Prof. Dr. Sakibe Nalan BÜYÜKKANTARCIOĞLU is a Professor at Çankaya University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies (English). She previously served as Professor (2007–2019), Associate Professor (2000–2007), and Assistant Professor (1997–2000) at Hacettepe University, Department of English Linguistics. PhD in English Linguistics (Hacettepe University, 1991) MA in English Language Teaching (Middle East Technical University, 1985) BA in English Teaching (Istanbul University, 1978) Her research spans Linguistics, Cognitive Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics, Translation Studies , with a focus on figurative language, interjections, political discourse, and endangered languages. She received the European Language Award (2011) and has supervised numerous PhD and MA theses, including work on Turkish idioms, gender representation, and language awareness. A prolific editor and conference participant, she has contributed to interdisciplinary projects and publications on Turkish sociolinguistics.
Rafał Jończyk is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pragmatics, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland, where he conducts research at the intersection of psycholinguistics, affective neuroscience, and bilingualism. His work primarily investigates how emotional processing differs between native and second languages using neurophysiological methods, particularly EEG. With a Ph.D. in English Linguistics from Poznań (2015) and postdoctoral experience at Pennsylvania State University, he has established himself as a leading researcher in bilingual emotional processing. His research interests span Affective Neuroscience , Experimental Pragmatics , Psycholinguistics , Bilingualism and Emotion , and the Neurophysiology of Creativity . His methodology heavily relies on EEG to examine language processing, with particular focus on emotional language comprehension and production in bilingual contexts. His work has demonstrated how bilinguals process emotional content differently in their native versus second languages, revealing reduced sensitivity to negative content in the second language. Jończyk's research program has evolved from early work on hemispheric specialization for emotional words to sophisticated EEG studies of emotional anticipation and metaphor processing in bilinguals. His most recent work explores hyperscanning methodologies to study real-time bilingual communication and the neural correlates of creative thinking in bilingual contexts. His publications show a clear progression from foundational studies of emotional word processing to increasingly complex investigations of emotional communication in naturalistic contexts. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Post-doctoral Fellows Award (2018) START scholarship for most talented young Polish scientists (2018) Scholarship from the Minister of Science and Higher Education (2020) Travel Grant Award for International Symposium on Bilingualism (2013) As Principal Investigator, Jończyk leads two major National Science Center projects examining psychophysiological correlates of affective language processing in bilinguals (2016-2018) and neurophysiological correlates of emotional speech production in bilingualism (2021-2025). He also participates in multiple international collaborations including NSF-funded research on divergent thinking in engineering education. His editorial roles include Topic Editor for Brain Sciences and Associate Editor for Applied Psycholinguistics, reflecting his standing in the field. He teaches courses in Psycholinguistics, Emotions in Social Communication, and Creativity and Language at the university level.
Margaret E. Roberts is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. She co-directs the China Data Lab at the 21st Century China Center and serves as an affiliate at the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Her academic appointments reflect her interdisciplinary approach combining political science, statistics, and computational methods. University of California, San Diego, Department of Political Science (Current) Co-director, China Data Lab at the 21st Century China Center Affiliate, UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Roberts earned her PhD in Government from Harvard University (2014), MS in Statistics from Stanford University (2009), and BA in International Relations and Economics from Stanford University (2009). Her educational background bridges political science, statistics, and computational methods, forming the foundation for her interdisciplinary research approach. Professor Roberts' research focuses on the intersection of political methodology and the politics of information, with specific expertise in automated content analysis and the politics of censorship and propaganda in China. Her work employs innovative methods including social media analysis, online experiments, and large-scale text analysis to understand how censorship and propaganda influence information access and political beliefs. She has made significant contributions to text-as-data methodologies, developing tools like the Structural Topic Model (stm) R package that have become widely used in social science research. Roberts' research portfolio demonstrates consistent focus on authoritarian information control, particularly in China, while expanding into broader applications of text analysis in political science. Her publications span top journals in political science, computer science, and interdisciplinary fields, reflecting the cross-disciplinary nature of her work. Goldsmith Book Award Best Book Award in the Human Rights Section Best Book Award in Information Technology and Politics Section Best Book Award of the last decade in the Political Communication Section of the American Political Science Association Chancellor's Associates Endowed Chair at UCSD Foreign Affairs Best Books of 2018 Professor Roberts has secured significant research funding supporting her work on Chinese censorship, propaganda, and text analysis methodologies. Her research has practical applications for understanding digital authoritarianism, content moderation, and the development of computational tools for social science research. She has mentored numerous students and collaborators, contributing to the next generation of scholars working at the intersection of political science and computational methods. Roberts also leads the China Data Lab, which serves as a hub for research on Chinese politics and society using digital methods.
Mohammad T. Alhawary is Professor of Arabic Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at the University of Michigan's Middle East Studies department within the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. He serves as Director of both the MA Program in Arabic for Professional Purposes (APP) and the MA Program in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL). His educational background includes a Ph.D. from Georgetown University (1999). Prior to joining the University of Michigan, he contributed to developing Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies programs at various US institutions. Professor Alhawary's research spans both theoretical and applied Arabic linguistics, with particular focus on second language acquisition processes. His work examines how factors like age, input quality, output practice, and first language transfer affect Arabic language learning. He has made significant contributions to understanding Arabic language pedagogy, curriculum design, proficiency testing, and the application of technology in language learning. His research also extends to bilingualism, multilingualism, language impairment, and Arabic medieval grammatical traditions. His publications reflect a strong trajectory in Arabic linguistics research, with recent works focusing on practical language teaching applications, reading comprehension mechanisms, code-switching patterns in digital communication, and multilingual acquisition processes. The 2023 publication 'Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language' represents his latest contribution to language pedagogy methodology. 2019 AATA Book Award for 'Arabic Second Language Learning and Effects of Input, Transfer, and Typology' As an academic leader, Professor Alhawary serves as Executive Director of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic and edits both the Journal of Arabic Linguistics Tradition and Al-'Arabiyya journal. He continues to develop empirical research on Arabic second language acquisition to inform teaching practices both in America and globally.
Elsayed Issa is an Assistant Professor in the School of Languages and Cultures at Purdue University. Specializing in Computational Linguistics and Arabic, his interdisciplinary research bridges Natural Language Processing (NLP) with Second Language Acquisition (SLA), focusing on conversational AI and speech technology for under-resourced languages. Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Arizona (2023) Research integrates NLP, conversational AI, and SLA methodologies Develops tools for computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) Focuses on Arabic dialectology and large language models (LLMs) His work employs Transformer architectures and end-to-end machine learning to enhance language learning systems. Recent projects include ArabiBot development and dialect identification models. He specializes in speech-to-text systems , prosody modeling , and emotional speech analysis for Arabic language learning applications.
Pascale Trevisiol Okamura is an Associate Professor in Language Sciences and Language Teaching at Sorbonne Nouvelle University, affiliated with the DILTEC research team (EA 2288). Her primary role includes teaching language acquisition and foreign language didactics within the UFR of Literature, Linguistics, and Didactics (LLD). She co-heads the Master 2 program in Language Teaching (FLE/FLS) and holds administrative roles in departmental councils and educational committees. Education Background: Lecturer at Sorbonne Nouvelle University since 2015 Previously taught at Université de Poitiers (2010–2015) and Université Paris 8 (2007–2010) French teaching assistant at Hokkaido University, Japan Research Focus: Specializes in third language acquisition (L3), crosslinguistic influence, and the interface between language acquisition and didactics. Key themes include: Discourse construction in L3 French Input processing and initial language exposure Development of teaching materials for FLE Plurilingual practices among language teachers Current projects involve multilingualism in primary education, Tamil-speaking learners' L3 French acquisition, and reflexive training in research. Teaching & Supervision: Co-supervises doctoral research on topics such as L3 French acquisition in Chinese contexts, translinguistic discourse influences, and plurilingual teacher practices. Teaches advanced courses on language acquisition theories and FLE methodology. Labs/Teams: Member of the Second Language Acquisition Network (ReAL2) and part of the DILTEC team, focusing on language didactics and multilingualism research.
Anna Theakston is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Manchester where she holds the position of Head of Division for the Division of Psychology Communication and Human Neuroscience. She is also Co-director of the ESRC International Centre for Language and Communicative Development (LuCiD), a major research initiative focused on language development in children. Dr. Theakston completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Nottingham and earned her PhD through research at the University of Manchester on early language development in children aged 2-3 years. She subsequently coordinated the Manchester-based Max Planck Child Study Centre before being appointed to her current professorship. Her research focuses on children's early language and communicative development during preschool and early school years, situated within a usage-based framework that emphasizes child-environment interactions and caregiver input. Her work spans multiple areas including early gestural communication, caregiver-child interactions, grammatical construction acquisition, grammatical error origins, inflectional morphology, and syntax-semantics-pragmatics interfaces in complex language development. She frequently conducts crosslinguistic comparisons and employs diverse methodologies from corpus analysis to behavioral experiments, often collaborating with computational modelers. Analysis of her recent publications reveals strong emphasis on children's comprehension and production of complex sentence structures, particularly adverbial and complement clauses, with investigations into how information structure, iconicity, and pragmatic factors influence language development. Her work increasingly examines applications in real-world contexts including schools, nurseries, and cultural institutions, with growing attention to supporting deaf children's communication development and multilingual education. Co-Director, ESRC International Centre for Language and Communicative Development (LuCiD) Active researcher with 111 research outputs including articles, datasets, and book chapters Recipient of research funding from ESRC and Max Planck Institute Professor Theakston supervises numerous PhD students investigating various aspects of language development, with recent projects examining tag questions, cultural institutions' role in language learning for minority populations, science interventions for deaf children, and Modern Foreign Language teaching in multilingual classrooms. Her research has practical impact through tools like the Teacher Toolkit for Teaching Primary MFL in Multilingual Key Stage 2 Classrooms and initiatives supporting deaf children's social communication skills. She maintains active collaborations with researchers across multiple disciplines and institutions, as evidenced by her extensive co-authorship network. Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to quality education and reduced inequalities.
Sible Andringa is Professor of Second Language Pedagogy at the University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Humanities, officially inaugurated on June 16, 2023. Dr. Andringa serves as Academic Director of the Institute for Dutch Language Education (INTT), Coordinator of the Language Learning, Literacy and Multilingualism research group, and Coordinator of the Master's program in Dutch as a Second Language and Multilingualism. Dr. Andringa's research focuses on second language acquisition and bilingualism, specifically investigating the added value of explicit instruction, how input distribution affects language learning outcomes, and the role of awareness in language learning trajectories. Key ongoing projects include the Meta-LLL project examining how literacy shapes language learning, the SLA4All initiative for reproducing SLA research with non-academic samples, and the OASIS project creating accessible research summaries for practitioners. Previously, Dr. Andringa led Project MIND studying bilingual daycare effects and contributed to the Stilis project on listening proficiency. As General Editor of the Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics (DuJAL), Dr. Andringa promotes open science principles in language research. Recent publications demonstrate a focus on addressing sampling biases in SLA research, open access publishing ethics, and practical applications of language acquisition research for educational settings. Academic Director, Institute for Dutch Language Education (INTT) Coordinator, Language Learning, Literacy and Multilingualism research group Coordinator, Master's program Dutch as a Second Language and Multilingualism General Editor, Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics (DuJAL) Member, Mastery Team for Modern Foreign Languages Member, OASIS project team Member, IRIS database advisory group Dr. Andringa supervises PhD candidates including Kyra Hanekamp and Darlene Keydeniers, particularly in research related to bilingual daycare environments and language development. The research program has received funding from the Dutch ministry of Social Affairs for Project MIND and continues to secure support for ongoing projects examining language learning mechanisms. Dr. Andringa leads the Language Learning, Literacy, and Multilingualism research group which investigates language and literacy acquisition across the lifespan, with emphasis on how language skills are learned, maintained, and used in educational contexts. The group meets weekly to discuss projects, plans, funding opportunities, and research topics while promoting collaboration, methodological innovation, and open science principles.
Susan Sayehli is an Associate Professor at the Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism , Stockholm University. She specializes in psycholinguistics and second language acquisition, with a focus on crosslinguistic influence and morphosyntactic processing. Research Interests: Neurocognitive aspects of language learning Focus intonation development in Swedish children Policy impact on SFL (Spanish/French/German) education ERP and eye-tracking methodologies for language processing Urban-rural educational disparities in language programs Current Projects: TAL – Alignment study on oral proficiency in Swedish schools Att lära sig fokusera – Intonation perception in Stockholm/Skåne children Prior Projects: SWOP2 – Swedish word order processing in L2 learners PSUII – Precursors of sign use in intersubjectivity
Professor Joshua S. Mostow is a scholar of pre-modern Japanese literature and art, specializing in text-image relationships, Heian-period studies, and gendered cultural constructions. He holds a professorship at the University of British Columbia’s Department of Asian Studies (Faculty of Arts), where he also serves as Acting Director of Language Programs. Mostow earned his doctorate in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at International Christian University (Tokyo), Université de Paris, and Gakushuin University. His career includes visiting roles at institutions like Heidelberg University and the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on intersections of literature and visual arts, particularly in Japanese pre-modern contexts. Key interests include the ideological construction of the Heian period, women’s writing traditions, and the role of sexuality in cultural identity. Major works include *Courtly Visions: The Ise Stories and the Politics of Cultural Appropriation* (2014) and *Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image* (1996). He has received prestigious awards such as the Japan Foreign Minister’s Commendation (2017) and induction into the Royal Society of Canada (2015). Mostow has authored/co-authored over 20 books, edited volumes, and numerous articles across Japanese literature, art history, and cultural studies. His work spans medieval commentaries, Edo-period print culture, and modern reception histories. He frequently lectures internationally on topics like gender representation in classical texts and the visual legacy of *The Tale of Genji*. Grants and fellowships include support from the Sainsbury Institute, Japan Foundation, and SSHRC (Canada). His contributions to Japanese studies include co-editing *The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature* (2003) and curating exhibitions on Rinpa aesthetics and Edo-period shunga. Scholarly activities further include invited lectures at institutions worldwide and participation in major international conferences.
Viktória Dabóczi is a lecturer in the Department of German Studies at the University of Siegen, Faculty I. She holds a doctorate from the University of Siegen (2016) and has been actively involved in teaching and research in German linguistics since 2012. Her current academic role as AOR aZ (Akademische Oberrätin auf Zeit) began in June 2025, indicating a senior academic position. She teaches courses such as Introduction to German Linguistics, Grammatical Variation, and Language Acquisition. Research Interests: Her work focuses on word classes, spoken language, grammar theory, language acquisition, and lexical change in German, often with comparative insights from Hungarian. She investigates how words are conceptualized in speech and writing, the evolution of discourse markers, and grammatical variation in contemporary usage. The analysis of her recent publications (2005–2025) reveals a consistent focus on theoretical and applied German linguistics, with increasing attention to sociolinguistic phenomena such as pandemic-related neologisms and ideological word formations. Her research bridges empirical analysis, cognitive linguistics, and language teaching, often in interdisciplinary or contrastive frameworks. Reviewed works on German morphology and grammar Contributed to international projects like EuroGr@mm and ProGr@mm Participated in interdisciplinary conferences on ellipsis and language processing Advising and Grants: While no formal students are listed, her editorial and collaborative roles suggest mentorship and academic leadership. She has been involved in long-term research projects, including EuroGr@mm (2004–2012), indicating sustained grant-supported activity. Her current role at Siegen reflects ongoing institutional support for her research and teaching. Labs and Teams: She has collaborated with researchers at Justus Liebig University of Giessen, University of Szeged, and IDS-Mannheim. Her work with the Diskursmonitor research group and participation in interdisciplinary conferences highlight her integration into active research networks in German linguistics.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Şükrü Özbay currently serves as an Associate Professor at Karadeniz Technical University's Faculty of Arts, Department of English Language and Literature. He earned his PhD and MA in Applied Linguistics from Karadeniz Technical University and holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Ankara University. Education : PhD (2015) and MA (2004) from Karadeniz Technical University; BA (1996) from Ankara University Dr. Özbay's research focuses on Corpus Linguistics , Learner Corpora , Academic Writing , Translation Studies , and Language Pedagogy . His work investigates lexical bundles, support verb constructions, and pragmatic markers through computational corpus analysis. Recent publications analyze four-word recurrent expressions in educational technology contexts, collocational priming in Turkish EFL learners' mental lexicon, and semantic prosody of intensifiers in academic corpora. He supervises theses on data-driven learning applications and corpus-based teaching materials. Dr. Özbay has held managerial roles including Deputy Head of Department (2019–present) and Assistant Coordinator for Erasmus+ programs (2017–2021). He actively participates in international conferences and has published in journals like Turkish Studies , Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics , and Hacettepe Eğitim Dergisi .
Laura Collins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education at Concordia University, specializing in applied linguistics. Her research focuses on input processing in second language acquisition, pedagogical grammar, and cross-linguistic influence among bilingual speakers. She has extensive international teaching experience across diverse age groups and serves as the 2nd VP of the American Association for Applied Linguistics and Chair of the IRIS digital repository advisory board. PhD in Humanities, Concordia University MEd in Second Language Teaching, University of Ottawa BEd in Second Language Teaching, University of Toronto BA in History, York University Collins' current projects examine the use of speech technologies to extend second language classrooms and document longitudinal grammatical development in school programs. Funded by SSHRC Insight Grants, her work bridges cognitive approaches with practical pedagogical applications. Recent publications highlight trends in classroom input optimization, frequency-based phonological learning, and intensive language program efficacy, with subfields spanning morpheme perception, vocabulary distribution, and task-based interaction dynamics. Her academic leadership includes editorial roles in The Modern Language Journal and contributions to major handbooks. She teaches courses ranging from classroom-based SLA research to pedagogical grammar, emphasizing practical applications of theoretical insights.
Laurence Anthony is a Professor at Waseda University's School of Creative Science and Engineering, specifically affiliated with the Center for English Language Education in Science and Engineering (CELESE). He has held this position since 2009, having previously served as an Associate Professor at the same institution from 2004-2009. His academic journey began with a BSc from The University of Manchester (1991), followed by an MA (1997) and PhD (2002) from The University of Birmingham. Anthony's research centers on corpus linguistics, educational technology, and natural language processing applications in foreign language teaching. He is renowned for developing AntConc, a widely used freeware corpus analysis toolkit, along with numerous other educational software tools including AntWordProfiler, FireAnt, and ProtAnt. His work bridges linguistic theory with practical classroom applications, particularly in data-driven learning approaches for English as a Foreign Language contexts. His publication record is extensive with over 50 papers, 12,115 Google Scholar citations, and an h-index of 45. His recent work increasingly explores the intersection of corpus linguistics and artificial intelligence, examining how language models can enhance language teaching and analysis. Anthony's research has evolved from foundational corpus tool development to sophisticated applications in vocabulary profiling, writing analysis, and AI-assisted language learning. Among his notable recognitions are the Waseda University 6th e-Teaching Award (2018), the National Prize of the Japan Association of English Corpus Studies (2012), and the L'Oreal Art and Science of Color Gold Prize (2005). He serves on multiple editorial boards including for Studies in Corpus Linguistics, Journal of Asia TEFL, and Corpus Linguistics Research Journal. Anthony actively contributes to the academic community through numerous presentations at international conferences, recent ones including talks on AI integration with corpus methods at Corpus Linguistics 2025 and the LSP-Num Conference. His professional activities demonstrate ongoing engagement with both theoretical developments and practical applications in language education technology.
Haiyang Ai is an Associate Professor in the Literacy and Second Language Studies program at the University of Cincinnati's School of Education. His research applies corpus linguistics and natural language processing to investigate second language acquisition, writing complexity, and bilingual language processing. His educational background includes a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from The Pennsylvania State University (2015), an M.A. in Linguistics & Applied Linguistics from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2006), and a B.A. in English from Shaanxi Normal University (2003). Dr. Ai's research spans corpus linguistics, natural language processing, second language acquisition, and computer-assisted language learning. He specializes in compiling and analyzing native and learner corpora to develop intelligent language learning systems and investigate lexical/syntactic complexity in L2 writing. His methodological approach integrates computational tools with theoretical linguistics to address practical language teaching challenges. His recent publications (2019-2023) demonstrate consistent focus on lexical bundles in professional communication, automating complexity measurement in Chinese, speech perception mechanisms in bilinguals, and grammatical puzzles in English learning. These works bridge corpus-based analysis with psycholinguistic experimentation across diverse subfields including morphosyntax, pragmatic competence, and cognitive processing in L2 acquisition. Dr. Ai has secured multiple University of Cincinnati grants including three CECH Faculty Development Grants ($2500 in 2017-2018 for verb-noun collocation research, $2000 in 2016-2017 for corrective feedback tools) and the NCFDD Faculty Success Program ($3250 in 2017), all supporting his development of computational language learning resources.
