Eaquals Online 2024

Ania Kolbuszewska

Ania Kolbuszewska has worked internationally as a trainer, manager and consultant, providing business and academic consultancy in mainstream and private education at all levels. Ania is also a certified mediator and conflict management trainer.

A former Director of Eaquals Accreditation, she continues to work as an Eaquals inspector. She is the author of the “Eaquals Self-help Guide to Teacher Development” and co-author of Eaquals Academic Management Competency Framework.

Christopher Sanders

Christopher Sanders, from the USA, combines a quarter century of experience in technology and language education. With a background in computer information systems and corporate training, Chris transitioned to ESL/EFL in 2004, in South Korea and Turkey. As the Associate Director for Assessments at MEF University’s School of Foreign Languages in Istanbul, he is keenly interesting in the responsible integration of EdTech and AI into language education.

Cristina Manea Gultekin

Cristina Manea Gultekin is a teacher, teacher trainer, and lifelong learner. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and French, as well as a Master’s degree  in TESOL. She currently oversees the Professional Development Unit (PDU) at the School of Foreign Languages, Gaziantep University, and she teaches General English courses. Additionally, she trains in-service teachers and helps organizing teacher trainer development events run by IATEFL TTEd SIG as the events coordinator.

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 is currently the Curriculum Manager for EC English and in his spare time he has co-written Overt Teaching, and Textploitation. He also co-manages a popular blog also called Textploitation.

Derya Bingör

Derya Bingör is an English Language Instructor at MEF University and a CELTA certificate holder. She graduated from MEF University’s English Language Teaching department and is currently pursuing a master’s in Curriculum Design and Education at Marmara University. Derya presented at the MEF EDUCON Conference on teachers’ perspectives on flipped learning. She is passionate about boosting students’ creativity in classrooms through innovative teaching strategies.

Dr Elaine Boyd

Elaine Boyd has worked in English language assessment for a range of international testing organisations for the last 30 years. She has designed and delivered courses for teacher educators in assessment literacy and has written several exam coursebooks. She is an Associate Tutor at University College, London. She has developed the content for the new online Language Assessment  Professionalisation Programme (LAPP) developed by Eaquals and ALTE.

Dr Hakan Tarhan

Dr Hakan Tarhan is a lecturer and PD facilitator in the Department of Foreign Languages at TOBB University of Economics and Technology in Ankara, Türkiye. He holds BA, MA, and PhD degrees in English Language Teaching from Middle East Technical University. Hakan is an executive committee member at TESOL Türkiye Teacher Education and Development Special Interest Group (TEDSIG) and a trainer for the SIT TESOL Certificate Course. Besides teaching and teacher education, he has a keen interest in qualitative research. He is a professional MAXQDA trainer, helping novice and experienced researchers design qualitative research studies and conduct computer-assisted qualitative data analysis. He is also a member of the editorial board at The Qualitative Report Journal. His research focuses on language teacher education, teacher mentoring, applied linguistics, and qualitative inquiry.

Duygu Erdogan

Duygu Erdoğan has been in the ELT world for over 20 years. She has a BA in American Culture and Literature and an MA in English Language Teaching. She holds an ICELT, DELTA, Teacher Training Certificate (Sabancı University) and Trainer Training Certificate (Anatolian Training Institute).

She has worked at various institutions ranging from elementary schools to universities in different parts of Turkey, as a teacher, an administrator and a trainer.

 She is one of the founding members of TESOL Turkey. Her research interests include teacher research, in-service teacher education, critical thinking in education and testing and assessment. Currently, she is working as a Teacher Trainer and Marketing manager for Macmillan Education, Western Europe.

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 across the world. Gill is also an Eaquals inspector.

Henare Jeremy Simms

Jeremy Simms: Born in New Zealand, Jeremy worked in kitchens, then in broadcasting, before embarking on an ESL career. He has worked in Japan, in Jamaica, and now in Istanbul, where he proudly has a happy family, too. He is a coordinator for assessments and video resources at MEF University.

Iryna Semeniuk Zumrutdal

Dr. Iryna Semeniuk Zumrutdal is Professor and the Acting Head of English Prep. Department at Piri Reis University, Istanbul, Turkey.  She earned her Ph.D. by specialty 10.02.04 – Germanic Languages (Philology) in 2007 from Donetsk National University, Donetsk, Ukraine. Dr. Semeniuk Zumrutdal has written 2 monographs and a number of  books in Linguistics, 48+ articles.

Her research interests include cognitive and functional analyses of language units, nature and organization of concepts, extension of categories by means of metonymy and metaphor, gender studies, integration of content area and language instruction, bilingual education, impact and uses for multicultural literature, and increasing fluency.

Jennifer Schumm Fauster

Jennifer Schumm Fauster is senior lecturer of EFL, teacher educator and the academic coordinator of the Master’s and European Joint Master’s Programme in English and American Studies at the University of Graz, Austria. Her research interests include intercultural communication, writing skills in EFL and professional development in ELT. Jennifer is co-editor of English Language Teaching in Austria: From theory to the classroom and beyond (Graz University Library Publishing, 2023).

Julie Wallis

Julie is Director of The London School, AISLi President, an Eaquals Trustee and sits on the board of International House London.

She has worked as a teacher trainer for organisations including Eaquals, AISLi, LEND, NILE, Transform ELT, Pilgrims, The British Council and Bell.

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

Kenia Puig i Planella

Kenia Puig i Planella is Education Officer and  Teaching and Learning Manager with  PPLI.  Kenia has extensive experience in MFL teacher education at all levels, and provides expertise in language policy and pedagogy to relevant agencies. Her areas of interest include curriculum development and pluralistic approaches. Kenia holds a BA from the Universitat de Barcelona, and a MA and PhD in Applied Linguistics. Currently, Kenia is the coordinator of the ECML project “Using ECML resources to support plurilingual and intercultural education for democratic culture”.

Kim Beadle

Kim is on the British Council’s global Teaching Excellence team supporting the teaching network with thought leadership activities. She recently created the British Council’s policy on using other languages in its ELT classrooms. She has held multiple roles over the last 16 years in teaching operations in Mexico, Hong Kong and Spain. Kim presents annually at conferences including IATFEL and holds a Master’s in Professional Development for Language Education.  

Klaudia Bednarova

In 2009, Klaudia founded The Bridge – English Language Centre, an EAQUALS-accredited language school in Slovakia. She was a founding member of both the Slovak Chamber of English Teachers and the Slovak Association of Language Schools, serving as Chairwoman of the latter from 2011 to 2016, and of the Slovak Chamber of English Teachers from 2019 to 2023. Currently, Klaudia serves as Vice-President of the Association of Institutions of Adult Education.

Klaudia has also established and manages various CPD projects, including the Bridge Re-Boot Camp for teachers—a unique summer school that takes a holistic approach to learning and teacher well-being. She was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2022, and The Bridge’s CPD programme was awarded Best In-Company Training Programme in Slovakia in 2023. Her passion and professional interests lie in effective learning strategies and the impact of language training on work performance.

Marta Benedetti

Marta is an Italian English teacher and mother of three daughters. She lives near Milan and works as a primary school teacher at Cooperativa Sociale Piergiorgio Frassati in Seveso, a town near Milan. She teaches Italian children aged 5 to 11. Previously, she taught in various secondary schools to young adults aged 14 to 19. She holds a PhD and a master’s degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the Catholic University of Milan, where she still collaborates and conducts research.

Miranda Karjagdi Çolak

Miranda Karjagdi Çolak is the Quality Assurance Coordinator at Bursa Technical University School of Foreign Languages. She is dedicated to establishing sustainable and comprehensive quality systems within Turkish public universities. Miranda holds a PhD in TEFL and brings her expertise as an EFL teacher, teacher trainer, researcher, and EAQUALS inspector to her role. Currently, Miranda is  a project team member of the ECML project “Using ECML resources to support plurilingual and intercultural education for democratic culture”.

Nazan Gelbal

Nazan Gelbal has been an EAP instructor since 2008, holding an MA degree in English Literature and a DELTA certificate. She has been working at Sabancı University since 2017, where she has taught various student groups, including EAP courses to prep-school students and research-based courses to faculty students. Her teaching philosophy revolves around fostering learner awareness and motivation. She is deeply enthusiastic about using technology for education and conducting classroom research.

Nergis Uyan

Nergis Uyan graduated from the Middle East Technical University’s Foreign Language Education Department in 1995 and received her MA in Management in Education from Bilkent University in 2005. She completed her DTEFLA from the University of Cambridge in 1999 and also received her ADEM (Advanced Diploma in English Language Teaching Management) in 2001.

She worked in several positions at Bilkent University School of English Language (BUSEL) including English Language Instructor, Head of Teaching Unit, Teacher Development Coordinator, Teacher Trainer and Member of the BUSEL Directorate from September 1995 to February 2010. She has also been working as a CELTA Trainer since 2007. She has been working as the director of Ozyegin University School of Languages (ScOLa) since February 2010.  She also served on the EAQUALS Board as a trustee for two terms.

Palmina La Rosa

With 25 years in training and education, Palmina’s mission is to equip language teachers with coaching techniques for 21st-century skills. She is a qualified ICF coach. She has completed the High Impact Leadership course at the University of Cambridge and qualified as a Team Coaching Specialist from Brown University. She is responsible for the Future Skills Agency project promoted by AISLi whose aim is to systematically integrate soft skills in education.

Rada Passakova

Rada Passakova works at The Bridge as a Student Care Manager and also supports the school’s green initiatives as a Green Ambassador.

In her free time, she is a yoga teacher, a healthy lifestyle enthusiast, and a permaculture practitioner in her own garden. Rada advocates for the sustainable slow-living movement, promoting simplicity and minimalism in both lifestyle and diet. She is an animal lover, and her two French bulldogs often accompany her everywhere—so they might make an appearance during the online conference too!

As The Bridge’s Green Ambassador, Rada is currently working on developing a thoughtful educational approach that inspires conscious and respectful living, both for the environment and the creatures that inhabit it.

Sena Elibal İçuz

Sena Elibal-İçuz is a Senior ELT Coordinator at ETS EMEA. She has degrees in ELL and further credentials in ELT. Sena has over 7 years of experience teaching at university preparatory English programs and academic English programs along with her various academic and administrative duties. She is passionate about teacher professional development and increasing quality in ELT practices.

Seyed Reza Mousavi

I am an experienced English teacher with 19 years in the field, currently teaching at MEF University in Istanbul. Previously, I worked as an instructor at Isık University and as an educational supervisor for over a decade at one of the biggest Iranian language academies (Safir Language Academy), training teachers, running educational workshops, conducting interviews and placement tests, observing classes, and managing student feedback and complaints. I hold an M.A. and B.A. in English Translation Studies and possess multiple certifications, including CELTA (ITI in Istanbul) and TESOL (Dubai Men’s college).

Sue Hackett

Sue has worked in language education and quality assurance for more than 45 years. During this time, she has developed policy and overseen its implementation related to a broad range of education contexts, managed projects including developing assessments, designing and delivering teacher training, managing curriculum renewal initiatives, publishing a series of EAP English for Academic Purposes) textbooks. She has recently been very active in the field of academic integrity and has presented and published on this topic, both nationally in Ireland where she was the QQI (Quality & Qualifications Ireland) manager for the National Academic Integrity Network, and internationally for Eaquals, ENQA (European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies), INQAAHE (International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education), and ENAI (European Network for Academic Integrity). She is a member of the Eaquals Accreditation Panel as well as a Senior Inspector and Advisor. Currently, she works as an independent tertiary education consultant.

Timothy Peter Hallam

Timothy is currently working at MEF University SoFL, and has been an instructor of English in Türkiye for 16 years, and has taught a wide variety of students both in an academic and business capacity. Outside of his teaching work, he is a presenter on a radio station in Istanbul, and has a keen interest in improvisational comedy. He is particularly interested in utilising improvisation techniques in the classroom.

Ulla Fürstenberg

Ulla Fürstenberg is senior lecturer of EFL and ELT methodology at the University of Graz, Austria. Her research interests include CLIL/EMI and (teacher) language awareness. Her LEAP Interface project for student teachers of English focuses on teaching English as a global language. Ulla is also a contributor to the Austrian coursebook series way2go! and the co-editor of English Language Teaching in Austria: from theory to the classroom and beyond.

Vladlena Tcherkachina

Vladlena Tcherkachina, the Director of the School of Foreign Languages at MEF University in Istanbul, Turkey, has been actively involved in ELT management and teaching since 2010. Her professional interests include language learning, linguistics, purposeful use of technology, online teaching, flipped learning, motivational management, staff well-being and educational leadership. Vladlena is a passionate language learner, speaking seven languages at various levels. Drawing on her extensive experience, she is dedicated to dispelling myths in language learning and promoting effective strategies that enhance student autonomy and engagement in self-directed language study.

Yuliia Danylenko

Senior Teacher and Teacher Trainer originally from Ukraine, currently working at IH Newcastle in the UK. I both teach (Exams, General English, YLs, ESP… you name it) and do teacher training (CELTA, CLIL, TKT, general methodology).

Zeynep Ogul

Zeynep Oğul received her BA in ELT and MA in Educational Administration, Supervision, Planning and Economics. She has 28 years of ELT experience, 19 of which includes administrative expertise at 3 universities in Turkey. She has gained strong experience in curriculum design, curriculum-based assessment, international accreditation, and leadership and management in these 28 years. Currently, she is the Academic Programs and ELT Manager in ETS Turkey.