulties with assignments, I never felt alone, the teachers were always there when I needed help. We also had the chance to organise a professional linguistics conference. It was not only fun, but also an interesting opportunity, as I was able to learn a new set of skills. It has been one of the most eventful and adventurous years of my life!

Veronika Derecsky
MA TESOL 2019/20

Nikki

Before being appointed as Head of Learning, Teaching and Student Experience in the Business School, I was Head of Programme for English Language and Linguistics at YSJ for seven years. I have been teaching for 14 years, specialising in phonetics and phonology, and I still teach on the ELL programme. I'm specifically interested in regional variation and children's acquisition of their accent. I have just started a PhD in phonological acquisition at the University of York. My background in learning and teaching is that I was awarded an University (college at the time) fellowship in 2005, for my work embedding technical skills into teaching. I then became Senior Teaching Fellow for the Business School in 2010 which was connected to my work exploring the potential of new technologies to e-marking and feedback, with Mark Dransfield. I'm also a mentor and assessor for the University's dialogic route to HEA fellowship.