Dr Bettina Beinhoff

Position Bye Fellow
School Arts & Humanities
Personal website Bettina Beinhoff
Email bb319@cam.ac.uk

Bettina Beinhoff is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Studies in Linguistics at Wolfson College. Her research interests are in sociolinguistics, especially in language ideologies, migration & language and social justice.

Bettina Beinhoff completed her undergraduate degree at the Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany; she did her MPhil in Applied Linguistics at the University of Cambridge (Wolfson College) and remained in Cambridge for her PhD on attitudes towards 'non-native' accents in English (Trinity Hall). She is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at Anglia Ruskin University where she is Chair of the School's research ethics panel. She was Programme Director for the BA in Linguistics for several years; currently, she is leading the MA Intercultural Communication. She also supervises a number of PhD students.

Bettina is the Treasurer of the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) and a member of EuroSLA and PhilSoc.

Bettina's research interests are in the areas of language ideologies, attitudes towards accents/dialects/languages and the way these ideologies and attitudes affect individuals and groups. Bettina is currently working on a project that investigates attitudes toward languages of migrant communities. She is working with individuals and support groups to reveal how attitudes held by the local communities can have an impact on the lives, identities and wellbeing of people who migrate across national boundaries. The findings contribute to recommendations for policy development and support programmes.

Bettina is also involved in research on constructed (or invented) languages. She is particularly interested in how constructed languages are perceived by audiences from different cultures and with different first language backgrounds. She has studied the process of designing such languages in detail and investigated how the design aims match up with how the constructed languages are perceived by the audience.

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Academia - Bettina Beinhoff

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An abstract painting dominated by vibrant blue, featuring intricate white scribbles and textured drips of green, orange, and red, creating a layered and dynamic composition.

Art Exhibition: 'Feel the Rhythm'

12/04/2025 at 10.00

Visit Wolfson's latest exhibition 'Feel the Rhythm' featuring work by emerging artist Fungai Benhura, winner of the Wolfson Royal Academy Schools Graduate Prize.

Mansion House 60th Anniversary Dinner

24/04/2025 at 18.30

In celebration of its 60th anniversary year, Wolfson College is proud to be holding a black tie dinner at London’s exclusive Mansion House, courtesy of the Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King, the son of Wolfson’s former Bursar, Jack King.