SPEAKERS

Nur Yiğitoğlu Aptoula is an associate professor of Applied Linguistics at Bogazici  University, Turkey. Her current research focuses on the interface between second language (L2)  writing and L2 acquisition, genre-based approaches to teaching of L2 writing and L2 writing  teacher education. Her work appears in journals such as Journal of Second Language Writing, Language Awareness and System.

Gökhan Özkan is a lecturer and researcher with a focus on learning sciences and instructional design. As a lecturer in the Foreign Languages Department and holding a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Bogazici University (BOUN), Dr. Özkan has contributed to the field of instructional design by working on projects with well-known organizations such as Meta, Microsoft, and Coursera. He has designed and developed courses in programming, databases, and front-end and back-end development. His areas of interest include creating instructional materials using programming and storyboarding tools, as well as digital instructional technology. He remains dedicated to the field of learning sciences and instructional design, continually striving to contribute to the educational and learning technology community.

Tüge Gülşen received her BA in foreign languages education from Middle East Technical University, MA in learning and teaching of English and literacy from Institute of Education, University of London, MA in cultural studies and PhD in communication studies from Istanbul Bilgi University. Her main research areas of interest are interpersonal communication, social media discourses. She currently teaches at  Istanbul Bilgi University.

Ece Genç-Yöntem received her B.A. degree in English Language Teaching from Yeditepe University, where she also had a minor major in Translation and Interpreting Studies in 2010. She started teaching at the English Language Preparatory School of Yeditepe University in 2014. She taught English to students at different levels of language proficiency for 5 years. Supported by TUBITAK National Graduate Scholarship Program, she completed her doctoral studies in English Language Education in 2019. In her PhD dissertation, she compiled a developmental spoken learner corpus and investigated grammatical and lexical errors within the corpus. She currently works as an assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Language Education at Yeditepe University, offering both undergraduate and graduate courses. Besides, she has been an instructor in the International Bachelorette (IB) Educator Certificate Programme for two years. Her research interests include teacher education, using corpus for ELT, and language skills. 

Yusuf Cengiz is an instructor in the School of Foreign Languages at Boğaziçi University. He completed his B.A. degree at Boğaziçi University’s Department of Foreign Language Education in 2016 and he completed Boğaziçi University’s M.A. program in English Language Education. He is currently a Ph.D. student at Boğaziçi University’s English Language Education program. He is interested in program evaluation, testing, assessment, academic writing and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF).

Burcu Şener is an English Instructor, and currently a member of Boğaziçi University School of Foreign Languages, Testing and Assessment Unit. She studied Western Languages and Literatures at Boğaziçi University, and she received her CELTA in 2016. Between 2016 and 2019, she taught English at Istanbul Bilgi University Preparatory Program, and completed DELTA Module 1 and 3. In the next two years, she offered Academic English Skills courses for Business and Engineering students at Istanbul Bilgi University Undergraduate Language Program and earned her MA degree from English Language Education at Bahçeşehir University. She is currently a doctoral student at Boğaziçi University Learning Sciences PhD Program. Her research interests are collaborative learning, collaborative problem solving, instructional design, learner autonomy and reflective thinking. 

Dilek Göymen is a Ph.D. candidate and research assistant at Boğaziçi University, English Language Teaching (ELT) Program. Upon receiving her ELT bachelor's degree from Boğaziçi University in 2017, she started working as an English instructor at İstinye University. She undertook various duties there, including material development and coordinating faculty English courses for over four years. She specifically developed content-based materials and offered English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses for Pharmacy and Molecular Biology students. Besides, after completing her master's degree in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language at Istanbul University in 2020, she gave Turkish lessons to international students in Turkish Foundation Year Program. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in ELT and working as a research assistant at Boğaziçi University. She is also taking part in a TUBITAK project, the Development of a New In-Service Training Model towards Instructors in English Medium Instruction Universities.

Amir Hamidi is a senior teacher trainer and an educational consultant at Unlimited Educational Services and has the additional role of sales and marketing manager at Helbling Publishing - Turkey. He has been teaching EFL and training teachers in the past 15 years. He has done his BA and M.A both in ELT and has a number of teaching and training qualifications including CELTA, DELTA M1, Diploma in teacher training (LTTC), Training of Trainers (Cambridge), and certificate in Teacher Training (British Council). His growing interest in teacher education and passion for teaching brought him to Turkey where he has taught English, trained teachers, and helped schools and universities with implementing language learning programs. For him, a training session is an opportunity to share the love of teaching with the teachers.