Eaquals Online 2023

Ania Kolbuszewska

Ania Kolbuszewska works internationally as a teacher trainer, management trainer and educational consultant at all levels of education. She has been an Eaquals Inspector since 2000. Ania is also a licensed mediator and conflict management specialist.

Anna Maroutian

Anna is a DELTA qualified teacher/teacher trainer with over 20 years of experience in the English Language field both in Ireland and abroad. She is passionate about photography in particular and technology in general. She strongly believes that the arrival of AI and VR will and already is revolutionising the world of ELT.

Anna Young

I have 25 years’ experience as a teacher, trainer and CELTA trainer, having worked in South America, Europe, Asia and Australia and online. I have written coursebook materials, articles for MET/IATEFL and have presented at international conferences. Current interests include self-regulated learning, learner engagement and delivering teacher training programmes on WhatsApp.

Ben Knight

Ben Knight is Head of Pedagogy Research at Oxford University Press.  He is responsible for making sure there is a clear research-informed pedagogical approach underpinning Oxford ELT courses and learning materials.  He is particularly focused on using data-driven digital learning materials to help teachers and learners be more successful in their language learning.  He has worked for various organisations, including the British Council, Cambridge Assessment, International House and City & Guilds.  

Chryssanthe Sotiriou

Chryssanthe Sotiriou, Head of the Department of Foreign Languages and a Global Schools Advocate on SDGs is a teacher, teacher trainer and has presented in seminars and conferences for teaching and the use of cutting-edge technologies in Greece and abroad. Her research interests include AI, Teacher’s well-being and ways to implement sustainable development in Education.

David Byrne

David Byrne has worked in EFL for over a decade and has taught all the ages, levels and exams he could find. He’s worked in Ireland, England, Spain and South Korea, but most of his career has been spent in the U.K. where he currently works for EC English. he has co-authored Textploitation and Overt Teaching, both published by Delta Publishing and runs a blog also calledTextploitation.

Desiree McCall

Desirée McCall has worked in the EFL industry for 20 years. She is currently an Academic Manger and Centre director at Good Hope Studies’ City Centre Campus. As Academic Development Manager for GHS, she is part of a team which develops courses that integrate current language-learning methods, technology, and the South African context.

Elena Trivelli

Elena has been an English and Italian teacher at The London School in Schio (Italy) for the past two years.

She studied Drama at Queen Mary University in London and completed her PhD in Media and Communications at Goldsmiths University in London. Before becoming a language teacher in 2020, Elena worked with vulnerable adults in the field of mental health and substance misuse. She also supported people through horticultural therapy and has managed community gardens and educational allotment gardens, where she would organise short courses and workshops. 

She moved to Italy in 2021 and has since been volunteering in a Social Cooperative promoting the practices of reducing, reusing, recycling and repurposing. Elena continues to run workshops on organic horticultural and soil science, which also inspire some of her lessons with young language learners.

Elif Kandemir

Elif Kandemir works as an instructor at ScOLa. She received her BA degree in English Language and Literature department from Ankara University in 1998; her MA in English Language and Literature (Epic Theatre) from Ankara University in 2002 She holds COTE certificate and DELTA Diploma from Cambridge University. Prior to Özyeğin University, she worked at Bilkent University, Maltepe University, Işık University and Higher Colleges of Technology, English Faculty, Sharjah Women`s Campus, United Arab Emirates as an instructor and level specialist. She worked as the founding team-member, Intermediate and Upper-Intermediate Level Coordinator, and Core member in designing and implementing speaking test projects at ScOLa before her current role.

Eray Sevingil Bilici

Eray Sevingil Bilici works as an Instructor in ScOLa. She received her BA degree from Marmara University English Language Education Department in 2005. She earned an MA in English Language Education from Boğaziçi University in 2009. She is a Ph.D. candidate at Yeditepe University, Curriculum, and Instruction. She also worked with the Division of International Studies at Jackson State University, Mississippi, USA from 2010-2011 as a Fulbright Scholar.
She is a DELTA-qualified instructor from the University of Cambridge. She has published a book chapter, and articles, and gave presentations at local and international conferences. Eray’s research interests are educational technologies, computer-mediated communication, and intercultural communication. She is currently curriculum and assessment member for EAP studies at Özyeğin University.

Erkan Arkin

Erkan Arkin is a faculty member in the EFL teacher education program at Eastern Mediterranean University, where he undertakes research on educational practices at English-medium instruction (EMI) programs. Additionally, he coordinates Institutional Effectiveness and Quality for the Foreign Languages and English Prep School. Erkan also engages in collaborative work with NILE (Norwich Institute for Language Education) as a consultant trainer and EMI course tutor.

Gillian Davidson

Gillian Davidson has worked in EFL for almost 30 years. She has taught, and managed in Slovakia, Indonesia, Russia and the UK. She has taught students from 4 years old to much older across a wide range of courses. She is currently the Group Academic Director at EC English and has extensive experience of managing multiple centres.

Ilkem Kayican Dipcin

Ilkem is an EAP instructor teaching in universities for almost 20 years, she is currently the EAP coordinator of one of the core freshmen courses in Sabanci University,Turkey. She is also one of the members of professional development team in her faculty. For the last few years, she is highly interested in critical digital literacy and the impact of AI in education. She is research driven and does not believe that “curiosity kills the cat”

Jennifer Dobberfuhl Quinlan

Jennifer Dobberfuhl Quinlan received her Ph.D. from Brigham Young University in Instructional Psychology and Technology with an emphasis in Second Language Acquisition. Her background is in blended and online language curriculum and assessment design, including the development of a language program model and assessment strategy for Missionary Training Centers worldwide. She currently is the Learning & Proficiency Specialist at Language Testing International.

Jonathan Dykes

Jonathan is involved in the management of four language schools based in three different countries. He is also the Founder Director of Net Languages, a Web-based language school. Jonathan is also heavily involved in several Erasmus+ projects, including one that is developing VR materials for language schools. He is also the co-founder of Green Standard Schools, an association that aims to help language schools everywhere achieve a more sustainable future.

Joshua Tomasini

Joshua Tomasini is a bilingual English and Italian speaker who was born in Malta and raised in Italy. He is a Celta-certified English teacher with almost three years of experience in teaching English as a foreign language to adult learners of various ages and backgrounds. He specializes in teaching advanced levels, such as C1 and C2, and has experience preparing his students for exams such as IELTS, TOEIC, and Cambridge English.

Julie Cuttance

Julie is an experienced teacher and teacher trainer working in Ireland for over 20 years.  She is currently Quality and Training Manager in Bridge Mills Galway Language Centre, Galway. Her current areas of interest are reflective practice and in-service teacher development.

Julie Wallis

Julie Wallis is the Director of The London School. She is AISLi President, an Eaquals trustee and sits on the board of International House London. She has extensive experience in leadership and academic management. Over the past thirty-five years she has delivered plenary presentations, workshops and training courses on academic management, methodology, CPD coaching and more specific workshops and courses on CLIL and teaching to learners with learning differences.  She is particularly interested in humanistic principles and approaches.

She is both and AISLi Academic Coordinator. She has worked as a teacher trainer for organisations including Eaquals, AISLi, LEND, NILE, Transform ELT, Pilgrims and Bell.

She holds a BA, is DELTA and CertIBET qualified and is a trained inspector for AISLi and Eaquals.

Koray Tunc

Koray Tunç is the director of the Foreign Languages Department, an active member of the Quality Committee, and the DistantEducation Center at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in English Literature and is pursuing a Ph.D. in the same program at Yeditepe University. He has heavily invested in the use of technology and AI in language teaching.

Magdalena Adamczyk Söyler

My name is Magdalena Adamczyk Söyler and I have been teaching English language and academic skills for 10 years at Turkish universities. I’ve completed my last MA in the field of English Language Education and continue to pursue my interest in research and academia in the topics of optimization of lesson planning and instructional design, effective course design and its implementation as well as practical approaches to teaching critical thinking.

Mairéad Boland

Mairéad leads the implementation of the QQI’s regulatory responsibilities in relation to academic integrity. She is also responsible for QQI’s programme of engagement with the professional statutory and regulatory bodies (PSRBs) as well as engagement with QQI partners from across the education system.
Mairéad is a member of the board of AQ Austria and of the Education, Training and Standards Committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).

Maria Philippi

Maria Philippi, Head of Informatics & Digital Education in Doukas School, has extensive experience in the design and implementation of digital transformation projects and comprehensive knowledge in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as in educational design with new tools. She is continuously working as a researcher in the field of Hybrid Spaces & Learning, Augmented Reality & AI with a special focus on Sustainable Development in Education.

Melissa Dietrich

Melissa Dietrich has been involved in English language teaching since 2007. For the past 4 years she has been working as an Academic Manager at Good Hope Studies’ Newlands Campus, focussing mainly on academic operations. Occasionally she works as a teacher trainer on CELTA courses.

Mohsen Askari

With 15 years of teaching experience, I specialize in teaching English and currently based in Istanbul, Turkey. I blend traditional and modern methods, incorporating AI tools to boost student engagement and independent learning. Committed to professional development, I’m pursuing courses on AI in education. Passionate about delivering high-quality lessons, I aim to meet my students’ diverse needs.

Neenaz Ichaporia

Neenaz Ichaporia is EdTech Lead, English Programmes at the British Council, where she ensures quality standards and innovation in EdTech for English language teacher development. Neenaz has extensive experience in digital education and is currently doing an MSc in Digital Education from the University of Edinburgh. She has presented several talks on online learning and digital futures including IATEFL Harrogate 2023, World Teachers’ Day 2022, and New Directions Yokohama, 2019.

Neslihan Sabuncu

Dr. Neslihan Sabuncu Marcus is an undergraduate English instructor in the School of Languages at Ozyegin University, İstanbul, Turkey. She holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in English Language Teaching, and a PhD in American Culture and Literature.  She has been teaching ENG 101 and 102 for over a decade, focusing on sustainability. Dr. Sabuncu Marcus contributed extensively toward the design and curricula of these two integral courses. In particular, she integrated literary texts and sample projects to help students’ comprehension and application of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. She also teaches an elective course entitled Critical Thinking through Themes, which focuses on critical inquiry into literature, art, and popular culture to enhance students’ higher-order cognitive skills.

Owain Llewellyn

Owain is an environmentalist and language-teaching professional. Once he took part in direct action for environmental causes. Later, as a language teacher, he saw a new opportunity to raise awareness of environmental issues and bring the dialogue about sustainability into the classroom. Since 2012 he has published https://eltsustainable.org, giving teachers the world over the opportunity to reach thousands of learners with engaging environment-themed lessons.

He has been a teacher of English, teacher trainer, and an academic manager in different countries. His professional interests are EdTech integration and Education for Sustainability in language teaching and English for academic purposes. He has completed the DELTA and has an MA.

He now works as an EAP tutor and programme lead at Bangor University International College, and also works with teachers worldwide in bringing the dialogue around the environment into their classes through numerous teacher development projects including the course ‘Language Teaching for the Planet’. He has presented at numerous conferences, designed courses and was the plenary panelist at IATEFL 2022 on the topic of sustainability in language education

Ozan S. Inamlik

Ozan S. İnamlık is a senior-instructor at the Foreign Languages and English Preparatory School. He is a member of Institutional Effectiveness, Quality Improvement and Accreditation Unit. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Linguistics. He has Med, MA, and MS degrees in, respectively, Educational Sciences, Marketing Management, and Finance (for executives). He is a PhD candidate in corporate branding and medical tourism (Thesis in progress). He worked at the Eastern Mediterranean University Rectorate, respectively, as the Promotion & University Advancement Coordinator, and International Affairs and Promotion Coordinator. He is an expert and senior consultant in strategic planning, strategic brand management, and learning organizations.

Peter Westerhuis

Peter Westerhuis is an ELT Coordinator at ETS Global B.V. With over 12 years of teaching experience in Canada, South Korea, and France, he supports English teachers in the EMEA region.

Robert Martinez

Robert has worked in the field of ELT in Colombia, Italy, The UK, Canada, Singapore, Egypt, Spain, Bulgaria, Vietnam and Romania since 1994. He speaks Italian, Spanish, and some French and Portuguese. He is an IHWO and EAQUALS Inspector and holds a CELTA, DELTA, CertICT (Distinction), PGDTESOL, MATESOL (Merit), MADTLT (Distinction), PGD Academic Management (Distinction), NILE MAPDLE (Merit), is a language assessment specialist for Cambridge and IDP IELTS, and a CELTA Tutor/Assessor.

Sena Icuz

Sena Elibal İçuz is an ELT Coordinator at ETS Global B.V. She is responsible for outreach to the ELT community, creating content and delivering teacher training sessions. Previously, Sena worked as a university teacher along with other academic and administrative duties. She has degrees in ELL and credentials in ELT.

Sue Hackett

Sue has worked in the areas of international education, including previously managing the national quality assurance for Irish English Language Education providers, for many years. More recently, prior to her retirement from Quality and Qualifications Ireland to work as an independent consultant, she was responsible for initiatives and activities related to the promotion and enhancement of academic integrity, as well as other projects, in particular those related to assessment in tertiary education. As manager of the Irish National Academic Integrity Network, Sue co-authored a chapter of the 2023 Handbook of Academic Integrity and also was chair of the ENQA Academic Integrity Working Group. She has written and presented extensively nationally and internationally on areas such as academic integrity, language education, student engagement, project design, teaching/ learning/ assessment, as well as topics related to educational management.  She has a background in quality assurance and is a long-term consultant and senior advisor for Eaquals.  Sue can be contacted at SueHackett@educationconsultant.ie. 

Tuğba Yıldırım Kumbasar

Tuğba Yıldırım Kumbasar is an instructor at Sabancı University. After her Fulbright FLTA experience at Brown University in theU.S., she earned her M.A. in Turkish Language Education from Yıldız Technical University in Turkey. Currently, she ispursuing her doctoral studies in the Educational Sciences Ph.D. Program at Boğaziçi University in İstanbul, Turkey.

Veronique Scheirs

Véronique Scheirs has been working in the field of language learning and teaching for 15 years. As a certified teacher and with a doctorate in linguistics, she has worked with various audiences, in a number of different contexts and environments. She always varies her approach and eagerly seeks out new methods and technologies to enhance her teaching.

Vicky Saumell

Vicky Saumell is a teacher, trainer, materials writer and presenter specialising in digital technologies integration and project-based learning. She has worked for major publishers and presented at various international conferences. She currently teaches at primary and secondary level schools in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has a website at www.vickysaumell.com.