Doctoral scholarship holder learner corpus research and second language acquisition

Antwerp, Belgium

2025-12-10 (Europe/Brussels)

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The Department of Linguistics at the Faculty of Arts is looking for a full-time (100%) doctoral scholarship holder in the field of Learner Corpus Research and Second Language Acquisition, working on a corpus of L2 writing in unaided and GenAI-assisted contexts.

Position

• You will work actively on the preparation and defence of a PhD thesis in the field of linguistics, specifically in Learner Corpus Research and GenAI-assisted writing. You will investigate the impact of writing environment (unaided vs. GenAI-assisted) and task type (argumentative vs. narrative) on L2 writing quality, namely functional adequacy, accuracy, syntactic complexity and lexical diversity. The central research question aims to address the extent to which writing environment and task type impact these subdimensions of writing quality. You will analyse a new L2 writing dataset under the supervision of Prof. Jennifer Thewissen.
• You will publish scientific articles related to the research project and will present your findings at national and international conferences.
• You will carry out a limited number of teaching and research support tasks for the department of Linguistics.
• You will be part of the Grammar & Pragmatics (GaP) research group as well as the Learner Language Network (LeLaN).

Profile

• You hold a Master degree in Linguistics (and literature), Translation and Interpreting, or other relevant fields or you will have obtained it by the time you start work.
• You have a strong academic record, as demonstrated by your academic transcript (results across BA and MA years).
• You have followed courses in Learner Corpus Research and/or Second Language Acquisition in your academic programme and as testified in your academic transcript.
• You are comfortable working with digital tools (e.g. learner corpora, Sketchengine, quantitative data packages, etc.).
• You have foundational knowledge of statistical tools and methods for the analysis of learner language and are enthusiastic about learning more advanced quantitative methods.
• You are a (near-)English speaker and are fluent in Dutch, both written and spoken. Additional language skills are an asset.
• You have excellent academic writing skills in English.
• Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and university research policies.
• You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.
• You are resilient and self-motivated, able to work independently while also valuing collaboration and feedback.
• You can manage your time effectively and are proactive in problem-solving and meeting deadlines.

What we offer

• We offer a doctoral scholarship for a period of one year. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed for another three years.
• The planned start date is 2 March 2026 or as soon as possible after that date.
• Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for doctoral scholarship holders.
• You will receive ecocheques, Internet-connectivity allowance, and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
• You will do most of your work at the City Campus (Stadscampus) in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
• Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here.

Want to apply?

• You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 10 December 2025 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on the 'Apply' button and complete the online application form. Be sure to include the following attachments:
  • a motivation letter
  • your academic CV
  • your (provisional) academic transcripts
  • an academic text that you have written in the context of a master's program or academic publication, which is a good reflection of your academic writing skills. This can be your master's thesis, or a paper for a master's course.
• The selection committee reviews all applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision is made, we will notify you. If you are still eligible after the pre-selection, you will be informed about the possible next step(s) in the selection procedure. Please note the following date in your calendar: interviews will take place on 15 January 2026.
• If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to jobs@uantwerpen.be. If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact Jennifer Thewissen, jennifer.thewissen@uantwerpen.be.