Festival of Research in English Language Teaching (ELT/TESOL) 2024–2025
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The Festival of Research in English Language Teaching (ELT/TESOL) was a year-long series of events held between August 2024 and August 2025, organised by the IATEFL Research Special Interest Group in collaboration with various IATEFL Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and partner institutions. Centred on the overarching theme of research in ELT/TESOL, the festival showcased innovative student teacher-led projects across a wide range of topics, including MA-level research, materials design, inclusive practices, generative AI, and social justice in young learner classrooms.
The Festival aimed to provide an interactive platform for student-teachers and practitioners to share insights, best practices, and experiences of teacher-research. It offered a unique opportunity for participants to engage, learn, and collaborate, fostering a community of practice committed to continuous professional development and innovation in English language education. Dr Ernesto Vargas Gil Festival Chair |
Events (in chronological order)
MA ELT/TESOL Quick Fire Presentation Event 2024
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The MA ELT Quick Fire Presentation Event 2024 took place on August 12th, 2024. This was the first event of the ReSIG Festival of Research in ELT.
Hosted at the University of Warwick and co-organised by IATEFL ReSIG & Warwick Applied Linguistics, this hybrid event brought together postgraduate students from ten UK higher education institutions to share insights from their MA research. Participating universities included University College London, University of Warwick, University of Hull, University of Bath, University of Edinburgh, University of Leeds, University of York, London Metropolitan University, University of Strathclyde, and Queen Mary University of London. The event featured dynamic presentations where each student delivered a concise, 5-minute summary of their dissertation research using 15 auto-advancing PowerPoint slides. This format allowed presenters to emphasize key aspects of their work, including topic selection, methodology, and preliminary findings. The audience, both in-person and online, was then divided into small groups to discuss the presentations and formulate questions during a five-minute discussion period. These questions were posed to the presenters, who expanded on their topics or addressed previously unmentioned aspects of their research. In the afternoon, Dr Luis Carabantes from the Language Centre at Queen Mary University of London delivered a plenary talk providing valuable reflections on his academic journey from MA student to PhD and beyond. His session included a Q&A segment, offering attendees the opportunity to discuss their own career trajectories. Overall, the event was a success, fostering a fruitful exchange of ideas and providing postgraduate students with critical feedback and networking opportunities. Presentations |
Online Forum: Fostering Inclusive Teaching in the ELT/EFL Classrooms
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On 20 September 2024, the Online Forum: 'Fostering Inclusive Teaching in the ELT/EFL Classrooms', brought together researchers and student-teachers to share valuable insights on fostering inclusive teaching practices for learners with functional diversity (disabilities) in ELT/EFL classrooms. Through four engaging mini-talks, attendees were provided with practical strategies and resources for creating a more inclusive learning environment.
The forum’s key highlights included:
Each session was followed by interactive breakout discussions, allowing participants to engage directly with the speakers, exchange ideas, and further enhance their understanding of inclusive teaching practices. This forum was an enriching opportunity for educators to broaden their perspectives and improve their inclusive teaching skills. |
Joint Online Conference: Research in Materials
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IATEFL Research SIG and Materials Writing SIG, co-hosted a Joint Online Conference on Research in Materials on Friday, 15 November 2024, bringing together educators, researchers, and materials developers from around the world. The event underscored the importance of institutional partnerships in fostering research-informed approaches to materials design and in strengthening dialogue between practitioners and researchers.
The event started with a thought-provoking plenary by Prof. Adrian Holliday titled Private Sites, Being Communicative, and Varicultural Translingual Audiences. Prof. Holliday challenged participants to rethink materials design from a de-centred perspective, encouraging the incorporation of learners’ diverse cultural and linguistic experiences to create more inclusive and communicative resources. The conference also featured a range of insightful presentations, including:
Attendees had the opportunity to engage in lively discussions, share best practices, and reflect on the future of materials development in ELT. Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to the success of this event. The recording of the event is now available on the IATEFL website in the resources section: here |
Online Conference: 'Mind the Research Gap - Teacher-Led Inquiry into Inclusive Practices'
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On 24 November 2024, Rerearch SIG in collaboration with the IATEFL Inclusive practices SIG held the Joint Online Conference Mind the Research Gap: Teacher-Led Inquiry into Inclusive Practices as part of the Festival of Research in ELT/TESOL (2024–25). The event highlighted teacher-led inquiry and inclusive practice through dialogue between educators and researchers.
Key sessions explored topics such as:
You can see the full conference program: here The recording of the event is now available on the IATEFL website in the resources section: here Thank you to all participants and attendees for a successful event! |
2nd National Conference on English Language Educational Research - Mexico 2024
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IATEFL ReSIG and ReSIG Mexico jointly organised the 2nd National Conference on English Language Educational Research, held online on Friday, 29th November 2024. This event was part of the Festival of Research in ELT for 2024, bringing together teacher-researchers and student-teacher researchers from ten public universities across Mexico.
Participants presented their research on various aspects of English language teaching and learning at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The conference featured interactive breakout sessions and plenary discussions, fostering dialogue and collaboration between presenters and attendees. Research topics included:
The conference was dedicated to the work and contributions of Pat Grounds (British Council), who delivered a plenary talk reflecting on her distinguished career in English Language Teaching in Mexico, inspiring attendees with her insights and experience. Her reflections not only highlighted the evolution of the field but also emphasised the importance of continuous professional growth, the value of teacher-research, and the transformative power of collaboration in shaping the future of English Language Teaching. The event concluded with a panel discussion, offering participants an opportunity to reflect on the key themes and takeaways from the day. The discussions emphasised the importance of teacher-research in shaping the future of English language education in Mexico and beyond. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the presenters, their tutors, participants, and organisers who made this event a success. You can see the full conference program: here The recording of the event is now available on the IATEFL website in the resources section: here |
4th Sub-Saharan Africa Teacher Research Conference - Teacher research in English language teacher education: What options?
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The 4th Sub-Saharan Africa Teacher Research Conference was held on 11th January 2025, under the theme Teacher Research in English Language Teacher Education: What Options? Organised by CAMELTA and IATEFL Research SIG, and supported by MenTRnet and TransformELT, the event brought together teacher researchers from across the region to explore the impact and practical applications of teacher-led research in English language teaching.
Chaired by Dr Ernesto Vargas (QMUL/ReSIG), the conference featured a dynamic programme including a plenary talk by Prof Kate M. Reynolds (Central Washington University) and a panel discussion featuring MenTRnet steering committee members Ana Garcia Stone and Prof Ravinarayan Chakrakodi, who shared global perspectives on teacher research. The conference sessions showcased a variety of teacher-research presentations from teachers and student-teachers which shared impactful research findings from their contexts. Topics included motivating learners with impairments, cultivating a reading culture, addressing students' lack of motivation, and implementing effective classroom management strategies, among others. This collaborative event successfully highlighted the role of teacher research in solving classroom challenges, fostering professional growth, and improving English language teaching practices in Global South contexts. |
A global celebration of teacher-led inquiry, voice, and transformation
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A new edition of Teachers Research! Online 2025 took place on 29–30 March 2025, welcoming over 400 registered attendees for two days of dialogue, reflection, and celebration of classroom-based inquiry. Co-organised by IATEFL ReSIG and MenTRnet, the event featured 68 presentations from 105 teacher-researchers and 47 mentors across 15 countries -including India, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Turkey, Laos, China, Iran, Cameroon, Egypt, Japan, Kuwait, Syria, Vietnam, and Nigeria—making it one of the largest teacher research conferences in the world.
Through plenary talks, poster presentations, and roundtable sessions, participants explored the value of teacher research as both a tool for professional development and a way of recognising local, practice-based knowledge. Sessions showcased a wide range of contexts, themes, and methodologies, with a strong emphasis on collaboration, inclusion, and critical reflection. We thank all presenters, mentors, participants, and organisers for their contributions to Teachers Research! Online 2025, helping to create another vibrant and inspiring global gathering. See the programme here |
Researching Social Justice in Young Learner Classrooms
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Another event in the Festival of Research in ELT/TESOL (2024–2025) brought together on Monday, 7 April 2025 members of the IATEFL Research, Global Issues, and YL&T SIGs to explore how social justice is being addressed in young learner classrooms worldwide. Through plenaries, interactive activities, and a diverse poster session, participants examined current research and shared practical strategies for integrating social justice into teaching.
Highlights included talks by Prof. Annamaria Pinter on involving children in research, Dr. Erik Ekembe on whose voices are heard in applied linguistics, and Judy Boyle on student-led action against human trafficking. A final panel and reflection session invited participants to consider future directions for their practice. The day provided a valuable space for teachers and researchers—whether experienced or just beginning—to connect, exchange ideas, and identify new ways of bringing social justice into the classroom. |
Stories of Mentoring Teacher-Research 2025
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On 12 July 2025, IATEFL Research SIG and MenTRnet hosted the Stories of Mentoring Teacher-Research event, bringing together teacher-research mentors from Germany, the United States, Canada, Laos, India, Uzbekistan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Thailand, Kenya, China, Turkey, Argentina, and Mexico who had presented their research at the 29-30 March Teachers Research! Online 2025 conference.
Drawing inspiration from the recently published book Stories of Mentoring Teacher-Research, presenters were encouraged to tell a story rather than make a presentation, considering:
Link to the program: here . |
MA ELT/TESOL Quickfire Presentation Event 2025
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The MA ELT/TESOL Quickfire Presentation Event 2025, held on 14 August and hosted by Warwick Applied Linguistics, marked the culminating highlight of the 2024–2025 Festival of Research in ELT/TESOL. The event brought the year-long cycle of activities to a close, celebrating a sustained programme of student teachers-led inquiry, professional dialogue, and cross-institutional collaboration.
Co-chaired by Tilly Harrison (University of Warwick) and Ernesto Vargas-Gil (Queen Mary University of London), and supported the MA in TESOL program at QMUL the event brought together postgraduate students from leading UK higher education institutions to share emerging insights from their dissertation research. Using the dynamic quickfire format - 5 minutes, 15 auto-advancing slides, followed by 5 minutes of discussion - presenters engaged the audience with research on topics including critical thinking in teacher education, citation practices, translanguaging in EMI, chatbot-mediated speaking tasks, identity and motivation, and leadership in ELT. The day concluded with an inspiring invited talk by Dr Saima Sherazi (Head of the Language Centre at Queen Mary University of London), who reflected on the journey from MA study to an academic career (Talk recording available here) The event once again showcased the diversity and depth of MA research in ELT, while providing participants with valuable opportunities for feedback, networking, and professional growth. Program: Link |