Pienczykowski, B., Madella, P. ‘I was so Afraid All You Wanted from Me Was Sex’: A Corpus-Assisted Study in the Pragmatics of Manipulation in Online Child Sexual Groomers’ Discourse. Corpus Pragmatics 10, 11 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41701-025-00218-0
Our paper examines and exposes the stylistic modus operandi of online groomers, revealing their use of implicit manipulation tactics: the first tactic involves creating a false sense of transparency to establish a reciprocal, adult-to-adult relationship, while the second involves a deceptive use of politeness strategies creating in the child’s mind an illusion of maturity, decision-making power and control. These strategies contribute to the adultification of the child, leading to potential responsibility reversal, self-blame, and reluctance to report OCSEA.
Open access and download: ‘I was so Afraid All You Wanted from Me Was Sex’: A Corpus-Assisted Study in the Pragmatics of Manipulation in Online Child Sexual Groomers’ Discourse | Corpus Pragmatics
Our research into the paradox of ‘polite’ grooming has been showcased in episode 16 of the ‘A Perspective on Crime’ podcast, a podcast on contemporary research in criminology highlighting the societal impact and policy implications of academic insights, hosted and produced by Shane Tanner. Tune in
Madella, P. (2024) ‘Ask a Linguist: What exactly is contrastive stress?’, Babel The Language Magazine, Issue 48, p.11.
Madella, P. and Wharton, T. (2024) ‘Nonverbal Communication: Multimodality in Interaction’, in Romero-Trillo, J. (ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Language and Context. Cambridge University Press, pp. 419-435. Available here.
Madella, P. (2023) Relevance and multimodal prosody: implications for L2 teaching and learning. Frontiers Communication. 8:1181805. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2023.1181805. Available here.
Romero-Trillo, J; Ramírez-Verdugo, D; Jiménez-Vilches, R.; Mestre-Mestre, E.; Avila, Ledesma, N.; Sadeghi, Y. and Madella, P. (2022) Teaching English Prosodic Pragmatics APP (TEPP). Available in Google Play and Apple Store.
Madella, P. and Romero-Trillo, J. (2019) Prosodic Pointing in inferential comprehension: the application of Relevance Theory to L2 listening instruction. Letrônica, 12(4). Available here.
Madella, P. (2018) ‘A relevance-based approach to L2 listening instruction: developing pragmatic competence through awareness of prosody and gesture’, in Danjo, C., Meddegama, I., O’Brien, D., Prudhoe, J., Walz, L. and Wicaksono, R. (Eds.), Taking Risks in Applied Linguistics: Online Proceedings of the 51st Annual Meeting of the British Association for Applied Linguistics, York St John University, 6-8 September 2018 (pp. 61-63). Available here.
~ You can access my PhD Thesis here: Madella_Thesis_.pdf
~ Visit my PURE staff profile here.
EDITORIAL PROJECTS
2025 – 2028 I am currently co-editing the new Bloomsbury Handbook of Pragmatics, Prosody and Gesture Studies with Dr Mary Edward & Bloomsbury Academic. The Handbook explores the interconnection of pragmatics, prosody, and gesture across diverse communicative contexts, showcasing their joint role in (a)typical, signed, and multilingual interactions.
2025 – I am guest-editing ‘Corpus Pragmatics in Forensic Contexts’ (CfP open)
GRANTS & PROJECTS
In March 2026, I took part in the AHRC-funded ‘Engaging with Government’ programme delivered by the Institute for Government (IfG). The training was a very stimulating experience, and one that has helped me see how my research can inform and influence public policy. It has also reinforced my keen interest in engaging in cross-sector collaboration and governmental activities.
2025 – 2026 Research England funded project: ‘Co-Creating Youth-Informed Policy Responses to Online Grooming: Bridging Research and Participation‘: Pauline Madella’s lab | University of Bedfordshire based on collaboration between CRELLA and Institute of Applied Social Research, Madella, P. (PI), Taylor, B., Soares, C., YRAP, and Allnock, D. at SYLRC.
2025 – 2026 Pearson, PTE Core: ‘Is PTE Core fit-for-specific purpose? Analysing the suitability of PTE Core for testing healthcare professionals’ English oral proficiency‘, Madella P. (PI), Latimer, N., and Nakatsuhara, F.
2024-2025 Research England funded project: ‘Building aspirations together: Scoping the way forward for OCR’s GCSE English Language‘, Latimer, N. (PI), Chan, S., Madella, P., and Nakatsuhara, F.
2021-2023 Research Project: ‘Teaching English prosody to L2 and L3 learners in digital environments’, Romero-Trillo, J; Ramírez-Verdugo, D; Jiménez-Vilches, R.; Mestre-Mestre, E.; Avila, Ledesma, N.; Sadeghi, Y., and Madella, P., funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economía y Competitividad.
