Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, School of English Language and Literature, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.



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 Anna Sfakianaki

Education

PhD in Linguistics (Oct.2003 present):

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, School of English

Research Topic: An acoustic study of coarticulation in the speech of Greek adults with normal hearing and hearing impairment

 

PhD research in Linguistics (Oct. 1999 - Aug. 2003):

The University of Reading
 Department of Linguistic Science

Research Topic: The acoustics of normal and disordered speech produced by Greek children

During my Research Officer work I enrolled for a PhD at the University of Reading and did research work for four years. In 2002 I decided to make alterations to my research topic and focus on hearing impairment. I returned to Greece and continued my PhD work at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

           

MA in Applied Linguistics (awarded with distinction)
(Oct. 1998 - Sept. 1999):

The University of Reading
Department of Linguistic Science

Modules: Foundation Course in Linguistics (Phonetics, Phonology, Syntax, Semantics), Introduction to Applied Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, Second Language Learning and Teaching, Grammar of English, Research Design and Basic Statistical Methods, Pedagogic Linguistics, Statistics for Language Studies, Experimental Phonetics, Language Pathology

Dissertation Title: The acoustic characteristics of Greek vowels produced by adults and children

 

BA in Educational Studies (awarded with distinction - grade: 9.84)
(Oct. 1994 - June 1998):

The University of Crete
School of Education Sciences

Speciality: Special Education in Primary Schools

 

Educational Experiences

 Visiting student within the ERASMUS program
(Oct. 1995 Feb. 1996):

Nottingham Trent University
Faculty of Humanities

Courses:
  1. European dimension in education
  2. Computers in social studies
  3. Computers in social studies (seminar)
  4. English (Level III)

Work experience

 Research Officer (Oct. 1999 - Dec. 2001):

The University of Reading
 Department of Linguistic Science           

EU-funded research project: SPECO, INCO-COPERNICUS Project No. 977126, 1998-2001

Project Title: A multimedia multilingual teaching and training system for speech handicapped children

Main Duties:

  • Development of the English version of the system: creation and segmentation of English childrens database, development of software components (cochleagram labelling, spreadline adjustment, picture editing), listening tests, testing and evaluation of the system, writing the users manual
  • Administration tasks
 
Temporary Lecturer (Oct. 2000 - Feb. 2001):

 Leeds Metropolitan University

I taught an acoustic phonetics course to final year language pathology students. My teaching was 3 hours per week and included lectures and practicals on instrumental phonetics.


Lab & Teaching Assistant (Feb. 2004 - July 2004):

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Phonetics Laboratory of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, School of English.

Duties: creating teaching material for undergraduate and postgraduate students, helping students with recordings and acoustic analyses, creating and updating the Phonetics Lab website, doing research, organising the lab equipment, etc.


Primary School Teacher (Sept. 2004 - present):

Sept. 2004 - June 2005    Primary School of Apoini, Crete
Sept. 2005: Permanent teaching position through the ASEP
                    state examination
Sept. 2005 - June 2006   2nd Primary School of Malia, Crete
Sept. 2006 - June 2007   6th Primary School of Heraklion, Crete
June 2007 - Oct. 2007  11th Primary School of Heraklion, Crete

Oct. 2007 - June 2010   Awarded paid sabbatical for PhD research

Sept. 2010 - present     Admitted after examinations to attend a two-year university course in Special Education for State Teachers at the School of Education Sciences at the University of Crete

 
                                          

Awards

 Awards for academic excellence during the BA course by the following institutions:
  • State Scholarship Foundation of the Hellenic Republic (IKY)  (3 times)
  • House of Labour  (3 times)
  • Bank of Greece  (4 times)
  • Drettakis Award for the highest degree performance in the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Crete  
I was awarded a full-fee bursary to do the MA in Phonetics at the University of Leeds in 1998, which I decided not to undertake because there was no possibility for clinical involvement at that university.

I was granted a paid sabbatical from my teaching duties by the Greek Board of Primary School Education from Oct. 2007 to June 2010 to conduct my PhD research.

Languages

 Greek (native)
English (fluent)
German (adequate)
Italian (adequate)
Greek Sign Language (fluent)

 


Computer skills

 
Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Powerpoint

Sound editing/analysis: Sound Forge, CoolEdit, DartPro, WASP, Praat, CSL

Statistical packages: Minitab, SPSS

Picture and photo editing

Internet: Outlook, Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla

Webpage creation with HTML



 

 

Other Qualifications

National School of Music Heraklion, Crete (1984-1991):

Piano lessons and courses on Theory of Music

 

 

Presentations and Publications

Nicolaidis, K. & Sfakianaki, A. (forth.) Acoustic characteristics of vowels produced by Greek intelligible speakers with profound hearing impairment.

Nicolaidis, K. & Sfakianaki, A. (2007). An acoustic analysis of vowels produced by Greek speakers with hearing impairment. Proceedings of the ICPHS 2007. Saarbruecken. Germany. (6-10 August 2007).

Nicolaidis, K. Sfakianaki, A. (2006). Acoustic characteristics of vowels produced by Greek speakers with profound hearing impairment. Poster presented at BAAP 2006, 10 -12 April 2006, Edinburgh UK.

Georgiafentis, M. & Sfakianaki, A. (2004). Syntax interacts with prosody: The VOS order in Greek. Lingua. (vol. 114). (no. 7). 935-961.

Georgiafentis, M. & Sfakianaki, A. (2002). The Syntax-Prosody Interface: VOS in Greek. In Clairis, Ch. (Ed.) Recherches en Linguistique Grecque. Paris: LHarmattan. Vol. 1. 211-214.

Sfakianaki, A. (2002). The acoustic characteristics of Greek vowels produced by adults and children. Makri-Tsilipakou, M. (ed.) Selected Papers on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. From the 14th International Symposium on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (20-22 April 2000). 383-394.

Sfakianaki, A. (2001). Errors of Automatic Formant Tracking in Estimating Vowel Formants in Greek Child Speech. Paper presented at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Department of Linguistics. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (April 2001).

Sfakianaki, A., Roach, P., Vicsi, K, Öster, A., Kacic, Z., Barczikay, P., Tantos, A. (2001). SPECO: Ena optiko-akustiko sistima gia ti didaskalia kai tin eksaskisi tou proforikou logou eurwpaikwn glosswn. (A multimedia multilingual pronunciation teaching and training system). In Vamvoukas, M. & Hatzidaki, A. (eds.) Proceedings of the International Conference on the Teaching and Learning of the Greek language as a native and a second/foreign language. (Rethymnon 6-8 October 2000) University of Crete Athens: Atrapos. Vol. B. 217-227.

Sfakianaki, Anna, Peter Roach, Klara Vicsi, Ferenc Csatari, Anne-Marie Öster, Zdravko Kacic, Peter Barczikay (2001). SPECO: Computer-based Phonetic Training for Children. In Maidment, J.A. & Estebas-Vilaplana, E. (Eds.) Proceedings of the Phonetics Teaching & Learning Conference (April 5-7, 2001). London: Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, UCL.

Sfakianaki, A., Roach, P., Vicsi, K, Öster, A., Kacic, Z., Barczikay, P., Tantos, A. (2000). SPECO: A multilingual multimedia feedback system for clinical applications. Presented in the poster session of the VIIIth meeting of the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association. Queen Margaret University College. (Edinburgh: 16-19 August 2000).

Vicsi, Klara, Peter Roach, Anne-Marie Öster, Zdravko Kacic, Peter Barczikay, Andras Tantos, Ferenc Csatari, Zsolti Bakcsi, Anna Sfakianaki (2000). A Multimedia Mutlilingual Teaching and Training System for Speech Handicapped Children. International Journal of Speech Technology. Vol. 3. No. 3/5. 290-300.