David Barton

David Barton (born 1949) is a British linguist. He is currently an honorary professor at the Department of Linguistics and English Language of Lancaster University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on applied linguistics with a special focus on literacy, and academic writing. Barton's research also concentrates on the qualitative methodology such as ethnography in applied linguistics. Career Barton has been a Professor of Language and Literacies at the Lancaster University since 1993. He also served as the Director of the Lancaster Literacy Research Centre, which is a core partner in the National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy. On 26 January 2006, Barton's opinion on an article entitled The struggle to keep basic skills up to scratch was published on The Guardian. He said that "It is insulting to adults who have problems reading and writing to compare them to children. Adults with problems have the knowledge and experience of the world, and, mostly, lead normal lives. The comparison with children is silly - I wish I could surf the internet, programme the video and download music as quickly as a 12-year-old". Barton was a visiting professor at the University of Stavanger, Norway.