Elizabeth Steele

Elizabeth Steele is a Lecturer in English as a Foreign Language at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), affiliated with the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL) and the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. She holds leadership positions including Head of the Bilingualism & Multilingualism Unit (since 2022) and serves as Multilingualism Officer at HAFL (since 2018). Her career at BFH began in 2008.

Education

• MA Applied Linguistics, University of Nottingham, UK (2012-2016)
• DELTA Diploma in Teaching English, University of Cambridge, UK (2009-2010)
• PGDip Marketing Management, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK (1995-1997)
• BA (Hons) English Language & Literature, University of Durham, UK (1989-1992)

Research Expertise

Her research explores multilingual communication dynamics with focus areas including:

• Machine translation literacy implementation
• Intercultural/transcultural communication frameworks
• Plurilingual identity development
• Discourse analysis of social identity
• Pedagogical approaches for ESP/EAP

Project Leadership

She currently co-directs the multi-institutional project:

• Digital Literacy in University Contexts (2021-2024) - A swissuniversities-funded initiative with partners from Zurich University of Applied Sciences, University of Neuchâtel, and Zurich University of Teacher Education focusing on digital competency development in higher education.

Professional Affiliations

• Stiftungsrat, Forum für die Zweisprachigkeit
• International Association of Teachers of English (IATEFL)
• Vereinigung für Angewandte Linguistik (VALS-ASLA)
• International Association for Languages and Intercultural Communication (IALIC)
• International Association of Multilingualism (IAM)