Geoffrey G. Pinchbeck

Associate Professor (Applied Linguistics & Discourse Studies)

Ph.D. (Education – Languages and Literacy), M.Ed. (Education – TESL), and Ph.D. (Medical Biochemistry) from University of Calgary
251 Paterson Hall, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University
1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6
Email Geoffrey G. Pinchbeck

Biography

Geoffrey G. Pinchbeck grew up in southern Alberta and holds PhDs in Education (TESL / Language and Literacy) and in Medical Biochemistry. He has previously taught courses at the graduate level in TESL Methodology and Practicum, Pedagogical Grammar, and Research Methodology. At the undergraduate level, he has taught Major Structures of English and TESL Practicum. He taught English as a foreign language (EFL) for five years in Quebec, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, and was an instructor, materials developer, and language curriculum designer in a wide variety of language teaching contexts in Alberta, and these have included English for academic & specific purposes, Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC), and ESL-literacy.

His dissertation work used corpus linguistic and statistical approaches to examine how academic English language and vocabulary use in high school English Language Arts (ELA) exam writing relates to academic achievement in Social Studies, ELA, and Math. His data set included both native English speakers and multilingual students and his analysis was consistent with the idea that “academic English is no one’s first language.” He also examines how word lists might be customized according to how they are used in language pedagogy and assessment, and with different language learner populations in mind. His work seeks to ultimately assist holistic as well as computer-assisted language learning (CALL) approaches to the lexical component of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) curricular design.

Research Interests

The use of corpus and quantitative methodologies to examine:
- First and second language lexical and derivational morphology knowledge and acquisition
- Operationalization of academic English and its role in K-12 academic achievement
Intelligent computer assisted language learning (CALL)
Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) curricular design
Vocabulary diagnostic assessment tool development
Lexical and grammatical aspects of text readability and writing assessment

Professional Honours

2017: Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award, Faculty of Education, Western University

2017: The European Second Language Association (EuroSLA) Doctoral Student Travel Grant

2016: American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) ‘Educational Testing Services Graduate Student Award’

Publications

Articles in Refereed Journals

Milliner, B., & Pinchbeck, G.G.��(2025). Challenging lexical coverage conventions: Evaluating the vocabulary demands of family-genre film and television. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 4(3), 100230. ��

Brown, D., Bennett, P., & Pinchbeck, G.G.��(2025). Metrics for investigations into L2 knowledge of derivational affixes. Vocabulary Learning and Instruction, 14(1), 2097.

Priven, D., Gentil, G., Pinchbeck, G.G., & Strong, B. (2024). “A thought group is a group, not a thought!” results of a teaching intervention on complex noun phrases in Canadian EAP programs. System, 125, 103450.

Pinchbeck, G.G., Brown, D., McLean, S., & Kramer, B. (2022). Validating Diagnostic Word Lists in EFL contexts: The impact of the definition of word and the choice of source corpora. System 106.

Mizumoto, A., Pinchbeck, G.G., McLean, S. (2021) Comparisons of word lists on New Word Level Checker. VLI: A Journal of Vocabulary and Research. 10(2), 30-41.

McLean, S., Raine, P., Pinchbeck, G.G., Huston, L., Kim, Y.A., Ueno, S., Pinchbeck, G.G., Nishiyama, S. (2021). The internal consistency and accuracy of automatically scored written receptive meaning-recall data: A preliminary study. VLI: A Journal of Vocabulary and Research. 10(2), 64-81.

Stewart, J., Stoeckel, T., McLean, S., Nation, P., & Pinchbeck, G.G. (2021). What the research shows about written receptive vocabulary testing: a reply to Webb. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 43(2), 462–471.

Stewart, J., McLean, S., Vitta, J.P., Nicklin, C., Pinchbeck, G.G., and Kramer, B. (2021). The Relationship Between Word Difficulty and Frequency: A Response to Hashimoto. Language Assessment Quarterly. 19(1), 90-101.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2018). Validating the Construct of Readability in EFL Contexts: A Proposal for Criteria. Vocabulary Learning and Instruction, 7(2), 1-9.

Crossman, K., & Pinchbeck, G.G. (2012). An intensive Academic English course for Gen1.5/ELLs bound for post-secondary studies: curriculum design, development, and implementation. TESL Canada Journal, 29(6), 231-245. [the co-authors contributed equally to this work]

Articles in Referred Book Chapters

Heidt, J., Pinchbeck, G.G., Rodgers, M.P.H. (in press). The Good Gaming (GG) List: A word list of key vocabulary in videogames. In Reynolds, B.L. (ed.) Vocabulary Learning in the Wild. Springer.

Articles in Referred Conference Proceedings

Babb, P. P., Aljarrah, A., Sabbaghan, S., Metz, M., Pinchbeck, G.G., & Davis, B. (2016). Teachers’ Perceived Difficulties for Creating Mathematical Extensions at the Border of Students’ Discernments. in M. B. Wood, E. E. Turner, M. Civil, & J. A. Eli (Eds.). (2016). Proceedings of the 38th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. (pp. 514-517). Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona.

Metz, M., Babb, P. P., Sabbaghan, S., Davis, B., Pinchbeck, G.G., & Aljarrah, A. (2016). Transcending Traditional/Reform Dichotomies in Mathematics Education. in M. B. Wood, E. E. Turner, M. Civil, & J. A. Eli (Eds.). (2016). Proceedings of the 38th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. (pp. 1252-1258). Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2016). Towards appropriate L1 & L2 scales of English vocabulary in English dominant contexts: Vocabulary test item difficulty indicates lexical sophistication scale and definition of “word.” In R. Waring, L. Anthony, C. Browne, & T. Ishii (Eds.), Vocabulary Learning and Instruction (Vocab@Tokyo: Current Trends in Vocabulary Studies) (pp. 72–73). Tokyo, Japan: VLI: A Journal of Vocabulary and Research. Retrieved from

Pinchbeck, G.G., McLean, S., Brown, D., & Kramer, B. (2016). Part 2, Revisiting the Word Family: What is an Appropriate Lexical Unit for Japanese EFL Learners? In R. Waring, L. Anthony, C. Browne, & T. Ishii (Eds.), Vocabulary Learning and Instruction (Vocab@Tokyo: Current Trends in Vocabulary Studies) (pp. 26–28). Tokyo, Japan.: VLI: A Journal of Vocabulary and Research. Retrieved from

Aljarrah, A., Babb, P. P., Metz, M., Sabbaghan, S., Pinchbeck, G., & Davis, B. (2016). Transforming Mathematics Classroom Settings into Spaces of Expanding Possibilities. In M. Takeuchi, A. P. Preciado Babb, & J. Lock. IDEAS 2016: Designing for Innovation Selected Proceedings. Paper presented at IDEAS 2016: Designing for Innovation, Calgary, Canada (pp. 162-170). Calgary, Canada: Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.

Babb, P. P., Metz, M., Sabbaghan, S., Pinchbeck, G., Aljarrah, A., & Davis, B. (2016). Addressing the Challenge of Differentiation in Elementary Mathematics Classrooms. In M. Takeuchi, A.P. Preciado Babb, & J. Lock. IDEAS 2016: Designing for Innovation Selected Proceedings. Paper presented at IDEAS 2016: Designing for Innovation, Calgary, Canada (pp. 203-212). Calgary, Canada: Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.

Metz, M., Babb, P. P., Sabbaghan, S., Pinchbeck, G., Aljarrah, A., & Davis, B. (2016). Teachers’ Awareness of Variation. In M. Takeuchi, A.P. Preciado Babb, & J. Lock. IDEAS 2016: Designing for Innovation Selected Proceedings. Paper presented at IDEAS 2016: Designing for Innovation, Calgary, Canada (pp. 182-191). Calgary, Canada: Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.

Sabbaghan, S., Babb, P. P., Metz, M., Pinchbeck, G., Aljarrah, A., & Davis, B. (2016). Juxtaposing Mathematical Extensions with Cognitively Loaded Questions in the Mathematics Classroom. In M. Takeuchi, A. P. Preciado Babb, & J. Lock. IDEAS 2016: Designing for Innovation Selected Proceedings. Paper presented at IDEAS 2016: Designing for Innovation, Calgary, Canada (pp. 213-223). Calgary, Canada: Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2014). Vocabulary profiling of Canadian High School Diploma exam expository writing. In A. Hardy (Ed.), Teaching and Language Corpora: Eleventh International Conference (pp. 78–80). Lancaster, UK: Lancaster University. Retrieved from

Articles in Non-Refereed Journals and Miscellaneous Scholarly Publications

Pinchbeck, G. & Crossman, K. (2014, reprinted). Stretch your Vocabulary: Instruction & Course Design. SHARE: TESL Canada’s eMagazine for ESL Teachers. Issue 5(Spring).

Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2016). Capitalizing on Language Learners’ Individuality: From Premise to Practice by T. Gregersen & P. D. MacIntyre. Canadian Modern Language Review / La revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 72(3), 383–385.

Papers Presented

a) to learned societies (selected)

Al Kaboody, M., Pinchbeck, G.G. (2025, June.). Do Arabic Learners Know All Forms of English Words? Insights for Vocabulary Teaching and Research. Paper presentation at the Vocabulary@Maryland Conference. University of Maryland, Colledge Park, MD, USA.

Mamadova, S., Pinchbeck, G.G., (2025, June.). Transparency of compounds and their potential importance in English learner reading comprehension. Paper presentation at the Vocabulary@Maryland Conference. University of Maryland, Colledge Park, MD, USA.

Al Kaboody, M., Pinchbeck, G.G. (2025, June.). Do Arabic Learners Know All Forms of English Words? Insights for Vocabulary Teaching and Research. Paper presentation at the Annual conference for the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (ACLA). Toronto, ON.

Mamadova, S., Pinchbeck, G.G., (2025, Mar.). Transparency of compounds and their potential importance in English learner reading comprehension. Paper presentation at the Annual conference of theAmerican Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Denver, CO, USA.

Al Kaboody, M., Pinchbeck, G.G. (2025, Mar.). Evaluating Arabic Learners’ Comprehension of English Word Forms: Examining the role of derivational morphology. Paper presentation at the Annual conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Denver, CO, USA.

Brown, D., Bennett, P., Pinchbeck, G.G. (2024, Oct.) Metrics for investigations into L2 knowledge of derivational affixes. 12^th Annual JALT Vocab SIG Annual Symposium. Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2024, Mar.). 60 min. invited workshop: Corpus Linguistics Research Group – Combining knowledge-based and corpus-based word list information in language pedagogy. Dept. of English. College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona.

Pinchbeck, G.G., M. Al Kaboody. (2024, Mar.). 60 min. invited presentation. Combining knowledge-based and corpus-based word list information in language pedagogy. Dept. of English. College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2023, Dec.). 90 min. invited workshop: Combining knowledge-based and corpus-based word list information in language pedagogy: . Wellington Vocabulary Research Summer School. Victoria University at Wellington. Wellington, New Zealand.

Pinchbeck, G.G., M. Al Kaboody. (2023, Dec.). Combining knowledge-based and corpus-based word list information in language pedagogy. Vocab@Vic Conference. Wellington, New Zealand.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2023, Nov.). 60 invited min. presentation. Combining knowledge-based and corpus-based word list information in language pedagogy. Language Testing Research Centre. The University of Melbourne. Melbourne, Australia.

Pinchbeck, G.G., Mamadova, S.. (2023, Nov.). Transparency of compounds and their potential importance in English learner reading comprehension. Australian Association of Applied Linguistics. Wollongong, Australia.

Pinchbeck, G.G., Al Kaboody, M.. (2023, Nov.). Combining knowledge-based and corpus-based word list information in language pedagogy. In Coxhead, A. (convener). New vocabulary research: Paying attention to knowledge, teaching and learning. Symposium presentation at Australian Association of Applied Linguistics. Wollongong, Australia.

Pinchbeck, G.G., Al Kaboody, M. (2023, Mar.). Pedagogical roles for word lists representing learner knowledge in an English for Academic Purposes program. Paper presentation at the Annual conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Portland, OR, USA.

Wojtalewicz, B., Pinchbeck, G.G., Macé, F. (2021, Apr.) An item analysis of the French Vocabulary Size Test (Batista & Horst, 2016). Paper presentation at the Annual conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Online.

Bartosiewicz, A., Pinchbeck, G.G. (2020, July). Readability and motivation in the CLIL classroom: A Spanish perspective. Conference session at TALC, the biannual meeting of the Teaching and Language Corpora Conference.

Murphy, M., Myles, D., Pinchbeck, G.G., (2019, Nov.). Using vocabulary diagnostic tests to inform readings selection. Paper presentation at TESL Ontario 2019. Toronto, ON.

Bartosiewicz, A., Pinchbeck, G.G. (2019, Oct.). Readability and motivation in the CLIL classroom: A Spanish perspective. Conference session at V International Conference on Bilingual Education. Cordoba, Spain.

Wojtalewicz, B., Pinchbeck, G.G., Macé, F. (2019, July). Assessing French learners’ receptive vocabulary knowledge: A replication of Batista and Horst. Paper presentation at Vocab@Leuven. Leuven, Belgium.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2019, July). Validating the lexical decoding component in the construct of readability: better matching students to texts in EFL contexts. Paper presentation at Vocab@Leuven. Leuven, Belgium.

Pinchbeck, G.G., Murphy, M., Myles, D., Devos, N. (2019, May) Developing diagnostic vocabulary tests to inform support for at-risk students in higher-education. Conference session at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics/Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée (ACLA/CAAL). Vancouver, BC.

Wojtalewicz, B., Pinchbeck, G.G., Macé, F. (2019, May). Assessing French learners’ receptive vocabulary knowledge: A replication of Batista and Horst. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics/Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée (ACLA/CAAL). Vancouver, BC.

Pinchbeck, G.G., Murphy, M., Myles, D., Devos, N., Arias, A. (2019, April). Developing diagnostic vocabulary tests to inform support for at-risk students in higher-education. Poster presentation at the annual Symposium for the Canadian Association of Language Assessment (CALA Symposium). Toronto, ON, Canada.

Egbert, J., Hashimoto, B. J., and Pinchbeck, G.G. (2019, March). Toward a new measure of text readability. Paper presentation at the Annual conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Atlanta, GA, USA.

Macé, F., Wojtalewicz, B., and Pinchbeck, G.G. (2018, October). Validation et applications pédagogiques du test de la taille du vocabulaire. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the Second Language Research Forum (SLRF). Montréal, QC, Canada.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2018, September). Validating the Construct of Readability in EFL Contexts: A Proposal for Criteria. Paper presentation at the Annual meeting of the Japan Association of Language Teachers Vocabulary Special Interest Group (JALT-Vocab SIG). Meiji-Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan.

Pinchbeck, G.G. & Schmitt, D. (2018, March). Word List Development and Validation. Invited presentation in N. Schmitt (organizer). New Trends and Directions in Vocabulary Research (invited colloquium) at the Annual conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Chicago, IL, USA.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2017, September). Academic English is no one’s first language: A corpus-informed study of language use and academic achievement by monolinguals and proficient bilinguals. Paper presentation at the Annual conference of European Second Language Association (EuroSLA). University of Reading, UK.

Pinchbeck, G.G., McLean, S., Kramer, B. & Brown, D., (2017, March). Evaluating Word Lists for EFL: Vocabulary Test Item Difficulty Indicates Optimal Sources of Reference-Corpora and the Definition of Word-Unit. Paper presentation at the Annual conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Portland, OR, USA.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2016, May). Inferencing lexical scales for monolinguals and bilinguals for vocabulary use in learner corpora. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics/Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée (ACLA/CAAL). University of Calgary, AB, Canada.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2016, April) Developmental scales of L1 & L2 academic English vocabulary: vocabulary test item difficulty indicates lexical sophistication and derivational morphology development. Paper presentation at the Annual conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Orlando, FL, USA. [Received the AAAL ‘Educational Testing Services Graduate Student Award’]

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2015, March) L1/L2 Adolescent Vocabulary Use in a Learner Corpus: Academic Success and Lexical Sophistication/Diversity in Expository Writing. Paper presentation at the joint conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) and the Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée/Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (ACLA/CAAL). Toronto, ON, Canada. [Short-listed for an AAAL Graduate Student Award]

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2014, Sept.). Vocabulary profiling of expository writing. Paper presentation at American Association for Corpus Linguistics (AACL) Conference. Flagstaff, AZ, USA.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2014, May). Vocabulary profiling of exam expository writing. Paper presentation at Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics/Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée. Brock University, ON, Canada.

Wojtalewicz, B. & Pinchbeck, G.G. (2014, May). A Corpus-Based Study Measuring Vocabulary Development in Expository Writing Samples from Upper Elementary Learners. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics/Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée (ACLA/CAAL). Brock University, ON, Canada.

Pinchbeck, G. (2014, April). General academic vocabulary use in student writing: or: Academic English is no one’s native language. Invited plenary presentation at Linguistic Diversity and Language Policy Conference. Calgary, AB, Canada.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2014, Mar.) Lexical Frequency Profiling of a Large Sample of Canadian High School Diploma Exam Expository Writing: L1 and L2 Academic English. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Portland, OR, USA.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2013, Dec.). Vocabulary profiling of exam expository writing. Paper presentation at Vocab@Vic: Current Trends in Vocabulary Studies Conference. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Crossman, K. E. & Pinchbeck, G. G. (2013, Oct.). Designing Real Tasks for the Fake World of University. Paper presentation at Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) 2013 Conference. Banff, AB, Canada. [Both authors contributed equally to this work]

b) to other academic bodies (selected)

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2021, May.). Tips and tricks for finishing your thesis. Presentation/workshop given at the Werklund School of Education. University of Calgary.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2020, Feb.) Using diagnostic vocabulary tests and text analysis software to match learners to level-appropriate input texts in ESL materials development. Plenary talk at TESL Ottawa Winter PD Conference. Ottawa, ON.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2020, Feb.) Matching students to texts using AntWordProfiler and vocabulary test data. Invited workshop at TESL Ottawa Winter PD Conference. Ottawa, ON.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2019, Feb.). Academic English is no one’s first language: A corpus-informed study of language use and academic achievement by monolinguals and proficient bilinguals. Invited lecture in LNG-7002, Département de langues, linguistique et traduction, Université Laval. Québec City, QC, Canada.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2018, Apr.). Readability Revisited: Word List Development and Validation. Invited presentation at the Symposium on Teaching and Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Faculty of Education, Western University. London, ON, Canada.

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2017, Nov.). Evaluating word Lists for EFL: Vocabulary test item difficulty in Japanese learners of English. Invited presentation at the Symposium on Teaching and Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Faculty of Education, Western University. London, ON, Canada

Pinchbeck, G.G. (2016, October). Evaluating word lists for native speakers and emerging bilinguals: Vocabulary test item difficulty indicates optimal sources of reference-corpora and the definition of word-unit. Invited presentation at the Symposium on Teaching and Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Faculty of Education, Western University. London, ON, Canada

Service to the Profession (Selected)

2019-2021 (twice): Strand Coordinator for Vocabulary and Lexical Studies at the 2020 and 2021 annual meetings of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL).

2018-2020: Member of the Graduate Student Awards Committee, American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL).