Dr Bettina Beinhoff

Dr Bettina Beinhoff

MPhil PhD

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.

Dr Bettina Beinhoff

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.

Quick links

Academia - Bettina Beinhoff

What's on

Aerial view of a winding river with green banks and small villages cutting through a vast, arid desert landscape.

From Perception to Prediction: Modelling human (im)mobility in the Sahel region

10/06/2026 at 13.00

This talk explores whether data-driven methods can explain the relationship between climate change and large-scale pastoralist movements in the Sahel.

View more
A detailed historical battle scene shows armored cavalry officers on horseback directing troops amid chaotic fighting across an open battlefield.

Dona Torr: Historical Materialism and the Communist Historians

10/06/2026 at 17.30

Professor Mary Davis will talk about her new book on Dona Torr: Historical Materialism and the Communist Historians.

View more
Two group portraits outdoors on a lawn in front of a brick building, with the top group dressed in colorful attire and the bottom group dressed predominantly in white clothing.

A Choral Celebration

10/06/2026 at 18.15

Wolfson College Choir is joined by Inspirational Chorale, a gospel choir from the University of Arkansas.

View more
Two smiling young women stand outdoors holding orange “press play” booklets in front of leafy trees and a residential building.

WolfWords Launch and Poetry Reading

11/06/2026 at 11.00

Please come and join us for the launch of this year's WolfWords poetry anthology, which brings together poems from the entire Wolfson community.

View more
Flat lay of colorful school and office supplies on a dark green background

Proofreader Swap Workshop

12/06/2026 at 09.30

The Library is holding a workshop this Friday for students to proofread each other's work. Bring along a piece of work you want proofed, in return for proofing someone else's! 

View more
Show all

News

Show all